Around the World in 20 Drinks: Canada

O Canada, you something-something land. Like the USA but with cheaper hospitals and policemen in delightful red uniforms, the Canadians have a lot of interesting methods to teach us about when it comes to booze. Methods such as ‘just let that freeze over, it’ll be fine.’

Icewine comes from vines that have frozen while they’re still growing, and is a concentrated and intense blast of grapey goodness that sounds like it should be similar to Buckfast but really isn’t. An icewine from Ontario hit the headlines when it went on sale in 2006 – for £18,000 a bottle. It’s not like Buckfast. Ice cider follows the same principle – let your apples freeze in the harsh Canadian winter, then make them into a complex and full-bodied cider to help you through said winter. 

Good work with those elements, Canada, but the story of the Newfoundland Screech makes us wonder whether you’ve been spending a bit too long out in the cold. The Screech, named after the horrendous noise made by an American soldier when he first tried it during the war, is a specially-selected blend of Jamaican rums. So far so cultural, but then there’s the Screech-In. It’s a ceremony involving a shot or two of rum, a large frozen cod, some semi-formal paperwork and a man standing in a pub in a fisherman’s overcoat. Trust us, we have not made any of this up.

Still, all that time in a winter wonderland has resulted in one of the best innovations we’ve seen in this series – making beer out of Christmas trees. While we can’t give Canada full credit for Spruce Beer – the Vikings were making it back in the day, and they’re sticklers for attribution – Canadians have refined and honed the formula over time. There are alcoholic versions, there are soft versions that taste like a root beer bumped into a hedge, it can easily be brewed up at home, and it reminds everyone of the joys of Christmas. That is to say drinking, and keeping trees in your home. Good job, Canada!