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Posts Tagged ‘Canadian Whisky’

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Review: Crown Royal Blender’s Mash (aka Crown Royal Bourbon Mash)

Posted by Arctic Wolf on November 9, 2018

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.

Last year Crown Royal introduced what they call their Blenders’ Series, a new line of special whiskies that celebrate the art of blending. The series is a tribute to their iconic Crown Royal Deluxe Whisky, and each release in the Crown Royal Blenders’ Series will showcase a classic whisky style. Last March the first release in that collection was unveiled as Crown Royal Blender’s Mash. The use of the word ‘bourbon’ created controversy when the Canadian Whisky was released in the USA as this was considered by many to be a violation of the US labeling rules regarding what can and cannot be called a bourbon whisky. This means that the spirit was soon re-branded in the US market as Crown Royal Blenders’ Mash.

Here is a link to my latest review:

Review: Crown Royal Blender’s Mash (aka Crown Royal Bourbon Mash)

“… The aroma from the glass is very ‘bourbon-like’ with notes of fresh oak and cedar melded with corn and vanilla. Light notes of honeycomb and graham wafer can be found as well as some finer oak spices. Given some time in the glass some fruitiness develops with scents of green apple and under ripe pears, as well as bits of orange peel and almond …”

Please enjoy my review of this new Canadian Whisky, Chimo!

 

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Review: Canadian Club Premium Whisky

Posted by Arctic Wolf on October 10, 2018

Today Canadian Club Premium is the flagship brand for the company. Although it was previously aged for a minimum of 6 years in white oak barrels, the brand carries no longer carries an age statement. The aforementioned Canadian Club website now reports:

” … Our best-selling, flagship whisky is where most folks begin their whisky journey. This is the one that started the legend. A giant of Canadian whisky since 1858, it’s aged longer than the 3 years required by law in oak barrels before bottling for the smoothest possible flavour. …” 

If you have been paying attention to the new television ads, you will have noticed that Canadian Club has been touting their flagship whisky with a new advertisement featuring the outstanding score (92/100) which Jim Murray (revered whisky critic) recently gave the spirit. This high score is quite a bit north of the last score I published two years ago. However when I learned of Jim Murray’s high score, I couldn’t resist checking my recent private score when I served as a juror for the 2018 Canadian Whisky Awards. Indeed, I found that I also had scored the whisky somewhat higher for those awards than I had in my past review.

So I decided to revisit Canadian Club Premium to see if these observations held up when I tasted the spirit in isolation.

Here is a link to my new review:

Review: Canadian Club Premium Whisky 

“… The initial aroma brings fine wood spice, light vanilla butterscotch and almond scents with a mild grassy/herbal impression. As the glass sits, I notice a slight thickening of the aroma. Spicy fine oak permeates the breezes with caramel toffee beginning to develop from the wood spice, the butterscotch and the vanilla …”

Please enjoy my latest look at Canadian Club Premium.

Chimo!

 

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Review: Caribou Crossing Single Barrel Canadian Whisky

Posted by Arctic Wolf on September 23, 2018

According to the Sazerac website, their company is a direct result of the famous cocktail which bears the same name. It began in 1938 when Antoine Peychaud created a special drink for his guests to enjoy in the evenings at his apothecary in the French Quarter’s Royal Street. He would mix brandy, absinthe and a dash of his secret bitters for his guests. This special drink became quite popular and began to appear in the various coffee-house’ establishments in New Orleans. One such establishment, the Sazerac Coffee House became so popular serving their version of the drink (made with Sazerac de Forge et Fils Brandy) that it became known as the Sazerac Cocktail.

In 1869, Thomas H. Handy purchased the Sazerac Coffeehouse, and by the 1890′s the coffee-house and its growing business interests had become chartered as the Sazerac Company. Although, the company is based in New Orleans, its holdings include many of  North America’s most popular distilling companies, the Buffalo Trace Distillery, A. Smith Bowman, the Glenmore Distillery, and more.

Canadian whisky by volume is the best-selling whisky in North America. Despite the spirit’s obvious popularity, the perception of this class of whisky (among many spirits writers and whisky critics) is that the Canadian spirit was in the past thin and uninteresting. The landscape however, appears to be changing rapidly, especially at the premium end of the whisky market, where the Canadian spirit has seen strong growth in market share. Recognizing this trend, the Sazerac Company has recently made a push towards the premium end of the Canadian Whisky market with many new brands put forward over the past several years. Caribou Crossing is one such premium brand.

Caribou Crossing is what is known as a Single Barrel Whisky. From the company’s inventory of over 200,000 barrels of Canadian whisky, Sazerac’s whisky making team selects what they deem to be some of the very finest barrels. Each of these chosen barrels is bottled individually capturing its unique flavour. This means that each individual barrel offers a unique taste experience for the Canadian whisky connoisseur.

Here is a link to my recently revised review of this wonderful Single Barrel Whisky:

Review: Caribou Crossing Single Barrel Canadian Whisky

“… The lightly buttered mouth-feel gives the Caribou Crossing a little length in the exit featuring flavours of oak, corn and butterscotch which trail down the throat. After the whisky is swallowed, sweet honeycomb lingers on the palate and the glowing embers of disappearing rye spices leave their imprint …”

Please enjoy the review, Chimo!

 

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Review: Gooderham and Worts Little Trinity

Posted by Arctic Wolf on August 26, 2018

Corby Spirit and Wine Limited has added yet another premium brand to its Gooderham and Worts whisky line-up, Gooderham and Worts Little Trinity (Three Grain) Canadian Whisky. The whisky pays homage to the former whisky giant, Gooderham and Worts which in the latter half of the 19th century was the largest spirits producer in Canada. (The company was founded in the early to mid-nineteenth century by James Worts and his brother-in-law William Gooderham.)

Gooderham and Worts Little Trinity is named for the oldest surviving Toronto area church (Little Trinity Church) established by William Gooderham in 1842. The church was established for his mill and distillery workers who could not afford the high pew fees in the nearby  local churches. In keeping with the theme of the Holy Trinity, the whisky is produced from three grains, corn, wheat and rye (I’ll leave it to you to decide which is the Father, which is the Son, and which is the Holy Spirit).

Here is a link to my full review:

Review: Gooderham and Worts Little Trinity

“… The breezes above the glass bring merry notes of rye spice and oak sap complimented by maple and toffee. Vanilla wafts into the air along with some lightly sweet corn syrup. Then I notice damp straw, some fresh leather and tobacco. There is also some almond-like nuttiness which soon melds with the vanilla and the corn-like sweetness to bring me an impression of marzipan …”

Please enjoy my review.

Chimo!

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Review: J.P. Wiser’s 15 Year Old Canadian Whisky

Posted by Arctic Wolf on July 29, 2018

John Philip (J.P.) Wiser, purchased a distillery in Prescott Ontario in 1857, and began to produce Wiser’s Whisky.  In fact, it may have been J.P. Wiser who first used the term “Canadian Whiskey” on a whisky label when he introduced his spirit to the World at the Chicago’s World Fair in 1893. Today Wiser’s is distilled at the Hiram Walker Distillery in Walkerville, Ontario, and aged in their facilities at Pike Creek near Lakeshore Ontario. Through all of these changes the Wiser’s Brand has been recognized as a vital component of each company’s portfolio of brands.

J.P. Wiser’s 15 Year Old Canadian Whisky (bottled at 40% alcohol by volume) was recently released across Canada.

Here is a link to my full review:

Review: J.P. Wiser’s 15 Year Old Canadian Whisky

” … Smooth and yummy with a rich toffee-like flavour of wood and grain spices melded butterscotch and maple. Canned fruit as noted above is joined by light impressions of raisins and a very light cherry-like impression similar to red licorice (Turkish Delight). The vanilla has joined with the orange peel bringing impressions of marmalade. Rich tobacco and new leather with an underpinning of almond syrup …”

Chimo!

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