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Archive for the ‘Canadian Whisky’ Category

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Review: Rupert’s Exceptional Canadian Whisky

Posted by Arctic Wolf on April 29, 2022

The folks at Eau Claire pride themselves in sourcing locally farmed ingredients, including grains and potatoes from neighbouring farms. Each ingredient is secured from suppliers who are known and respected in Alberta’s agriculture profession. In addition to the direct from the farm suppliers, Eau Claire has a special connection to the land through its own, unique stable of plough horses. Horse farmed grain is a part of the Eau Claire story and culture. It was founder David Farran’s weekend pursuit of traditional horse farming that led him to establish Eau Claire in the first place. A number of the distillery’s products have been made with ‘horse farmed grain’ using agricultural methods dating back to the settlement of Alberta.

Here is a link to my full review of their Rupert’s Exceptional Canadian Whisky.

Review: Rupert’s Exceptional Canadian Whisky

“… Fine oak spices with hints of butterscotch, mild vanilla and almond.  Light baking spices in the form of ginger, nutmeg and orange peel begin to climb up, and perhaps we have a few indication of banana as well …”

I hope you enjoy my review, as well as the recipe suggestion which follows, the Canadian Cooler.

Chimo!

 

Posted in Canadian Whisky, Whisk(e)y, Whisk(e)y Review, Whisky Review | Tagged: , , , , | Comments Off on Review: Rupert’s Exceptional Canadian Whisky

Review:  Lot No. 40 Dark Oak 100 % Rye Whisky  

Posted by Arctic Wolf on April 20, 2022

Last year Corby, owners of the J.P. Wiser’s Brand offered us a brand extension to their popular Lot No. 40 Rye Whisky line-up with the introduction of two new additions, Lot No. 40 Dark Oak and Lot No. 40 18 Year Old Cask Strength. Lot No. 40 was first released in the 1990’s as an upscale connoisseur’s whisky for the North American market. Alas, timing is everything, and according to Don Livermore (Master Blender for Corby and J.P. Wiser’s branded whiskies), the whisky never really caught on as the market wasn’t quite ready for this new style of Canadian Whisky. However, with an upsurge of interest in Canadian Whisky across North America (and in particular at the premium end of the market), Corby (the owner of the Wiser’s Brand), relaunched the whisky in 2012.

Lot No. 40 Dark Oak has apparently been released a bigger, bolder version of Lot No. 40 Rye Whisky. This is a 100% rye grain whisky, distilled upon a pot still, and aged first in new American Oak barrels and then finished in a second new oak barrel however this finishing barrel is this time heavily charred (Char No. 4) to add more flavour and colour.

Here is a link to my full review:

Review: Lot No. 40 Dark Oak

“… Woody notes filled with sap and tannin. Honeycomb and raisin with canned peaches and apricots clinging in the background. Allspice and nutmeg with hints of clove and cinnamon. Bitter vanillans, Macintosh Apples, bittersweet chocolate and wiffs of charcoal smoke …

I hope you enjoy my review. I will be visiting more of the Lot No. 40 Line-up in the coming weeks.

Chimo!

Posted in Canadian Whisky, Whisk(e)y, Whisk(e)y Review, Whisky Review | Tagged: , , , , , | Comments Off on Review:  Lot No. 40 Dark Oak 100 % Rye Whisky  

Review: Crown Crown Winter Wheat

Posted by Arctic Wolf on April 14, 2022

The Crown Royal Noble Collection is a series of whiskies that have been released on an annual basis since 2016. The Collection showcases Crown Royal whiskies with new flavour profiles by blending different components of the various whiskies that go into the Crown Royal blend and/or using different finishing techniques in maturing the company’s flagship whisky.

The Crown Royal Winter Wheat is the sixth expression of the Noble Collection. It is a limited-edition whisky with mash bill heavily influenced with hearty winter wheat (51%) combined with corn (39%), and malted barley 10%.

I first became aware of this newest edition to the Noble family when I encountered the spirit when serving as a juror for the recent 2022 Canadian Whisky Awards. This spirit, identified to me only as Sample Number 156 at the time, was one of those samples which caught my attention while I was judging the various spirits. It came as no surprise to me when that particular sample was identified by the other judges as something special, and the spirit subsequently was named Canada’s best whisky and Canadian Whisky of the Year 2022 at the twelfth annual Canadian Whisky Awards.

Here is a link to my review of this remarkable whisky:

Review: Crown Crown Winter Wheat

“… Deep notes of rich oak and honeycomb with luscious toffee and toasted walnuts greet the nose. Robust corn notes join with the oak giving the glass a little bit of a bourbon quality. The winter wheat breaks through soon thereafter bringing notes reminiscent of burly rye grain …”

Please enjoy my review.

Chimo!

Posted in Canadian Whisky, Whisk(e)y, Whisk(e)y Review | Tagged: , , , , | Comments Off on Review: Crown Crown Winter Wheat

Review: Macaloney’s Caledonian Oaken Poitin Whisky

Posted by Arctic Wolf on March 3, 2021

For the past few weeks I have been reviewing the recent Canadian Whisky releases from the Macaloney Caledonian Distillery.  Today I am looking at Oaken Poitin which is a Irish inspired triple distilled spirit matured in select STR (shave-toast-rechar) Portuguese red wine barriques. According to the distillery this is the first triple-distilled pot still whisky spirit sold in Canada and one of the first outside of Ireland.

The Macaloney Caledonian Distillery began producing spirit which had reached the required maturity to be sold as Canadian Whisky in 2020. Their world-class distillery is built on a foundation of traditional Forsyth’s copper pot stills. Using Canadian barley, with island water the distillery produces a range of produces a small range of Island Whiskies.

Here is a link to my review of their Single Malt Whisky matured in red wine barriques:

Review: Macaloney’s Caledonian Oaken Poitin Whisky

“… The impressions formed on the nose translate very well to the palate in terms of taste descriptors with perhaps the grain spice dominating the oak to some extent. Leather, gooseberry, and hints of red wine add some dimension and this is joined by mild impressions of vanilla and butterscotch …”

Please enjoy my review which continues a series of reviews of the new whiskies from the Macaloney Caledonian Distillery.

Chimo!

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Canadian Club 43 Year Old is Named Canada’s 2021 Best Whisky

Posted by Arctic Wolf on February 27, 2021

The news was released this past Thursday, Canadian Club 43 Year Old (The Speakeasy) was named the Best Canadian Whisky of 2021 by nine independent whisky experts at the eleventh annual Canadian Whisky Awards. The majestic spirit was also named Canada’s Connoisseur Whisky of the Year.

As a bit of a history refresher about this grand spirit, for each of the past three years Canadian Club has been releasing Canada’s oldest age stated Whisky. And each year that release has been getting one year older. It started in 2017 with the Canadian Club 40 Year Old .

Canadian Club 40 Year Old was produced from a selection of American Oak barrels which contained 100% corn whisky. The whisky was released in part to commemorate Canada’s 150 Anniversary, and was available with full distribution across Canada in the fall of 2017. In 2018 we learned that Canadian Club hadn’t emptied all of those 100 % Corn Whisky Barrels, those that hadn’t been used were now one year older. In the fall of 2018, Canadian Club released what they called Canadian Club Chronicles – 41 Year Old Whisky (The Water of Windsor), again using some of those same barrels; but this time adding a small amount of cognac, rye and sherry to the final blend. Then in 2019 the cycle was repeated as Canadian Club released Canadian Club Chronicles Issue 2 – 42 Year Old Whisky (The Dock Man). This time to offer some distinction in the blend, the whisky was blended with a 16 Year Old Rye Whisky, a 12 Year Old Pot Distilled Rye and a small amount of Brandy.

Which brings us to 2020 and the release of Canadian Club Chronicles Issue 3 – 43 Year Old Whisky (The Speakeasy) which has apparently been freshened with a dash of 11 Year Old Rye whisky. I recently tasted the new 43 Year Old and thought I would share my thoughts.

Here is a link to my full review which was published prior to the review announcement:

Review: Canadian Club Chronicles Issue 3

“… The nose grows and grows as you let the glass breathe becoming almost breathtaking as the richness unfolds. Rum-like scents of molasses, Cognac-like aromas of raisins and dry fruit, Bourbon-like notes of corn and honeycomb seem to be all combined together with sticky marmalade and yummy nougat thrown in for good measure. And yes, that dash of rye seems to be playing a roll brightening the breezes without taking the shine from the sumptuous aroma …”

Enjoy the review!

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About the Canadian Whisky Awards

The annual Canadian Whisky Awards, broadcast online in 2021, are normally held in conjunction with the Victoria Whisky Festival. The awards recognize the very best Canadian whiskies, and are intended to encourage distillers to maintain the highest quality standards. To qualify, each whisky must be distilled and matured in Canada. 

An independent panel of whisky experts selects the winners after tasting each whisky blind. In keeping with current trends in whisky connoisseurship, the jury includes both women and men tasters, who have made significant contributions to understanding Canadian whisky.

Here is a link to the full awards listing:  Canadian Whisky Awards 2021

Chimo!

 

Posted in Awards, Canadian Whisky, Whisk(e)y | Tagged: , , , , | Comments Off on Canadian Club 43 Year Old is Named Canada’s 2021 Best Whisky

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