Muskoka Maple Leaf

Canada Day is tomorrow and so here's a drink that's made with two ingredients from our great country. It's also a brilliant scarlet colour in keeping with the national holiday, and unlike our first three drinks, is carbonated, which makes it a refreshing choice now that hotter weather is here.

Though Canadians living in B.C.'s lower mainland, the foothills of the Rockies, the picturesque villages of ancien Québec, or the seacoast communities of Atlantic Canada may disagree (and they'd be perfectly correct), for Canadians living in the urban centres of Ontario, the Muskoka region of Central Ontario evokes all that is quintessential in the Canadian landscape: the primordial granite of the Shield, the icy lakes carved by mile-high glaciers, the immense silence of the forest.

And it's Muskoka, particularly Bala, that's home to the cranberry, this week's featured fruit. The annual Bala Cranberry Festival, held the weekend following Thanksgiving (that's Canadian Thanksgiving, the second Monday in October), is billed as the third largest festival in Ontario.

We'll come back to cranberries in a moment, but first…

Canadian whisky (without the "e") is often called rye. These days that's a misnomer, since most Canadian whiskies are primarily distilled from corn. Alberta Premium is one whisky that is still 100% rye. You can try a small 200 mL bottle available at the LCBO for $7.25 if you'd like to taste your grandpa's whisky.

Regardless of which whisky you have in the back of your liquor cabinet or kitchen cupboard, pour about 1½ ounces over several ice cubes in a tall glass and add ½ ounce of freshly-squeezed lime juice.

Now here's where you have some choice. The one I prefer, though it does violate my principle of using real fruit or juices, is to top up your glass with President's Choice Cranberry sparkling soda. It's available at any store that sells President's Choice products, such as Loblaw's, Super Centre, No Frills, Zehrs, or Your Independent Grocer.

Your other option is to fill your glass with a half and half mixture of cranberry juice and club soda.

Sit back in your Muskoka chair and enjoy the fireworks. Happy Canada Day.