Buying Canadian/Boycotting US Goods

[Locke]

Originally Posted by Fuzz

This is some pretty good Alberta Bourbon. Unique taste. Not super cheap(I got it half price before Christmas), but maybe give it a try.


https://www.wineandbeyond.ca/product...n-berbon-500ml

Yeah I tried their range at the Calgary Whiskey Festival, I was impressed.

[edslunch]

Originally Posted by BloodFetish

Have you tried Bearface? Supposedly it's as close as you'll get to a bourbon flavour profile for a rye whiskey. I've had a couple of bottles and I like it, but I'm not a bourbon drinker so I can't give an honest comparision.

It’s excellent. Got a bottle of Alberta Premium cask strength for Christmas. 66%. I think I remember it was good.

Edit: My wife got me the Alberta premium because she couldn’t find Bearface

[undercoverbrother]

Originally Posted by DoubleF

Does bourbon finished rum count?

https://romerodistilling.com/products/dark-rum

They produce some good rums.

My friend's family owns this place.

When her daughter worked there she would hook me up with free bottles.

[kipperiggy]

Originally Posted by SportsJunky

Same same. Trying my best. Other than business trips I've stopped all my U.S. travel. Groceries are tough. I feel like the stores are bull ####ting us with their Canadian flags. Takes a lot longer to read the labels and even then I'm not always certain.
I still cheat and buy a bottle of bourbon occasionally. God, Trump is such a dick.

I feel like they are too, so admittedly I don't pay as much attention as I did at the beginning.

I think tourism is the biggest impact we can make with all of the articles you see about it. It's such as shame as there are many US cities I still had on my bucket list, but oh well. Lots of other places to see in the world.

My brother in law and his family are going to NYC in May and I internally facepalmed so hard. Some people will just never see beyond their own little world.

[Huntingwhale]

I do the best I can. Some stuff unavoidable, but the big things like travel are off the table completely. I have cancelled all streaming services and go out of my way to show my friends and family how to disconnect from those and join the "alternative" services. American software included. I am having good luck with that so far. Not a big whiskey/bourbon drinker, but it's easy enough to avoid American liquor as there are multiple good alternatives for all kinds of spirits and beers. This is my last year subscribing to Amazon Prime.

Even if a Dem wins next election (which IMO are not even happening), it will take an actual trial, imprisonment and true government reforms before I set foot in that country again. None of this "heal the nation" and "don't want to set a bad precedent" bull#### that played a role in getting us here. There is a long list of those who need to be held accountable before I even considering returning, otherwise, we play this stupid game every 4 years. Unfortunately I have zero faith any of that will ever be done.

[undercoverbrother]

Originally Posted by SportsJunky

Same same. Trying my best. Other than business trips I've stopped all my U.S. travel. Groceries are tough. I feel like the stores are bull ####ting us with their Canadian flags. Takes a lot longer to read the labels and even then I'm not always certain.
I still cheat and buy a bottle of bourbon occasionally. God, Trump is such a dick.

I noticed a lot of Canadian wines are actually grown and produced in the US

[Locke]

Originally Posted by Huntingwhale

I do the best I can. Some stuff unavoidable, but the big things like travel are off the table completely. I have cancelled all streaming services and go out of my way to show my friends and family how to disconnect from those and join the "alternative" services. American software included. I am having good luck with that so far. Not a big whiskey/bourbon drinker, but it's easy enough to avoid American liquor as there are multiple good alternatives for all kinds of spirits and beers. This is my last year subscribing to Amazon Prime.

Even if a Dem wins next election (which IMO are not even happening), it will take an actual trial, imprisonment and true government reforms before I set foot in that country again. None of this "heal the nation" and "don't want to set a bad precedent" bull#### that played a role in getting us here. There is a long list of those who need to be held accountable before I even considering returning, otherwise, we play this stupid game every 4 years. Unfortunately I have zero faith any of that will ever be done.

Yeah, I went to Vegas in February but that was for my best friend's wedding (you know him BTW ) and as I told him, he could have gotten married on top of Mount Everest and I'd have been there.

And it was planned and booked long before the Evil Cheeto Monster got re-elected.

After that, as much American stuff is No Bueno. No Travel, no booze, limited products, etc. Like I said before, some things cant be helped but its a small contribution but many small contributions can be felt...as the American Travel industry can attest to.

[Fuzz]

Originally Posted by undercoverbrother

I noticed a lot of Canadian wines are actually grown and produced in the US

Which ones have you seen? I did just get burned at Costco buying Gray Monk, which has always been Canadian. But they used Oregon grapes in this one. This is a new thing for BC wine as far as I know, and I wonder if it's due to surpluses growing in the US. I know some wineries use international grapes, but I thought they were all South America.

[Locke]

Originally Posted by Fuzz

Which ones have you seen? I did just get burned at Costco buying Gray Monk, which has always been Canadian. But they used Oregon grapes in this one. This is a new thing for BC wine as far as I know, and I wonder if it's due to surpluses growing in the US. I know some wineries use international grapes, but I thought they were all South America.

*torches lit*

Burn the Traitor!!

[DoubleF]

Originally Posted by Fuzz

Which ones have you seen? I did just get burned at Costco buying Gray Monk, which has always been Canadian. But they used Oregon grapes in this one. This is a new thing for BC wine as far as I know, and I wonder if it's due to surpluses growing in the US. I know some wineries use international grapes, but I thought they were all South America.

I assume it was heavily impacted due to the cold snap last year that killed most of the vines?

EDIT: I recall spoke with someone at Gray Monk last summer. They said they got grapes from a variety of places including Niagara and the US. But some stuff they just couldn't do so those are gone until their planted vines start producing fruit.

[SilverKast]

I try to avoid US items as much as possible. I had a Jeep and I sold that and got a Honda instead, now all our family vehicles are Honda, Toyota or Lexus built in Canada or Japan. I spend a fair amount on travel, and have since avoided the US - instead going to Japan and Europe, although I do miss Hawaii. Also boycotted any US clothing brands and instead found alternative options.

Groceries is tougher, I don't think my wife looks too closely as she likes to stay with whatever preferred brands she always gets at Costco or Sobeys. Booze was pretty easy to find non-American brands though as there's a ton of options there.

[Cowboy89]

Originally Posted by DoubleF

I assume it was heavily impacted due to the cold snap last year that killed most of the vines?

EDIT: I recall spoke with someone at Gray Monk last summer. They said they got grapes from a variety of places including Niagara and the US. But some stuff they just couldn't do so those are gone until their planted vines start producing fruit.

A lot of people don't realize this but the Okanagan experienced somewhere in the range of a 95-99% die off of grapes in the combination of the 2022/23 & 2023/2024 winters (Those polar vortex events where the temp gets into the -20s for weeks are a time in the valley are what did it). The spring of 2024 saw a massive replanting and it typically takes 2-5 years for most vines to start reliably producing quality grapes and then between 6 - 24 months of barrel aging for most wine vintages. Meaning things won't be the same for probably 3-5 years.

It has not been as noticeable until now since most wine vintages can come from grapes aged 6 - 24 months so wineries in 2024 & 2025 were mostly selling their pre 2024 vintages. Now there is this intermediate time period where many wineries are sourcing grapes from Washington, Oregon, California, and Ontario to make their wines to be able to continue their brands until the new grape vines mature / damaged vines start yielding again.

In summary, yes your purchase of 'Canadian wine' might actually come in part from American grapes, but these 'Canadian' wineries probably need your money more now than ever to keep alive until they can sustain themselves on local / estate grown grapes again.

[Sainters7]

Me choosing the smaller, Canadian apples for $2 more than the larger American ones yesterday tells me yes, yes I am still doing it.

[undercoverbrother]

Originally Posted by Fuzz

Which ones have you seen? I did just get burned at Costco buying Gray Monk, which has always been Canadian. But they used Oregon grapes in this one. This is a new thing for BC wine as far as I know, and I wonder if it's due to surpluses growing in the US. I know some wineries use international grapes, but I thought they were all South America.

Honestly I don't recall.

Gray Monk was one but there were others.

Label reading is key.

[psyang]

Originally Posted by Bill Bumface

My sister and a bunch of guys I play hockey with went to high school with one of the owners (Dan). He's an absolutely lovely guy, and a well deserving target of your booze budgets.

Cool story bro.

I used to work with the other owner (Jacques) who also is a terrific person. I loaned him "Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance" and I have to think that led him to leaving the IT world to start a distillery. So you're welcome.

[troutman]

Distillery in Pincher Creek

https://lostthingsdistillery.ca/

https://www.oldmanriverbrewing.com/

https://www.passbeer.ca/

https://ferniebrewing.com/#

https://uncommoncider.com/

[DoubleF]

Originally Posted by troutman

Distillery in Pincher Creek

https://lostthingsdistillery.ca/

https://www.oldmanriverbrewing.com/

https://www.passbeer.ca/

https://ferniebrewing.com/#

https://uncommoncider.com/

Years ago, I stumbled upon a website a list of all breweries/distilleries in Alberta which also had a list of what each on produced. I can't find it though.

Looked kinda like this, but slightly different:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_o...ries_in_Canada

Pemberton Distillery supposedly has a bourbon.

I'm sure you could type bourbon into liquorconnect and check which liquor stores stock bourbon named products that aren't from the USA.

[Jimmy Stang]

^ Unfortunately it can’t legally be called “bourbon” if it isn’t produced in the US. That’s why we see “Berbon” and “Bur-bon” from Bridgeland and Burwood respectively. Depending on how fuzzy/smart the search is, you’ll still probably get some hits though.

I wonder if those slight misspellings would be enough to keep the lawyers away anyway.

[Cappy]

Originally Posted by Jimmy Stang

^ Unfortunately it can’t legally be called “bourbon” if it isn’t produced in the US. That’s why we see “Berbon” and “Bur-bon” from Bridgeland and Burwood respectively. Depending on how fuzzy/smart the search is, you’ll still probably get some hits though.

I wonder if those slight misspellings would be enough to keep the lawyers away anyway.

#### 'em. their IP and TM should be cancelled. The Bourbon designation is protected by US law, but recognized internationally.

It would be funny as hell to continue to beat up on Kentucky

[lazypucker]

Are Walmarts and Costcos no-go zones because they are American brands?


McDonald's & Wendy's? Coca-Cola & Pepsi?


What's the guideline here.