Belfour Spirits proudly announces the launch of its ultra-premium whiskey brand and family of products, The Spirit of Champions. The company is founded and led by Hockey Hall of Famer, Stanley Cup winner and Olympian Ed Belfour who teamed up with his son and daughter to translate his on-ice intensity into a new passion: hand-crafting spirits with unique character for whiskey aficionados and cocktail enthusiasts.
“There are a lucky few who do what they love, not once in a lifetime, but twice,” said Ed Belfour, president and CEO of Belfour Spirits, who retired in 2008 after 21 years of playing professional hockey. “For me, this is the perfect career, post hockey. There are so many similarities in this business to the sport – the competition, the art of distilling, the creativity in barrel selection, the dedication required, the camaraderie of the team. I feel blessed to work alongside my family and work to build what I hope is a second legacy for the Belfour name.”
The Belfour Spirits’ debut has been marked with high regards already from industry tasters, including Mark Gillespie of WhiskyCast, who rated the Bourbon Whiskey Finished with Texas Pecan Wood a 93 and the Rye Whiskey a 91, both out of 100 points.
For the past five years, two generations of the Belfour family (including Ed, son Dayn, 30, and daughter Reaghan, 27) have been working toward one goal: to produce a whiskey worthy of a championship; one that tastes as luxurious as its 1920s-inspired, decanter-like bottle with a pattern that resembles cut crystal.
“My grandparents in Canada were moonshiners, so we like to think this was our destiny,” Ed says.
Applying lessons learned by both father and son during their respective, professional hockey careers and industry education from attending Canadian Craft Distilling Institute in Kelowna, B.C., and Moonshine University in Louisville, they have distilled 1,700 barrels of whiskey to date.
All but 12 of its 1,700 barrels were distilled and continue to age in Statesville, North Carolina, in partnership with Southern Distilling.
They made the other 12 barrels first during Dayn’s internship at Woody Creek Distillery in Basalt, Colorado. Those barrels aged the brand’s Limited Edition Straight Rye Whiskey. Fewer than 2,700 bottles exist and all are presented in a one-of-a-kind collector’s bottle and box.
Three spirits are included in the brand’s debut:
- Rye Whiskey, a 47 percent ABV, 94 Proof, 750 ML.
- Bourbon Whiskey Finished With Texas Pecan Wood, a 46 percent ABV, 92 Proof, 750 ML.
- Limited Edition Straight Rye Whiskey, a 50 percent ABV, 100 Proof, 750 ML.
