Gibson's Finest Canadian Whisky is a brand of blended Canadian Whisky produced at 40% alcohol by volume (80 U.S. proof). The brand is owned by the Scottish family-operated distilling company William Grant & Sons. Gibson's Finest was founded by John Gibson in 1856, and is currently produced in Windsor, Ontario distilling three different variants: Gibson's Finest Sterling, Gibson's Finest Rare 12 Year Old and Gibson's Finest Venerable 18 Year Old. It is the third largest selling whisky in Canada.
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History
The Gibson's whisky brand was started by the Irish-born spirits merchant John Gibson at a distillery in Pennsylvania along the Monongahela River on 40 acres (16 ha) of land that he bought in 1856. He produced wheat, malt, and especially rye whiskey at the distillery. Prohibition in the United States closed the distillery, and shortly afterwards the entire Gibson plant and its contents were auctioned off.
As prohibition was ending, Schenley Industries purchased the Gibson's brand and in 1945, a Schenley subsidiary called Schenley Distillers Corporation established a distillery in Valleyfield, Quebec. In 1972—50 years after the auctioning of the Gibson's distillery—Schenley re-introduced the Gibson's name using whisky distilled at Valleyfield. The Gibson name re-surfaced on whisky bottles no longer containing Pennsylvania rye, but rather Canadian whisky.
Today, Gibson's Finest Canadian Whisky brands are owned by family distiller, William Grant & Sons and produced at the Hiram Walker distillery in Windsor, Ontario.
Products
Gibson's Finest comes in 5 variants, Gibson's Bold 8 Year, Gibson's Finest Sterling, Gibson's Finest Rare 12 Year Old, Gibson's Finest Venerable 18 Years, and Gibson's Finest Rare 18 Year Old.
Awards
Gibson's Finest Sterling, Rare 12 Year Old and Venerable 18 Year Old have all won awards at major whisky competitions including Gold for the Rare 18 Year Old at the 2012 Canadian Whisky Awards and gold and silver respectively for the Rare 18 Year Old and the 12 Year Old at the 2006 San Francisco Spirits Competition.
Canadian Football League (CFL) sponsorship
Gibson's Finest Canadian Whisky has been the official spirit of the Canadian Football League since 2004, sponsoring the weekly and monthly player awards since 2009. Gibson's Finest also sponsors The Toronto Argonauts, Winnipeg Bluebombers, Edmonton Eskimos and Football Reporters of Canada (FRC).