While launching his new signature whiskey, Fraser & Thompson, Michael Bublé says his team wanted to name it after him, or one of his songs. Michael didn’t like that idea, so he came up with a different name — one he describes as honest, emotional and nostalgic — and inspired by his late grandfather.

Michael’s grandpa, a plumber, encouraged his interest in jazz standards, paid for his singing lessons and even offered his plumbing skills to nightclubs in exchange for them allowing Michael to sing there. So Michael named the whiskey after the place where they used to spend time together.

“He used to love taking us camping; we would go to where the mighty Fraser [River] and the glacier Thompson met,” Michael tells ABC Audio. “It’s gorgeous. But I think it was a parable. I think my grandfather was a pretty liberal guy.”

“The parable was much deeper than just two bodies of water,” he adds. “It was that two completely unique and different colors [and] flavors could, and would, not only meet to create something, but to create something spectacular.” 

“The imagery is perfect,” he notes. “It comes from an honest place where it’s emotional for me, and it’s nostalgic.”

And Michael’s so excited about being a whiskey entrepreneur that he’s temporarily put his music career on hold.

“I ended the tour and stopped putting [up] any other dates, so I made sure that I would be ready for this, that this would be 100% of my time,” he explains. “And it really is.” 

And Michael really does love the product.

“I feel that it has all the characteristics that a connoisseur might need, but I think it has the flavor, texture and smoothness that the people want,” he says. “We just need people to taste it.”

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