8 Seconds is a new Canadian Whisky from Frank-Lin Distillers, Products Ltd. who have been a bottler and producer of distilled spirits since Frank Maestri founded the company in 1966. (Frank-Lin currently operates out of their new facility in Fairfield California with annual capacity of over 10 million cases of wines and spirits.)
The 8 Seconds brand is marketed with a direct tie to the western rodeo as it makes its push into the North American marketplace. (In case you are wondering, 8 seconds is the amount of time a cowboy must ride a bucking bull, or a bucking bronco, in the rodeo contest before the bell signals his ride is complete.) The whisky itself is a pretty straight forward offering, distilled in Canada and aged in oak. It is (I assume) shipped in bulk from Canada to Frank-Lin’s facility in Fairfield, California for bottling. The whisky has no age statement; but I note that the more premium 8 Seconds Black carries a statement of 8 years. I presume that the less premium 8 Seconds Blended Canadian Whisky would be somewhat younger than that.
You may click on the excerpt to read my full review:
Review: 8 Seconds Blended Canadian Whisky
Please enjoy the review and my cocktail which follows, the Prescott!
Note: The sample was provided by River Valley Beverage Group
Crown Royal Canadian Whisky is currently produced in Gimli, Manitoba, at the Crown Royal Distillery. The distillery and the brand are owned by the spirits conglomerate, Diageo, and I think it is fair to say that Crown Royal is Diageo’s flagship Canadian Whisky brand. A couple of years ago Crown Royal Black was introduced as an addition to the Crown Royal family of whiskies. This new Crown Royal Black is a bit of a departure from the rest of the Crown Royal line-up featuring a stronger bourbon profile in the whisky through the use of new charred oak barrels during a portion of the maturation process of the whisky. It is bottled at 45% alcohol by volume and is intended as a robust alternative to their best-selling Crown Royal Whisky.
Founder, John Philip (J.P.) Wiser, purchased a distillery in Prescott, Ontario in 1857, and began to produce Wiser’s Whisky. In fact the J.P. Wiser Distillery may have been the first to use the term “Canadian Whiskey’ on their labels, as this is how the whisky was proudly introduced at the 1893 Chicago’s Wold’s Fair. From the beginning, J.P. Wiser established his brand as a quality whisky with high standards of production. As a result the distillery grew, as did the popularity of his style of whisky. By the early 1900′s Wiser’s was the third largest distiller of whisky in Canada.
Although Adelphi Distillers are primarily known for their selection of Single Cask Malt Whiskies, I have discovered that they also produce a fine blended whisky they call the Adelphi Private Stock. It is bottled at 40 % and is a blend of 4 grains combined with a high proportion of aged Single Malts from the west coast and the Speyside regions of Scotland. The whisky was originally known as “Granny’s Blend” because it was created for the grandmother of Adelphi’s previous owner, Jamie Walker.
Lot No. 40 (Single Copper Pot Still) Canadian Whisky was first released in the 1990′s as an upscale connoisseur’s whisky for the North American market. Alas, timing is everything, and the whisky never really caught on, as apparently the market wasn’t quite ready for such a new style of Canadian Whisky back then. However, with the new surge 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), is optimistic that the time for this whisky has finally arrived.
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