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Posts Tagged ‘Canadian Whisky’

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Whisky Review: Black Velvet Deluxe Canadian Whisky

Posted by Arctic Wolf on January 19, 2010

I don’t think it would shock anyone who reads my blog to know that I love Canadian Whisky.  I find it to be the smoothest, easiest drinking whisky in the world.  It mixes well in all kinds of cocktails, and for the most part Canadian Whisky has a consistent flavour profile, with the variance between brands being found  in the nuances of their flavour profiles, rather than in large differences between those  flavour profiles.

Black Velvet Canadian Whisky was originally produced at the famous  Schenley distillery in Valleyfield Quebec in 1945, and has a long history in North America.  The original name was Schenley Black Label; but, because of its unusual smoothness, the name was later changed to Black Velvet.  A very successful marketing campaign introduced in 1969 featured the “Black Velvet Girl”. Famous faces who have been Black Velvet Girls are, Christie Brinkley, Sybil Sheppard and Cheryl Tiegs.

Now the whisky is a blend of distilled and aged Canadian whisky currently produced at the Black Velvet Distillery (Palliser Distillery) in Lethbridge Alberta. According to   the brand owner,  Constellation Brands, Black Velvet is the second highest selling whisky in its category in the US.

Here is an excerpt from the review:

“This is a polished, smooth whisky with the alcohol bite soothed and mellowed.  The spices are mild and enjoyable, and I find good  balance.  Citrus fruits sit at the front of the palate, with honey and vanilla.  Of course we have a strong rye influence which provides the foundation upon which these flavours rest. …”

You can read the entire review here:

Review: Black Velvet Deluxe Canadian Whisky

As well I have included a nice “forrest approved” highball drink with a real ‘Canadian’ flair,   called “The Canadian Caribou“.

Posted in Canadian Whisky, Cocktails & Recipes, Whisk(e)y, Whisk(e)y Review | Tagged: , , , , | 5 Comments »

Whisky Review: Forty Creek Portwood Reserve

Posted by Arctic Wolf on December 29, 2009

On September 15, 2009, Forty Creek introduced to the world, (well actually just to Ontario, Canada) a brand new whisky,  Forty Creek Portwood Reserve Canadian Whisky. Luckily for me, I had advanced notice.  A posting on the Forty Creek website informed all who visited that the whisky was coming, and that it would be severely limited.  Only 3000 bottles;  and, available only in Ontario Canada.  So I emailed my good friend Terry Martin who works  for the distillery and reserved a case of individually numbered bottles for myself.  Then I arranged (which all who reserved bottles could arrange) for each one to be signed to me by John Hall, the Master Distiller.  The people who work at Forty Creek are good at things like this.  Last year they arranged for me to get a case of their fantastic Icewine and Brandy with personalized labels for my wife and my 20th wedding anniversary.

Living in Alberta presented problems in getting these fine products to myself, but I have friends in Ontario who do not mind picking up my goods at the Distillery.    I guess I should reiterate a little information about the Forty Creek Whiskies which I wrote in my last review of the Forty Creek Barrel Select.

Forty Creek Whiskies are the brainchildren of Master Distiller John Hall.  John Hall bought the Kittling  Ridge Estates Winery in 1992.  Although primarily a winemaker, when John discovered a small pot copper still on the estate he couldn’t resist the urge to experiment with another product he loved… whisky.  The wine making heritage combined with the love of whisky has produced what I consider to be a unique Canadian Whisky.  Each batch of whisky is produced upon this small pot copper still, but what makes Forty Creek special is that John doesn’t use a single mash for his whisky like other producers.  He makes three separate batches.  A corn mash produces a corn whisky, a barley mash produces a barley whiskey, and a rye mash produces a rye whisky.  Each whisky is aged separately in a variety of oak barrels,  and then blended and finished in sherry casks.  The sherry is actually made right at the winery so Forty Creek can utilize their own sherry casks for the final finishing.

The Portwood Reserve has been constructed in the same manner.  The difference is in the finishing.  Beginning in 1993 John began to construct Port Pipes for making his own Port Wine.  These port pipes were used to finish the Portwood Reserve Whisky, rather than the Sherry casks.  The result is a unique Canadian whisky, which preserves all of the heritage of Forty Creek, yet raises itself to a new standing within their whisky line.

Here is my review:

Review: Forty Creek Portwood Reserve Canadian Whisky

Posted in Canadian Whisky, Cocktails & Recipes, Whisk(e)y, Whisk(e)y Review | Tagged: , , , , | Comments Off on Whisky Review: Forty Creek Portwood Reserve

Whisky Review: Centennial 10Year Old Canadian Rye Whisky

Posted by Arctic Wolf on December 8, 2009

Fifty Reviews and Going Strong

My Goodness.  It is been barely 7 weeks and I am publishing my Fiftieth Review.  Of course, this doesn’t mean I have consumed 50 bottles of Rum and Whisky in seven weeks, nor does it mean I have sampled 50 different bottles.  You see, when I opened this site I already had a variety of reviews complete and published elsewhere.  About twenty on the Ministry of Rum, three or four on Rum Connection, and about three whisky reviews on Refined Vices.  As well I had written about ten whisky reviews which had never been published, as well as one tequila review, and four or five rum reviews.  So the table was set seven weeks ago with almost forty reviews complete before I began my trip into the blogosphere.

I should also note, that long before I ever wrote my first full review; I was putting my thoughts onto paper, and keeping a catalog of my scores for various whiskies, (and some rums) in my handy dandy notebook.  I started doing this shortly after I bought my first copy of Jim Murray’s 2007 Whiskey Bible.  In fact I consider my writing  to be largely influenced by Jim Murray and his writing.  He is without a doubt, the best of the best when it comes to writing about whisky and probably spirits in general.

I still have all of those notes,  which I refer to constantly, as I write new reviews, so in a way it has been relatively easy to reach my fiftieth review milestone.

So why did I choose a relatively obscure Canadian Rye whisky to review for the big Five Zero.  Simple, it was next in line.  You see I try not to play favourites; I try not to display any bias when I write a review.  Choosing a particular distillery, or a particular spirit and claim it worthy of this milestone might just be the wrong way to present information that is meant to be impartial.

Not that Centennial 10Year Old Canadian Rye Whisky is in any way an inferior spirit. It happens to be very very good.  A true Canadian Rye whisky, but one with with a very interesting twist.  Centennial Rye Whisky, rather than having corn in the mash bill with the rye, uses Canadian soft Winter Wheat with the rye grain in the mash bill.  This gives the Centennial a smooth and soft flavour profile unlike any rye whisky I have encountered.  Using grains grown exclusively on the Canadian prairies, distilling the grain in my home Province of Alberta, and aging the spirit in the severe Western Canadian climate for a minimum of ten years, means  Centennial is a Rye Whisky unlike any other in the world.  Not bad for an obscure Canadian rye whisky, made in a relatively unknown Canadian distillery, Highwood Distillers.

Although I suspect the rest of the world will catch on…

But enough of my babble…

Here is my fiftieth review:

Review: Centennial 10 Year Old Canadian Rye Whisky

Posted in Canadian Whisky, Cocktails & Recipes, Whisk(e)y, Whisk(e)y Review | Tagged: , , , , | 7 Comments »

Whisky Review: Schenley OFC Canadian Whisky

Posted by Arctic Wolf on December 3, 2009

Schenley OFC Canadian Whisky
(The OFC stands for Original Fine Canadian)

Schenley OFC bills itself as the most decorated of Canadian Whisky boasting of 25 medal Selections at the Monde Selection Awards.  These awards, while impressive, only tell the story of previous Schenley bottlings.  I say, ‘previous’, because I notice a difference in the new bottles I have seen as opposed to the older Schenley OFC bottles.  The age statement, in the past, proudly stated ‘8 Years’.  That age statement is now entirely missing.  It remains to be seen whether some of the famous Schenley quality is missing as well.

I should note that Schenley OFC is distilled at Schenley Distilleries which have facilities in Valleyview Quebec, and Lethbridge Alberta.  It is my understanding that the facilities in Quebec are responsible for the distillation, aging and bottling of this whisky.

You can read the full review here:

Review: Schenley OFC Canadian Whisky

Posted in Canadian Whisky, Cocktails & Recipes, Whisk(e)y, Whisk(e)y Review | Tagged: , , , , | 3 Comments »

Whisky Review: Gibson’s Finest 12 Yr Old Canadian Whisky

Posted by Arctic Wolf on November 15, 2009

Gibson's FinestGibson’s Finest Whiskies are some of the smoothest Canadian whiskies ever made.  This, of course, makes them some of the smoothest  in the world as Canada is renowned for its smooth whisky.  The 12 year old is a step up from Gibson’s regular Sterling brand.  I found it to be a mildly sweet well balanced whisky with a nice honey and rye flavour profile.

Here is an excerpt from my review:

“…We have a very nice soft oil on the palate with a sweet honey taste interlaced with toffee and rye.  This has a very balanced profile which when given time in the mouth, displays touches of caramel, flashes of hot spices, and a wonderful underlying sweetness….”

You can read the full review here:

Review: Gibson’s Finest 12 YR Canadian Whisky

Posted in Canadian Whisky, Cocktails & Recipes, Whisk(e)y, Whisk(e)y Review | Tagged: , , , , | Comments Off on Whisky Review: Gibson’s Finest 12 Yr Old Canadian Whisky

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