Agent for fine wines, spirits and beers in Atlantic Canada

Atlantic Canada consists of the four most easterly provinces  of Newfoundland, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island,  and New Brunswick. In these provinces, as in most of  Canada, sale of beverage alcohol products is controlled  by Provincial Government agencies. In general, sales 
except in licensed premises (restaurants, hotels, lounges,  pubs, etc.) are made through Government stores or stores  that act as agents of the Governments. Within each province, retail prices from stores are uniform for each product. 

The role of Mainbrace is to market the beverage alcohol products that we represent to final consumers, to licensees, to private wine stores, and to the Provincial Government agencies of Atlantic Canada.. We aim to enhance responsible enjoyment for consumers, to facilitate profitable sales for licensees and private wine stores, and to assist agencies in fulfilling their mandates.

 

What's in a name?

Splicing the Main Brace

Even though the daily issue of rum in Her Majesty's Canadian Ships was abolished in 1971, current regulations authorize seamen to receive a special issue of spirits in exceptional circumstances.  Soldiers and airmen may receive the same treatment when performing their duties "under unusual and difficult conditions."

There is a long tradition behind the special issue of spirits as may be seen from an order issued by General James Wolfe as he faced the task of attacking Quebec in the summer of 1759: "When rum is to be issued out to the troops on account of the badness of the weather, or their having suffered extraordinary fatigues, any soldier who is known to have disposed of his allowance to another . . shall . . be struck entirely out of the roll when rum is to be delivered out . . "  A century and a half after Wolfe, the Royal Canadian Dragoons, in their fighting march against the Boers from Bloemfontein towards Johannesburg and Pretoria, braced themselves against the bitter cold with "the thrice weekly issues of rum - two and a half ounces.  This warmed the stomachs and brightened the outlook . . "

Today in the Navy there is a relatively rare issue of rum which is announced by the order "Splice the Main Brace," when every officer and man in the ship's company receives two and a half ounces of spirits.  Such an occurrence is usually related to victory in battle such as V-E Day in 1945 or to observance of some happy occasion of national significance.  Such an occasion was celebrated on board HMCS Ontario, cruiser, in the port of Seattle, Washington in August 1950.  The crash of saluting guns shattered dockyard windows, and local residents, streaming down to the jetty-side to see what the noise was all about, happily joined the ship's company on the fo'c's'le and quarter-deck for the splicing of the main brace.  The occasion was the announcement of the birth of Her Royal Highness Princess Anne.

The order "splice the main brace" may only be given by Her Majesty the Queen or another member of the royal family, Her Excellency the Governor General, or the chief of the defense staff.

The expression itself has an interesting origin and is related to the theme of duty well done in exceptionally arduous conditions.  In a square-rigged ship, as most men-of-war were, the mainsail, the largest sail carried, was set on the mainyard at right at right angles to the mainmast.  The great mainsail has a vital role in the application of wind power to drive the ship ahead.  To exert the desired wind force, the yard with its sail had to be trimmed to a particular angle relative to the force of the wind and the course to be steered.  This was done by hauling on the main brace, a very important part of the rigging

To splice the main brace, that is, to repair or replace this heavy piece of rigging required great skill and speed on the part of the ship's company, a strenuous task even in  good weather, a dangerous one in foul weather.  It is aid that the expression "splice the main brace" dates from Captain James Cook's tiny squadron of 1773 when Lieutenant James Burney, commanding HMS Adventure, reported additional allowances of rum consumed under the heading "splice the main brace."