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.
According to the Corby Website information which I recorded in 2016:
Lot No. 40 is expertly distilled in small batches using only the finest locally sourced ingredients. By distilling in a single copper pot still, the result is a whisky that starts off earthy and woody tasting and then becomes full bodied and complex with a velvety vanilla oak finish.
Recently, Corby released a very exclusive brand addition to the Lot 40 Line-up, the limited edition Lot No. 40 18 Year Old Cask Strength. This is the oldest, and most exclusive expression of Lot No. 40 produced to date. It is a Single Barrel Whisky that was hand selected by Dr. Livermore which was limited to fewer than 150 bottles in total. The expression was bottled at cask strength (56.5 %) and limited to only 130 bottles produced.
I believe the expression has sold out. However, I provide this review such that if such a release were to be offered again, you might have some idea of what might be in store.
Here is a link to the full review:
Review: Lot No. 40 18 Year Old Cask Strength
I hope you enjoy the review, and let us also hope that more releases of this wonderful whisky are on the way.
Chimo!
Highland Park Distillery is located in the Highlands of Scotland on the Island of Orkney which is famous for its heather rich meadows, and its unique organic Orcadian peat. The 18 Year Old Highland Park Whisky (Viking Pride) is the part of the new core range of the distillery, which includes as well the 10 Year Old (Viking Scars) and the 12 Year Old (Viking Honour).
Great Plains Craft Spirits are located in Calgary, Alberta. They are a small company which sources special whiskies for blending and finishing. The intent is to offer to the marketplace limited edition bottlings which feature custom blending and cask finishes. These whiskies can be quite rare with batches as small as two barrels as well as larger projects (up to this point) of up to twenty-four barrels.
The 18 Year Old Canadian Whisky from J.P. Wiser’s has been on my list of favourites for years. In fact, not too many years ago, if someone would ask me what I thought the best whisky in Canada was, without hesitation I would say Wiser’s 18 Year Old. And you know what, that still might be true, because this is one really great whisky, full of fine oak spice. In fact, it is this fine oak spice that defines the whisky. You see, when a whisky ages or matures in oak, the first couple of years the whisky picks up vanillans and caramels from the barrel pretty easily, but once we get beyond those first few years, the major flavour attribute the barrel gives to the whisky is a fine spiciness that continues to grow the longer the whisky rests within.
The Tomatin Distillery is located in the Monadhliath Mountains near Inverness, the capital of the Highlands of Scotland. The Distillery was established in 1897. (For those who do not know, the term “established in 1897″ is a code term which represents an acknowledgement by the distillery that the company began to legally pay taxes on the spirits it produced in that year. When the Distillery actually began to produces spirits is not acknowledged.) Because of its location in the Monadhliath Mountains, Tomatin is one of the highest distilleries (elevation wise) in Scotland at 315 metres above sea level. In 1985 as the Distillery was expanded and was at that time renamed, The Tomatin Distillery Co Ltd.. The company now operates 12 stills, in a process which perhaps more closely resembles a large-scale industrial factory rather than a typical Single Malt Distillery. This is because the distillery has always been a large-scale producer of whisky for Scotland’s major blends. However, Tomatin has recently began to focus their efforts on also producing their own Single Malt Whisky as well as establishing their own brand identity.
The Rum Howler Blog 