An infamous 1996 incident involving then-Prime Minister Jean Chretien and a protester has inspired a Quebec brewery to bottle a novelty beer.
Shawinigan, Que. brewery Le Trou du Diable is bottling Shawinigan Handshake, the beer had previously been available on draught. The beer's label even features a carricature of Chretien, a Shawinigan resident, choking the devil.
Isaac Tremblay, the owner of Le Trou du Diable, said he spoke to the former PM, who was excited to be featured on the beer.
"And one day last fall, I walked into the bar and there was Mr. Chrétien, sipping a Shawinigan Handshake," Tremblay told Postmedia News. He added that the PM thought it would be funny to offer his friends a Shawinigan Handshake.
The beer seems to be a hit. Tremblay said that early runs of the beer sold out quickly. And beer drinkers give Shawinigan Handshake an 86 out of 100 on ratebeer.com.
"This is a lot of fun to drink; the intensity level is not too high yet it is far from boring," said Martin T from Montreal.
"The Shawinigan handshake is the name of secret handshake that is only known the by the locals of Shawinigan, so if you don't know this secret handshake, just be grateful you don't live in Shawinigan," wrote user Glouglouburp on the site.