Toasting Alberta in every spirit
The perfect blend of Canmore’s botanicals all captured in a bottle, or two, or three…
Vasily Tarasov from the Soviet Union wasn’t searching for turkey recipes when he was welcomed into the Calgary Press Club in 1963 during Thanksgiving weekend. Instead, the spy and correspondent for a Russian state-run newspaper showed interest in Canadian agriculture, quickly cultivating friendships with writers covering the Alberta grain beat. He knew what every Canadian should know—Alberta-grown grain is exceptional. In 1964, Tarasov attempted to acquire what the Royal Canadian Mounted Police described as “classified information of importance to Canada,” without elaborating. The news broke, and the spy was deported.
When Matt Widmer and Keith Robinson opened Canmore, Alberta’s Wild Life Distillery (WLD) in 2017, they didn’t need espionage to know how excellent Alberta grain is. The proof was in the spirits trickling from their stills, which featured creamy and sweet cereal notes. It’s locally grown Alberta grain and pure Rocky Mountain water that proudly contribute an authentic DNA to everything Wild Life puts in a bottle.
(The Weather Network)
Canmore’s outdoor life is also embedded in Wild Life’s DNA. WLD does have a gin for every taste and a stunning vodka made from Alberta spring wheat and malted barley, but for their Wild Life Alberta Botanical Gin, the weather in Canmore’s backyard determines which botanicals are included year-to-year. The region’s semi-arid climate, caused by the Rocky Mountain rain shadow, makes foraging for botanicals a seasonal challenge, but tough-as-nails botanicals such as Labrador tea and yarrow, combined with fresh berries and Rocky Mountain juniper, create an expressive gin rich in Alberta flora.
The weather also influences the grain’s flavour profile from one growing season to the next, especially for whisky. While grain, fermentation, distillation, and aging are the four cornerstones, it’s passion and attention to detail at each step that create exceptional whisky—a standard Matt and Keith embody, earning respect for their craft. This dedication is evident in Wild Life’s Single Malt Whiskies, which offer rich malty notes. Their Wheat Whisky is sweet and lush, and their Rye Whisky brings out spicy flares. Each has won awards. All are showcased at WLD’s cocktail bar.
(The Weather Network)
In early 2026, WLD King of the North introduced its first whisky in a new annual series. For King of the North, Wild Life’s rye whisky was aged for four years in casks that previously held peated single malt whisky and Canadian maple syrup. The flavour profile of this whisky is wild, featuring toasted honey cereal notes, deep spices, and sugar shack warmth entwined with smoke—a whisky that tastes like itself with a tall flavour profile that surpasses Mount Forbes’s peak. It was crowned Rye Whisky of the Year at the 2026 Canadian Whisky Awards.
As WLD continues to innovate and celebrate Canmore’s botanical and grain heritage, its reputation grows with each release. With steadfast quality and a bond to local land and climate, it doesn’t take surveillance to know that Wild Life Distillery makes spirits as stunning as the region. One sip says it all.
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