Cirka

Inspired by a particularly exquisite glass of whisky on a trip to London, Paul Cirka set out to reimagine Canadian whisky. Paul was adamant on establishing regionally distinctive character in his spirits. He found a space along Lachine Canal in Montréal, a stone’s throw from the emblematic silos of the Canada Malting Company, and started production in 2016.

CIRKA is embedded in its terroir; sourcing from local farmers and foragers, as well as collaborating with chefs and bartenders. Inspired by microdistilleries across North America and the high quality of homegrown products across the province, we became the first Québec microdistillery to produce spirits from grain-to-bottle, a new concept in the region. As Isabelle Rochette, sommelier and distiller at CIRKA puts it, “we were the first crazy enough to produce grain to glass. It gives us full control over our base product to make it perfect”. At CIRKA, Paul is playing the long game; convenient, since one of the main ingredients in whisky is time. In the meantime, the company has devoted itself to producing white spirits, to incredible international acclaim.