Review: J.P. Wiser’s Lanny MacDonald Alumni Whisky
Posted by Arctic Wolf on November 6, 2019
J.P. Wiser’s Lanny McDonald Alumni Whisky is blended from 3 grains, predominantly corn but with a significant amount of wheat as well as barley. The higher than normal percentage of wheat is apparently an homage to Lanny McDonald’s prairie roots, and the three grains together are said to give the spirit a ‘well rounded’ character in keeping with Lanny’s well rounded play throughout his NHL career. The spirit has been aged 9 years (McDonald wore number 9 on his jersey). Apparently the corn and barley grain spirits were aged in ex-Canadian Whisky oak barrels and the wheat was aged in virgin oak.
Here is a link to my complete review:
Review: J.P. Wiser’s Lanny MacDonald Alumni Whisky
I hope you are enjoying this little review series, in a couple of days I will be tackling Wendel Clark. (Come to think of it, that guy is tough as nails, tackling him might not be such a wise move.)
Chimo!
Note: This whisky is a Canadian only release and is almost completely sold out across the country. Grab some while you still can if you are a collector.
3 Responses to “Review: J.P. Wiser’s Lanny MacDonald Alumni Whisky”
Sorry, the comment form is closed at this time.
The Rum Howler Blog 
Joel said
I find our palates usually line up pretty closely, but there’s a major divergence on this one. I’m a big fan of (almost) everything Dr Don Livermore puts out, but this whisky was a bottle of disappointment for me. I scored it a 68/100.
Tasting Notes:
Nose (undiluted): strong acetone/nailpolish remover/cheap vodka aromas, even after the bottle was opened for 6 months. After a very long rest in the glass, there’s some fresh-cut oak, a little caramel and vanilla, and not much else.
Palate (undiluted): thin mouthfeel. I guess you could call it “smooth”. There’s a bit more vanilla and caramel, pencil shavings, and a touch of barrel char.
Finish: short to medium length, somewhat drying, with a little toffee lingering.
Adding water makes this go from mediocre to unpleasant. With water it smells and tastes like nailpolish remover. The finish becomes unbearably bitter.
The bottle says “Canadian whisky barrels and virgin oak barrels”, but I didn’t get many of the rich, sweet notes I’d expect from virgin oak. The bottle says “wheat forward”, but I didn’t get any notes I’d associate with wheated whisky. I got a lot of flavours and aromas I associate with not quite grain neutral spirits, but pretty darned close to it, uhm, I mean “high-proof, base whisky”. And while this “base whisky” might work if left long enough in good barrels, that doesn’t seem to be the case here.
Arctic Wolf said
The rest of your comment was cut off. Maybe come back and let me know what you were going to say.
Arctic Wolf said
I seem to have lost the rest of your comment. Maybe circle back and let me know what you were going to say.