When the harvest comes
off fields in central Ontario's northern-most growing areas this fall, one million
bushels of corn will be headed for the Canadian Mist distillery in nearby Collingwood.
The research-driven development of cold-tolerant hybrids opened up the area to
corn in the 1970s and 1980s, and now it's found a ready market in Canadian Mist,
the second largest-selling import whisky in the United States.
"In 1967, when the Collingwood plant was built, there was virtually no Ontario
grain corn business," says Harold Ferguson, vice-president and general manager
of the 500,000-square-foot operation. "Now, Ontario corn's role is fundamental
to our product. We have Ontario corn deliveries everyday from trusted suppliers...this
is how business is built."
In the massive United States, Canadian Mist is very big business. It runs neck-and-neck
there with Crown Royal, the category leader. Its presence is clear.
But it's not resting on its laurels. Over the past year, Canadian Mist has set
its sights on the competition with a new contemporary packaging and labelling
initiative. One of its most noticeable features is the molded bottle design (in
the 1.75-litre vessel) and a built-in contoured handle. However, it's taste, not
looks, that draw consumers to the Ontario corn- based product, and veteran employee
Ferguson won't fiddle with it. After 32 years with the company, he knows his role
well.
"My job is not to be creative, but to make the product the same every day,"
he says. "Consumers choose Canadian Mist because of the taste, and we want
to ensure that when they honour us by purchasing our product, they can count on
it being consistent every time." Part of that consistency is thanks to its
all-Canadian content -- besides mashing Ontario corn, Canadian Mist also counts
on Ontario rye and Alberta and Manitoba malting barley for its flavour profile.
But besides its taste, Canadian Mist can chalk-up its success in the U.S. to the
strong distribution network of its parent company, Brown-Forman, which bought
Canadian Mist in 1971 from Barton Distilling of Chicago (Barton built the plant
in 1967). Brown-Forman, headquartered in Louisville, Kentucky, is one of the largest
American-owned companies in the wine and spirits business. It was founded in 1870
by George Garvin Brown, a young pharmaceutical salesman from Louisville who had
the then- novel idea of selling top-grade whisky in sealed glass bottles.
Now, its brands are world renowned: Jack Daniel's, Southern Comfort, Early Times,
Finlandia, Korbel champagnes and Fetzer and Bolla wines, as well as Canadian Mist.
In Canada, Brown-Forman's spirit brands are represented by Bacardi Canada.
In the U.S., they rave about Canadian whiskies' smoothness. But it's not a universally
held opinion, mainly because most whisky drinkers in the world have never experienced
Canadian whisky.
However, the industry thinks the time is ripe for change. Globally, there's a
general decline in spirits consumption. But products such as Scotch whisky have
bucked the trend and found a niche, thanks to excellent marketing efforts. Brown-Forman
is setting out to tell the rest of the world about Canadian Mist, anticipating
the global whisky-consumption markets will embrace it, once they taste it.
Meanwhile, in Ontario, there's an equal imperative to increase the product's profile,
with the Liquor Control Board of Ontario. "Canadian Mist has to do what it
can to increase its competitive edge," says Ferguson. "There's a myriad
of distilled-spirit products in Canada, and you do whatever you can to get the
consumer to reach for the neck of your bottle."
Ferguson believes increasing Canadian Mist's competitive edge includes making
corn producers aware the product is predominantly their product, and by supporting
it, they're supporting their own industry. Ferguson, who serves on the Ontario
Corn Industry Advisory Committee, has watched Ontario's corn industry continuously
improve over the past three decades, striving to develop the kind of short-season
hybrids that can satisfy the demands of products such as Canadian Mist.
He's given Ontario corn producers his business. And he's hoping they'll reciprocate
by considering Canadian Mist when they choose Canadian whisky.
"If they buy Canadian whisky," he says, "they might find Canadian
Mist is a very enjoyable addition to their bar, knowing the product originated
in their own fields."
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