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
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!
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