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Posts Tagged ‘Canadian Whisky’

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Review of Potter’s Special Old Rye Whisky

Posted by Arctic Wolf on December 28, 2010

Potter’s Special Old Rye Whisky was originally produced by Potter’s Distilleries (founded by Ernie Potter in 1958). When Highwood Distillers finalized the purchase of Potter’s Distilleries in 2005, they brought all of the aging whisky stocks from the Potter’s warehouse facilities in Kelowna, British Colombia to their new warehouse facility in High River, Alberta and continued to let them age at their site in the foothills just east of the Rocky Mountains. From these aging whisky stocks Highwood has kept the Potter’s Whisky brands alive, incorporating them into their portfolio of whisky products.

Potter’s Special Old Rye Whisky is primarily a corn-based whisky which has been aged in charred American White Oak barrels for 4 – 5 years.  As per Canadian tradition, the whisky is labeled as a “Rye Whisky” because of the rye flavour profile which has been imparted by adding a percentage of aged rye grain whisky to the blend.  The bottle I am reviewing was given to me by Allan Owen, the Highwood Distillers Sales Rep in my area.

Here is an excerpt from my review:

“…A clean spicy rye is out in front carried by light oak and the combination delivers a nice wonderful mouth-feel full of what I can only term as old-time traditional Canadian Whisky flavour. In fact this might just be the closest that I have come to recapturing the Canadian Whisky flavour that I remember from my younger days…”

You may read the full review here:

Review: Potters Special Old Rye Whisky

Please enjoy the review and the cocktail that follows.

Posted in Canadian Whisky, Cocktails & Recipes, Whisk(e)y, Whisk(e)y Review | Tagged: , , , , | 2 Comments »

Arctic Wolf’s Christmas Eggnog

Posted by Arctic Wolf on December 21, 2010

This year I am going to re-post my favourite recipe for the Christmas Eggnog.  This is a simple recipe in terms of ingredients, but it will require a bit of a baker’s touch get it just right. I switched up the Rum and the Whisky in the recipe from last year and found it to be as good as ever.

Arctic Wolf’s Christmas Eggnog
(This makes about four servings. )

3 eggs at room temperature, (yolk and whites  separated)
3/8 cup sugar (for the yolks)
3 tablespoons sugar (for the whites)
1/4 teaspoon vanilla
a touch fresh ground cloves (About 1/16 of a teaspoon)
a pinch of fresh grated nutmeg (About 1/8 of a teaspoon)
a dash of fresh ground cinnamon (About 3 /16 of a teaspoon)
1 1/2 cups whipping cream, chilled
1 cup whole milk
1/2 cup dark rum ( Mount Gay Gold Eclipse)
2/3 cup Canadian Whisky (Potters Special Old)

……………………………………………………..

First the yolks

Separate your egg yolks and your egg whites in two bowls. Whisk the first amount of sugar and the vanilla into the egg yolks.   A a touch of  ground cloves, a pinch of nutmeg and a dash of cinnamon into the yolk bowl.   Add the cream, the milk and the rum and whisky (for adult consumption only). Make sure everything is mixed thoroughly.

Now the whites

This is where a baker’s touch is necessary.
Beat the egg whites until they form soft peaks (3-4 minutes). Add the second amount of sugar slowly during this beating process.

Now we combine

Gently and with large circular motions blend the egg white mixture into the yolk mixture, trying to keep things as ‘poofy’ as possible.

Sprinkle a little left over spice on the top of each glass, and enjoy with your favourite chocolates!

Merry Christmas Everyone!

Posted in Cocktails & Recipes, Howls | Tagged: , , , | Comments Off on Arctic Wolf’s Christmas Eggnog

Introducing: The Canadian Whisky Awards 2010

Posted by Arctic Wolf on December 5, 2010

Davin de Kergommeaux has hit upon an idea which I think is just Grand, The first ever independent Canadian Whisky Awards! I came up with my Rum Howler Awards earlier this year where I sought to give credit to various impressive rums and whiskies which I felt had set the mark for excellence during the past year. And now Davin builds on that, at least with respect to Canadian Whisky. These Canadian Whisky Awards highlight not only the best quality whiskies made in Canada, but also special achievements by Canadian Whisky Distillers.

Why am I excited? Mainly because of the knowledge I have for the outstanding contributions Davin has made in bringing forward recognition of Canadian Whisky as a world-class spirit. You see Davin has the credibility to make these awards meaningful for whisky companies as well as for whisky connoisseurs. He is a professionally trained sommelier who is well acquainted with not only Canadian Whisky, but also all of the other great whiskies of the world. He is an experienced whisky taster and writer who is a much sought after judge at international whisky competitions.

The Awards will be unveiled tomorrow, December 6, on Davin’s Website, Canadianwhisky.org! Based upon what I know of the thoroughness of Davin’s research and the quality of his work, these awards are sure to become prominent markers of excellence on the Canadian Whisky landscape.  Great Job Davin! I look forward to reading the selections for the first Canadian Whisky Awards 2010!

Posted in Canadian Whisky, Howls, Whisk(e)y | Tagged: , | 2 Comments »

Highwood Canadian Rye Whisky

Posted by Arctic Wolf on November 30, 2010

The Highwood Distillery is the only locally (Albertan) owned distillery in the world. It sits in the heart of the High River community, producing more than 300,000 cases of bottled spirits per year. Although the bulk of their production goes towards Vodka, Flavoured Vodka, and Premixes, they also produce a sizable amount of Canadian Whisky each year. I guess you could say that I am partial to a success story that has occurred right in my own back yard, and I love to sample and review the spirits which Highwood Distillers produce.

I consider the Highwood Canadian Whisky to be a unique product unlike anything else on the whisky landscape (I also find it very tasty). What is so original about the Highwood Whisky is the grain from which it is distilled. Highwood uses local Canadian prairie wheat for the distillation base of all of their Highwood branded whisky. This is because wheat alcohol, rather than barley or corn alcohol, has less heavy non-digestible components. This makes for an extremely smooth easy to drink whisky. After sampling most of the Highwood Whisky range, I have come to the conclusion that they are making some of the smoothest whisky in the world.

At the recent Rocky Mountain Wine and Food Festival, I reconnected with Allan Owen, the Highwood sales Rep in my area. We had a nice chat, and he offered to drop a few more samples of whisky for me to review. The first of these samples was the Highwood Canadian Rye Whisky.

This is a Canadian whisky made from wheat grain which has been aged for at least five years in charred American white oak barrels. It is blended with an aged rye grain whisky to produce that distinctive Canadian ‘rye’ flavour profile.  Here is an excerpt from my review:

“…The first thing I noticed about the Highwood Whisky as I sipped it was that it is a smooth, gentle, and mellow whisky which has the soft sensation in the mouth of a much older whisky. Honeycomb, ginger, wood spice, and a light dab of vanilla all support a wonderfully clean, dusty rye flavour….”

You may read the full review by clicking this link:

Review: Highwood Canadian Rye Whisky

Posted in Canadian Whisky, Cocktails & Recipes, Whisk(e)y, Whisk(e)y Review | Tagged: , , , , | Comments Off on Highwood Canadian Rye Whisky

Introducing: Sweet Sippin’ Canadian Maple Whisky

Posted by Arctic Wolf on November 23, 2010

My Rum Chums, (Dennis and Lucas), were out and about at the Rocky Mountain Wine and Food Festival with me, when I became side tracked by the Highwood Distillers booth. I have come to know the local rep, Allan Owen, quite well, and so I had to mosey over to greet him. While I was busy gabbing and talking at the booth, Dennis and Lucas took the opportunity to sample some of Highwood’s Sweet Sippin’ Canadian Maple Whisky.

“You gotta try this, Chip,” was their consensus opinion.  Not one to argue unnecessarily with my friends,  I sampled the Sweet Sippin’ Maple Whisky and I was literally taken aback by the nice combination of maple and whisky flavours I encountered. The Maple Whisky (22 % alc/vol) had a gentle sweet maple flavour carried to the palate by a particularly smooth Canadian Rye Whisky.  In all it was quite nice!

So after the festival, I decided to do a little research as I wanted to know a little more about this particular flavoured Whisky which seemed to have a lot more depth and smoothness of flavour than I was expecting.  What I discovered was that Highwood’s Sweet Sippin’ Maple Whisky is the fusion of three ingredients, Highwood  Canadian Rye Whisky (a five-year old wheat based Canadian Whisky), 100% pure natural Amber Maple Syrup from Quebec, and pure natural spring water.  No additives are used in producing the Maple Whisky which probably accounts for the inviting flavour profile I encountered.

Now a full review based upon one tasting at a festival where I probably sampled at least 40 different spirits is pretty much impossible. Fortunately for me, Allan Owen contacted me shortly after the festival and asked if he could drop off a sample of the Sweet Sippin’ Canadian Maple Whisky (and the Highwood Canadian Rye Whisky) for me to review. Being the generous fellow that I am, I accepted his kind offer and will in the coming weeks review both the Sweet Sippin’ Canadian Maple Whisky and the Highwood Canadian Rye Whisky.  I look forward to sharing the results in the coming weeks, cheers!

Posted in Canadian Whisky, Howls, Whisk(e)y | Tagged: , , | 5 Comments »

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