Blending, the final stage for Canadian whisky, is a craft, an artform that requires taste, knowledge and uniformity. Unlike mixing cocktails, things can go bad really fast and mistakes are often beyond repair. For the master blender it is not only a factor of creating a good blend, but to create that same successful spirit day after day, that is where the real craft comes in. Canadian Mist is a blended whisky of rye, corn and malt, it seems like that would be a simple mix, but it is far from it, as our blending session demonstrated.
Canadian Food and Drug Regulations are very particular about what characteristics and elements whisky must have to be labeled Canadian whisky. Obviously it must be produced inside the Canadian borders, but beyond that all whiskies must be aged in small wood for at least three years and be at least 40% alcohol/volume, or 80 proof. As far as blending is concerned, the whisky can only contain 9.09% flavoring ingredients, of which only a select few may be used.