Rye & Ginger

Canadian rye whisky and Canada Dry ginger ale — the definitive Canadian highball, Prohibition building Seagram's and Canadian Club into international brands.

Rye and Ginger is the defining casual cocktail of Canadian bar culture, combining Canadian rye whisky with ginger ale in a highball format that is ordered more consistently and across more social settings in Canada than any other mixed drink. Canadian rye whisky — a lighter, more delicately flavored style than American straight rye, produced primarily in Ontario, Alberta, and British Columbia — developed its commercial dominance through Prohibition: Canadian distillers including Seagram's, Hiram Walker, and Canadian Club supplied the American bootleg market from 1920 to 1933, building both production capacity and international brand recognition. The light, approachable character of Canadian blended rye whisky — which may contain as little as a nominal amount of actual rye grain alongside corn, wheat, and malted barley under Canadian regulations that govern flavor and production rather than grain minimums — makes it one of the most mixer-friendly whisky styles globally, and ginger ale's spice provides the primary flavor interest that the spirit's intentional lightness does not foreground. Canada Dry ginger ale, created by pharmacist John McLaughlin in Toronto in 1904 and named for its drier (less sweet) flavor compared to existing ginger ales, became the standard Canadian mixer and is closely associated with the rye-and-ginger combination globally.