Happy Belated Canada Day! We here in America got pre-occupied with getting our hearts broken by the Belgian soccer team yesterday, so we kind of missed out in saluting our neighbors to the north. So we’re changing that today! But first, here are some statistics. According to our boys at Stats Canada:

– 85% of Molson Canadian beer is consumed in a backyard inflatable kiddie pool
– The average Canadian 70 year-old spends 17 hours per day sitting silently in Tim Hortons
– The sixth most popular Canadian baby name in 2012 was “Maple Glazed”
– It takes the average Canadian 42 seconds to get a sunburn

One of our absolute favorite things from the last winter olympics was the Molson Canadian Beer Fridge; a walk in cooler which would open only for Canadian athletes with a valid passport. To celebrate Canada Day, it returned to select locations, but ONLY to people who could sing the Canadian national anthem in its entirety. Having grown up spending wintry Saturday nights watching Hockey Night In Canada as a child/awkward teenager/totally inept adult, this will be no problem for us. Oh, Canada! [ABC News]

While Canadians are commonly known for their industrious beer making, they are also responsible for some really incredible whisky. Here’s a short batch of our favorites, with links to reviews of recent releases:

Masterson’s 12 Year Old Straight Wheat Whiskeys
Collingwood 21 Year Old Rye Canadian Whisky
Pike Creek
Pendleton 1910 Aged 12 Years Canadian Rye Whisky

Try one this upcoming 4th of July weekend! We won’t tell anyone it’s not Bourbon.

In other Commonwealth/British Empire related news, Jude Law is set to star in a movie made by Johnnie Walker Blue, according to the Spirits Business. The Gentlemen’s Wager will be directed by noted sci-fi director Ridley Scott…..’s son and will tell the story of two dudes striving for excellence. What fun. [Spirits Business]

And finally today, a major Colbert-styled tip of the hat to Marvin Shanken, whose Wine Spectator and News Daily stories are regular staples of the Reads feature. The publisher recently donated $3 million dollars to the Sonoma State University Wine Learning Center to further the program’s aims, including MBAs and business degrees in the wine business. In this day and age where universities are having to tighten belts and bleed students with tuition increases, it’s good to see folks giving back to important programs. [New York Post]