Canadian Club was, as advertised, my father’s favourite whisky. He loved the brand, and whenever we had some sort of important occasion he insisted that the only whisky we could serve was Canadian Club. So when I began to review spirits, and began to earn my reputation, the one person I could never win over with my reviews was my Dad. He didn’t care what I wrote, or how popular my reviews were, if I didn’t say that Canadian Club was the best whisky in Canada, then I obviously didn’t know what I was talking about.
Don’t get me wrong, I like Canadian Club Whisky, In fact I like their entire range. But, I just didn’t share my Dad’s passion for the brand. Fortunately though, we did manage find some common ground. I brought him a bottle of the Canadian Club 20 Year Old. He loved it, and I loved it too. When we would have a glass together, he would mix his dram with ginger ale, and, just to make sure he didn’t think that I was trying to put on airs, I mixed my dram with ginger-ale too.
That summer, whenever I would pop over, we would share a glass together in the evening, mixed with ginger-ale of course. The memories I have of sharing that bottle with my Dad has placed the Canadian Club 20 Year Old well into my list of favourite Canadian Whiskies. And although Dad passed away several yeas ago, I still keep a bottle on hand. When the occasion suits me I have a small dram in the evening, sometimes neat, but usually mixed with ginger-ale to honour my Dad.
Here is a link to my review:
Review: Canadian Club 20 Year Old Whisky
Chimo!
Alberta Premium is a brand that doesn’t get a whole lot exposure outside of my home Province. It’s not that the brand is unknown, Jim Murray did name it the Best Whisky in Canada for about five years in a row in the mid to late 2000’s; but after that initial hype died down the brand has sort of settled back into the rear view of the consumer’s consciousness.
Forty Creek Double Barrel Reserve was launched in the fall of 2008. The whisky was a more premium version of the companies flagship Forty Creek Whisky except that for the Double Barrel Reserve one more step was taken in the maturation process with the final blend set down in first run bourbon barrels for a final period of aging. The release was very successful, and Forty Creek soon made this whisky part of their permanent family.
Hiram Walker Special Old is one of those whiskies which I have enjoyed for decades. The first time I purchased a bottle was when my family and I had just bought a small rustic cabin at Alberta Beach on Lac St. Anne. The place had no running water or indoor plumbing, just fours with on old cook stove in the kitchen, a fire pit in the back.
Crown Royal Northern Rye took the world by storm when it was introduced in released in 2015. The main reason for this was that World renowned whisky guru, Jim Murray (in one of his most controversial selections) declared the Northen Rye to be thebest whisky in the entire world that year.
The Rum Howler Blog 