Review: Forty Creek Nanaimo Bar Cream   88/100
a Review by Chip Dykstra (Aka Arctic Wolf)
Posted December 03, 2020

Forty Creek has expanded their Cream Liquor portfolio this winter with a new offering inspired by the iconic Canadian dessert, the Nanaimo Bar.  Their Forty Creek Nanaimo Bar Cream is a product of Forty Creek’s finest spirits and fresh dairy cream combined with flavours of chocolate, vanilla, coconut and graham wafer. (A Nanaimo bar is made in three layers, a bottom wafer or cookie usually made with nuts and coconut crumb; a custard icing in the middle; and a layer of thick chocolate cream icing on top.)

The spirit was created to be served over ice, or as a cream supplement with you favourite coffee. I have a few other ideas as you will see in the review.

Forty Creek Nanaimo Bar Cream is bottled at 15 % alcohol by volume, and is meant as an after dinner drink to be sipped on its own or in your afternoon coffee.

In the Bottle 4.5/5

Forty Creek Nanaimo Bar Cream is sold in a dark brown, medium-tall whisky bottle. In fact this is the same bottle which houses the Forty Creek Barrel Select Whisky. I like the bottle, and I like the colourful label with those Nanaimo bars pictured which make my mouth water. The bottle seems to catch my eye every time I see it on the shelf. And of course, that is the point of a good presentation. It should catch your eye in a positive way, and perhaps stir the inkling within the observer, that whatever is inside must be worth investigating.

In the Glass 8.5/10

The cream liquor was darker than I expected when I poured it into my glass with a colour reminiscent of mocha coffee or chocolate milk. The aroma is very reminiscent of true Nanaimo bars albeit with the sweetness of the Canadian confection scaled back by an order of magnitude. That paired back sweetness is a good thing as the sweetness of real Nanaimo bars can overwhelm the palate quickly.

I notice scents of light butterscotch and chocolate, hints of coconut, indications of crumbly cookie wafer, and perhaps (although I may be imagining it) a touch of pecan and almond nuttiness in the air.

In the Mouth 53/60

I had chilled the bottle of Forty Creek Cream in my refrigerator for a few days before I tasted it. I was surprised that the spirit was not as thick and creamy as I was expecting. It has more of a consistency of chocolate milk than of a typical cream liquor. The flavour is wonderful though. As was indicated on the nose the cream has a mild chocolate sweetness and we can readily taste the mild but delicious flavours of the Canadian Nanaimo bar.  Chocolate, vanilla, hints of coconut, and a touch of underlying nuttiness and graham wafer.

Forty Creek recommends sipping over ice, but I found I enjoyed the cream liquor much better without the melting ice in my glass. I also tried some in my coffee, and as I expected it tasted just fine indeed. My best suggestion for enjoyment though, goes an entirely different direction. It is a cocktail of sorts which mixes the flavourful Campari’s Appleton Estate 8 Year Old Reserve Rum with Forty Creek’s Nanaimo Bar Cream. Here is the recipe:

Rum and Nanaimo Cream

1/2 oz Appleton Estate 8 Year Old Reserve Rum
1 oz Forty Cream Nanaimo Cream

Add both ingredients into you metal shaker
Shake over ice
Strain into a small glass

Serve and Enjoy!

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In the Throat 13/15

Coconut and chocolate seem to linger the longest with of course that light butterscotch sweetness.

The Afterburn 9/10

Forty Creek has created a delightful Canadian Cream Liquor. I was delighted to be able to taste all of the flavours of the Nanaimo Bar and I was just as delighted that the sweetness of this dessert liquor was kept in check. For myself the spirit ticks all of the boxes!

You may read some of my other Cream Liqueur Reviews (click the link) if you wish to have some comparative reviews of some of the other Creme Liqueurs I have reviewed.

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Each Review contains a rating or score out of 100, and these scores can be interpreted using the following scale:

0-25     A spirit with a rating this low would actually kill you.
26-49   Depending upon your fortitude you might actually survive this.
50 -59  You are safe to drink this…but you shouldn’t.
60-69   Substandard swill which you may offer to people you do not want to see again.
70-74    Now we have a fair mixing spirit.  Accept this but make sure it is mixed into a cocktail.
75-79    You may begin to serve this to friends, again probably still cocktail territory.
80-84    We begin to enjoy this spirit neat or on the rocks. (I will still primarily mix cocktails)
85-89    Excellent for sipping or for mixing!
90-94    Definitely a primary sipping spirit, in fact you may want to hoard this for yourself.
95-97.5 The Cream of the Crop
98+       I haven’t met this bottle yet…but I want to.

Very loosely we may put my scores into terms that you may be familiar with on a Gold, Silver, and  Bronze medal  scale as follows:

70 – 79.5    Bronze Medal (Recommended only as a mixer)
80 – 89.5     Silver Medal (Recommended for sipping and or a high quality mixer)
90 – 95         Gold Medal (Highly recommended for sipping and for sublime cocktails.)
95.5+            Platinum Award (Highest Recommendation)