When Colin Schmidt and his wife Meredith launched Last Mountain Distillery, it's safe to say a lot of people saw it as a risk.
"Everyone told me I was crazy," said Colin Schmidt, who co-founded Last Mountain Distillery in 2010. "I remember my parents telling me that if we were trying to be the cheapest, maybe we'd survive. I told them that if you're the cheapest it's a race to the bottom; there will always be someone cheaper than you. We didn't want to be the cheapest, we wanted to be the best. We wanted to provide a quality spirit and value for our customers."
The Lumsden-based distillery was named the 2019 Canadian Whisky Micro Distillery of the Year at the Canadian Whisky Awards in Victoria.
"We were surprised and proud," Schmidt said. "It's reaffirming, but if you think back to five years ago when we were making some of these whiskies, we really didn't know what they would taste like four or five years down the road. It changes drastically from when it comes off the still to when we take it out of the barrel. We had to believe in what we were doing and trust that we had a good recipe and good advice and it turns out we were right."
In addition to winning the Micro Distillery of the year, Last Mountain also won a gold medal for their single cask whiskey and two bronze for their rye and single malt.
Schmidt said they had never attended the awards before this year, but had first entered in 2013.
"I think going back to 2014 we've won maybe a bronze medal back then," Schmidt recalled.
"We were at The Banff Whisky Experience this year in the fall. In the tasting room we met up with four or five of the judges and they were coming back to taste more and more of our product, so we kind of had an inkling that things were going to go well."
Colin Schmidt is from Regina, but played hockey at Colorado College and was an Edmonton Oilers draft pick. He met his wife in the U.S. and they returned to Saskatchewan in 2008. They were hobby craftsmen and were encouraged by a friend who had successfully opened one of the first micro distilleries in the U.S. They began Last Mountain out of their home garage and now have 18 employees.
From those humble roots, getting a significant national award is a feather in their cap and a sign that they are achieving their goals of making a quality whisky.
"I think we're finally secure enough that I can say we make some great whisky," Schmidt said. "Canadian whisky is gaining ground on the world's stage and the fact that we're using 100 per cent wheat is kind of unique. The flavour in the grain is just perfect for whisky."
It has only been a few weeks since being honoured, but the whisky world has noticed. Schmidt said that they have received calls from all over the place trying to find out where they can buy the product.
"Unfortunately, there are pretty strict laws in Canada as far as shipping across borders," Schmidt explained. "We're able to ship across Saskatchewan and we ship to B.C. There seem to be a lot of whisky connoisseurs in B.C. who are getting their hands on our product."
The Canadian Whisky Awards recognize the very best Canadian whiskies and are open to whiskies distilled and matured in Canada. An independent panel of whisky experts selects the winners after tasting each whisky blind.
