Review: J.P. Wiser’s Old Fashioned Whisky Cocktail   (70.5/100)
Reviewed by Chip Dykstra (Aka Arctic Wolf)
Posted January 05, 2020

J.P. Wiser’s was established in 1857, and Hiram Walker & Sons Limited currently produces their whisky at their Windsor, Ontario, distillery. Since 1935, J.P. Wiser’s has been the majority shareholder of Corby Spirit and Wine.

J.P. Wiser’s Old Fashioned Whisky Cocktail is bottles as a ready-to-serve cocktail. According to the company website the spirit is made from quality whisky, orange essence and natural flavour and is meant to bring the experience of the classic Old Fashioned Whisky Cocktail to the consumer in a format where it can be enjoyed or in other convenient settings.

The serving is meant to be enjoyed over ice with perhaps a twist of citrus garnish.

In the Bottle 4/5

As far as the bottle and label presentation goes, this is pretty standard stuff for J.P. Wiser’s. The square bottle is attractive and ergonomic, The label is professional and easy to read; however, I have my usual reservations regarding the metallic pressed on screw cap that screams bottom shelf even though this is priced at the mid shelf level.

In the Glass 7.5/10

When poured in my glass the spirit shows us a hue somewhere between amber and copper.  When the glass is swirled I see thickened  legs which amble back down to the spirit below rather quickly.

I thought I knew what to expect when I nosed the ready to drink spirit, but was surprised with an unexpected aroma of candied fruit combined with menthol and light peppermint.

Everything seems sweeter than it should be. As I let the glass breathe some fortunate scents of grain and oak spice break through; but they are taking a back seat to the candied sweetness.

In The Mouth 41/60

The positive aspect of the spirit is that it is smooth and easy to sip. The problem though, is that I think it is a stretch to say that what I am tasting resembles an Old Fashioned Whisky Cocktail. The serving is too sweet, and the whisky flavour has no depth.  Or perhaps the depth that it does have is swallowed up by candied maple, sweet orange liqueur and menthol.

Served over ice, the spirit is perhaps not as cloying; but it still not a good representation of an Old Fashioned Cocktail. I find the mixture disappointing.

In The Throat 11/15

The spirit is medium bodied which is a reflection of the heightened sweetness. For some reason I taste peppermint in the finish.

The Afterburn 7/10

As you can tell from the review, I am not a fan of J.P. Wiser’s Old Fashioned Whisky Cocktail. I find it much too sweet, and for some reason unbeknownst to me, there seems to be a ripple of unwanted menthol or mint-like flavour which doesn’t belong. The underlying whisky instead of being highlighted as it should be in an Old Fashioned is instead obscured by the unwanted mint and heightened sweetness.

You may read some of my other reviews of  Spiced and Flavoured Spirits (click the link) if you wish to have some comparative reviews.

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As always you may interpret the scores I provide as follows.

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 rum or whisky.  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 more 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)