Authentic Seacoast launches new whisky

Pictured at the new whisky launch in Halifax are (l-r): Jeffrey van Horne, bar manager at Lot Six Bar & Restaurant, Authentic Seacoast Company owner Glynn Williams and Shane Beehan, head bartender at Lot Six Bar & Restaurant. Photo: Contributed

By Adam Cooke 4 November 2015 Share this story

The newest addition to the Authentic Seacoast Company’s whisky line is made with a unique process that takes advantage of the company’s Guysborough home base.
Glynnevan Double Barrelled Canadian Rye Whisky, whose name incorporates Authentic Seacoast president Glynn Williams and his adult son Evan, begins with a combination of Canadian rye, wheat and malted barley grown in the Prairies that is then sent to an Ontario distillery for the first stage of a process known as oak-barreling. From there, the product is brought to Guysborough, where a second round of barreling allows the company to incorporate the waters of Guysborough Harbour.
“Our water is really great,” Williams said.
“We have natural alkaline water at The Rare Bird Pub [also operated by Authentic Seacoast], and that’s where we’re getting our water—we have a very prolific well there. So the whisky is delicious.”
With local water added to a mixture of 12-year-old, 100 per cent Canadian rye whiskey in addition to whisky products aged between four and five years, Williams noted that Glynnevan has “a bit of a kick to it” but also offers a sweet and creamy taste with hints of vanilla, spice, hazelnut, butter, toffee, and caramel.
“All of our spirits are designed so they can stand on their own, whether on the rocks or in a cocktail,” he explained.
“So it’s been fun to work up some cocktails with a few of these.”
As Glynnevan prepares to take its place among such Authentic Seacoast products as Sea Fever Rum and Fortress Rum, Williams is pleased to have a product that celebrates the bond between himself and his son.
“The two of us really like to spend some time together and, of course, have the odd adult beverage together,” said Williams of his son, recalling global excursions that have included hiking the southernmost point of South America and flying a single-engine plane to Canada’s high Arctic.
“I thought, ‘Wouldn’t it be wonderful to celebrate my feelings towards my son, since we’ve done many adventures together?’ So I thought, ‘What a great name for a whisky.’”
The launch comes as Authentic Seacoast is putting the wraps on its new distillery building in Guysborough.
“[This] should help us more on the beer side and also on the spirits-making side,” Williams predicted.
“So we should be able to meet our forecast in hand for quite awhile.”
Editor’s Note: This story comes to Halifax Magazine courtesy of the Port Hawkesbury Reporter.
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This story was originally published in Halifax Magazine.