A new reason to spike your eggnog: Secret Barrel
'People are starting to realize there’s more to it'
His name is John A. MacDonald, and this is his rum. It says so on the bottle — batch No. 1.
He goes by Adam, but his first name is John — as the first grandchild, his parents wanted to honour both grandfathers with John in his name, but also wanted to call him Adam — thus the prime ministerial moniker.
If you're looking for something local to spike your eggnog and bath your fruitcakes in, MacDonald and his business partner, Chase Craig, produce rum out of the Highwood Distillers in High River, using sugarcane imported from Guyana.
Originally from Ottawa, MacDonald is a certified accountant, but helped his uncle launch Ottawa's first craft brewery, Kichesippi Beer Co. Craig has an engineering background.
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Now looking for their own space, the friends decided to start with rum while they had the opportunity to utilize the existing distillery's facilities.
"It was just such a good place for us to start," MacDonald says.
"We knew we eventually wanted to have a space, so we started with rum because we'll never do it at our own distillery."
Imported sugarcane can be expensive. The plan when they open their own location is to focus more on locally sourced ingredients, like grains grown across the prairies, to produce vodka, gin and aged spirits, like whisky.
Launching Secret Barrel rum first, helps them establish the brand while they seek out the perfect spot.
Although it was risky to start with rum — which doesn't have as big a market share as gin and vodka — MacDonald and Craig see it as a very up-and-coming spirit, breaking beyond its usual Coke pairing and becoming more popular on the cocktail scene.
"With rum, most of it is parrots and pirates and beaches, and we really wanted to do something totally different," MacDonald says.
Rum has 'such a cool history'
"It was the first spirit distilled in the U.S., and has such a cool history. People are starting to realize there's more to it, and it has a more complex flavour profile."
Their's is a smooth white rum, with notes of vanilla, butterscotch and caramel — typical flavour profiles of dark rum.
"People taste it and say, 'I don't like rum, but I like this,'" MacDonald says.
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They chose sugarcane — the primary ingredient in rum — from Guyana for the flavour it produces.
"It's a plant, like anything," MacDonald explains. "Alberta has great grains, and in Guyana they have different temperatures and soil. It all affects the final flavour."
Secret Barrel launched six months ago and is now available in 50 retail stores around Alberta, although they focus on Calgary.
It's on the menu at places like Ricardo's Hideaway, known for their rum bar, and you can sample it in boozy festive shakes at Clive Burger this holiday season with $1 from each drink going to a local children's charity.