Bearface Wilderness Series 03: Wild Air
June 20, 2025
TL;DR: This isn’t your standard Canadian whisky—it’s a wild creature born from Bearface’s boundary-pushing outdoor aging program. Wild Air harnesses nature’s influence in every drop, with aromas of maple-laced popcorn and incense, a palate full of pine resin, leather, grapefruit, and spiced vanilla, and a finish that’s creamy and softly smoked. It’s bold, strange, and delicious in all the right ways—a whisky for those who want their pour to taste like a Canadian forest kissed by fire and aged in the elements.
Bearface has always treated the Canadian wilderness like a flavour collaborator, and Wild Air might be their most untamed release yet. This whisky leans into Bearface’s elemental aging philosophy, spending time in repurposed wine barrels exposed to the raw mountain air and wild temperature swings of British Columbia.
The result is a whisky that smells like buttery popcorn at a bonfire, tastes like smoked maple and spiced forest floor, and lingers like incense and leather in the cool night air. It’s not a casual sipper—it’s an adventure in a glass. The kind of bottle that makes you stop mid-sentence and say, “Wait… what is that?”.
Flavor Camp Taste Profile
Overall Review
- Overall Assessment: 80/100
- Distinctiveness: 9.5/10
- Bottle Appeal: 9/10
- Value for Price: 6.5/10
- Crushable / Daily Drinker
- Cocktail Worthy
- Special Occasion Sipper
- Weird & Wonderful
- Skip It
Tasting Notes
- Appearance: Deep copper
- Aroma: Thick and textured, like oily popcorn drizzled with maple syrup. Buttery Chardonnay richness meets incense, dried tobacco, pine sap, and a curious savory note—somewhere between cured meat and rain-soaked cedar.
- Taste & Mouthfeel: Sweet tobacco and resin lead the charge, followed by burnt maple syrup, pine needles, charred cedar, and a flicker of citrusy grapefruit. There’s an industrial edge—plastic and petrol—but it plays well with the smoked vanilla and leather.
- Finish: Long, creamy, and spiced—like a toasted marshmallow rolled in pine bark and nutmeg.
- Distinctiveness: There’s truly nothing else like it in the Canadian whisky scene. Love it or scratch your head over it, Wild Air makes an impression.
- Overall Drinkability & Balance: Wild Air is weird in the best way. Balanced? Not always. Memorable? Absolutely. Best enjoyed neat, with time to open—and a sense of adventure. A bit pricey for casual drinkers, but worth it if you're chasing bold innovation and flavor experimentation.
Product Details
- Distiller: Mark Anthony Group
- Type: Canadian Whisky (Single Grain)
- Age: NAS
- Still Type: Not disclosed
- Cask Type(s): Hungarian oak casks, ex-Viognier barrels, and Maple Syrup Brûlée Casks
- Origin: British Columbia, Canada
- Composition: 99.5% Corn
- ABV: 42.5%
- # of Distillations: Not disclosed
- Price: $60ish (CAD)
Comments / Notes:
No Peat, Just Nature’s Smoke – The smoky character in Wild Air doesn’t come from peated malt, but from the combination of charred oak, birch bark infusion, and exposure to wild BC air during open-rack aging. It’s campfire energy without the Islay signature.
Birch Bark–Infused Viognier Barrels – One of the component casks is an ex-Viognier wine barrel that’s been infused with birch bark, adding woodsy bitterness and aromatic spice to the final blend
Maple Tree Magic – Another component is aged in maple syrup brûlée casks—then proofed down using fresh maple tree water, creating a soft, creamy finish with sweet, earthy undertones.
Food Pairing Recommendations:
Cedar-Planked Salmon with Maple Glaze – Echoes the whisky’s smoked cedar, maple, and forest-floor spice in every bite.
Smoked Gouda or Aged Gruyère – Both cheeses bring nutty, smoky notes that harmonize with the whisky’s wood and char character.
Try it in an Old Fashioned using maple syrup & black walnut bitters.
