Aged min. So Ed and Dayn enrolled in weeklong training at the Canadian Craft Distilling Institute in British Columbia in 2016 and then Kentucky’s Moonshine University in 2017 to learn the basics of distilling, from creating a mash bill to blending, bottling and packaging. Inspired by a 300-year-old pecan tree on the family’s former ranch, the bourbon maintains Texas flair thanks to the extra two months it spends aging with pieces of pecan wood, which add caramel, butterscotch and vanilla flavors.“It goes down like a piece of pecan pie,” Dayn says.Next, the duo plans to release a premium bourbon, but it won’t be ready for about two more years, they say. The distillery, tasting room and gift shop are expected to open to the public in 2022. Born out of one of the natural wonders of the Lone Star State, this 92-proof Bourbon Whiskey aged beautifully in American white oak barrels then spent extra time mellowing with added staves of Texas pecan wood. As a young adult in Manitoba, Canada, Hockey Hall of Famer Ed Belfour was always a rye whiskey drinker. “I finally figured out it was whiskey-coke or Jack and Coke.”That’s why on Oct. 1, when Ed and his son Dayn Belfour debut their original line of spirits, drinkers can expect to find two different rye whiskeys, as well as a bourbon aged partly on Texas pecan wood.
Finish: Long mellow warmth with a rich  mouthfeel layered with vanilla

In this, his second landmark career, Hockey Hall of Famer, Stanley Cup winner and Olympian Ed Belfour has teamed up with his son and daughter to translate his on-ice intensity into a new passion: hand-crafting ultra premium spirits that honor legends, warriors and everyday heroes. For Ed Belfour, hockey is just the beginning of the legacy he wishes to leave. From On-ice Intensity to Distillation Precision:  Since 2014, Ed and Dayn have been on an endless pursuit to learn all things whiskey, attending schools in Kentucky and Canada, exploring the finest ingredients and equipment, and talking with industry veterans and rookies alike. “We actually have a little bottle of [their liquor] in my dad’s fridge.”They had the equipment but no idea what to do with it. When trying to decide on their next venture, the North Texas-based father-son duo knew they wanted to do something that provided the same excitement and camaraderie they found on the ice.The idea to make spirits struck one night after watching the TV show “It turns out my grandpa and grandma were moonshiners,” Ed says.
And I like to look at our business like that, too.”While Ed began the licensing and permitting process, Dayn interned with Colorado’s Woody Creek Distillers, where he made whiskey during the day and gave the owners’ kids hockey lessons at night. Because “I got sent to the minors my first year pro with the Chicago Blackhawks and of course I didn’t want to be in the minors,” Ed says. When he moved to the U.S. to tend goal for teams like the Chicago Blackhawks and the Dallas Stars, Belfour maintained his taste for rye, even if American bars were slow to catch on.“Here in the U.S., you order a rye-Coke and they look at you like you have three heads,” he says. 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. We were honored to have the opportunity to interview 1999 Stanley Cup Champion, Eddie the Eagle. The nose offers melted caramel, buttered pecan, vanillin, oak, and subtle fruit. They’re currently scouting locations in Bowling Green, Bardstown and other places, and plan to have one picked by the end of the year.Until then, father and son hope Texans will “be part of the Belfour team,” as Dayn puts it, and toast with one of their spirits.