Yukon distiller says ruling could open way to online whisky sales

A New Brunswick court ruling last month could open up opportunities for Yukon brewers and distillers, according to Bob Baxter, the co-owner of Whitehorse-based Yukon Brewing and Yukon Spirits.

The judge in the case ruled that the ban on people bringing alcohol into New Brunswick from Quebec was unconstitutional. The ruling said provinces are not allowed to restrict inter-provincial trade.

Baxter, like many, is expecting the case to end up in the Supreme Court. If appeal courts uphold the decision, he said, it would completely upset the current system in which the provinces and territories control the sale and distribution of alcohol.

"Right now they keep track of it because they have to issue a purchase order for every single drop. If that system falls, then a whole system needs to be devised to control that," he said.

Baxter hopes that new system means he can find more customers, beyond Yukon.

Easier to sell whisky than beer?

Baxter said the biggest opportunity for his companies could be in the online sale of Yukon Spirit's Two Brewers Single Malt Whisky. It went on sale in February after the first batch was aged for seven years.

All of the bottled whisky has sold. The next batch will be released in July, he said.

Baxter believes it may be easier to sell whisky outside of Yukon than beer, because of shipping costs.

"A single malt whisky that we've been selling at just under $100 a bottle, if you were to sell it to somebody in Toronto or Montreal or Vancouver or Halifax for $120 a bottle because it cost another $20 to get it there, they're either going to pay it or they're not. It's certainly not a big impact on the price," Baxter said. 

"A six pack of beer that adds another $20 to it, nobody's going to want to pay that," he said.

One of the biggest costs in the brewing industry is marketing, Baxter said, and creating demand for whisky should be easier than beer.

"Well, you look at Ontario, and every single community has at least one brewery, if not a dozen.

"And you're going to try and go there and elbow your way in, elbow those guys aside, and create a demand for your product. The ability to send it there is one thing, the ability to create a demand is a whole other thing," he said.

But, Baxter adds, the issue of inter-provincial trade may take years to settle in the courts, so it's "wait and see".