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Posts Tagged ‘J.P. Wiser’s’

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Review: J.P. Wiser’s Union 52 Canadian Whisky

Posted by Arctic Wolf on July 15, 2018

And now for something different ….

J.P. Wiser’s Union 52 Canadian Whisky is a blend of mature 16-year-old Canadian whiskies with an extremely old single malt whisky that was distilled in the Highlands of Scotland. (Eighteen barrels of this whisky had been stored and aged at one of the J.P. Wiser’s warehouses in Canada since 1964. Apparently, if you go poking around in the aging warehouses in Canada, you can find all manner of strange spirits lurking around.)

You are probably wondering how in the world they can call this Canadian Whisky when spirit originally distilled in Scotland is part of the blend. This has to do of course with the latitude that Canadian Whisky producers are given. In Canada up to 9% (actually 9.09%) of the volume may be other aged spirit or wine which can used to augment the whisky’s flavour.

Although the majority of Canadian Whisky is made with 100 % Canadian Spirit, the use of the use of a Scottish spirit to augment flavour is well within the Canadian guidelines for making whisky. And it is a practice which allows tremendous freedom for the master blender to experiment, as J.P. Wiser’s Master Blender obviously has.

Here is a link to my full Review:

Review: J.P. Wiser’s Union 52 Canadian Whisky

The dominant flavours of the whisky are oak, vanilla, caramel, baking spices (cloves and cinnamon) and dark fruit (dates and figs) with hints of peat. I also taste black licorice, toasted walnut, and an herbal component which brings forward green sawgrass, willow and hints of menthol.

Please enjoy the review of this unusual Canadian Whisky!

Chimo!

Posted in Canadian Whisky, Whisk(e)y, Whisky Review | Tagged: , , , | Comments Off on Review: J.P. Wiser’s Union 52 Canadian Whisky

Review: J.P Wiser’s Apple Whisky

Posted by Arctic Wolf on May 6, 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. From the beginning J.P. Wiser established his brand as a quality whisky with high standards of production. As a result, the distillery grew side by side with the popularity of Wiser’s style of whisky, and by the early 1900′s Wiser’s was the third largest distiller of whisky in Canada.

J.P. Wiser’s Apple Whisky was released across Canada last year. According to the J.P. Wiser’s website:

” … Apple-flavour occurs naturally in several our whiskies, so it was only natural that we crafted an Apple-flavoured whisky that celebrates that flavour note in a bold and delicious way. This whisky is flavoured using all natural ingredients, without any artificial sweeteners or flavours …”

Here is a link to my full review:

Review: J.P Wiser’s Apple Whisky

“… The aroma is quite nice with firm apple scents accompanied by light oak spice and vanilla. As the spirit sits I notice that the oak spices build up just a little. I appreciate this as it indicates that the underlying whisky has some legs in the glass so to speak, and it has not been completely smothered by the apple flavour …”

Please enjoy my review, Chimo!

 

 

Posted in Flavoured Whisky, Whisk(e)y, Whisk(e)y Review | Tagged: , , , , | Comments Off on Review: J.P Wiser’s Apple Whisky

Review: J.P. Wiser’s 35 Years Old Canadian Whisky

Posted by Arctic Wolf on April 5, 2018

This past fall, I sampled and reviewed J.P. Wiser’s 35 Year Old Whisky. Unfortunately, within my bottle, I found a light taint of mold which I did not enjoy which I discussed in the review. To the credit of the brand owner, Corby’s, they approached me and wanted to get to the bottom of the problem. I was sent lab samples, a new bottle to replace the bottle which had the moldy taint, and they took back the moldy bottle to examine it in their own lab.

I of course tasted everything they sent me, and when I was a juror for the 2018 Canadian Whisky Awards, I sampled the spirit once again; this time in a blind format. None of my subsequent encounters with the new samples showed me any hint of the mold I had tasted in my original bottle. So after careful consideration, I have decided that my original bottle was a one-off, and a new review for the 35 Year Old Whisky was appropriate.

Here is a link to that new review:

Review: J.P. Wiser’s 35 Years Old Canadian Whisky

” … Initially the breezes above the glass brought me a combination of fine oak spices melded with scents of both corn and rye grain. Then some lovely deep smells of maple began to build with vanilla and lush baking spices (cinnamon, brown sugar, with hints of both nutmeg and cloves.) Nutty almond impressions began to give way to marzipan and alongside were fruity smells of canned apricots and marmalade …”

Please enjoy my review, Chimo!

 

 

Posted in Canadian Whisky, Whisk(e)y, Whisk(e)y Review | Tagged: , , , , | Comments Off on Review: J.P. Wiser’s 35 Years Old Canadian Whisky

#Top100CanadianWhisky #2: J.P. Wiser’s Dissertation

Posted by Arctic Wolf on December 22, 2017

While Dr. Don Livermore was earning his PhD., one of the topics he was researching was the relationships between barrel aging, time and flavour. He did this by analyzing various types of oak barrels which were maturing whisky in the warehouses at Pike Creek, Ontario. The work he was doing eventually became the basis for his Thesis Dissertation which earned him his PhD. in Brewing and Distilling.

Fortunately for us, the Hiram Walker Distillery Master Blender has taken those same whisky barrels which he studied while earning his PhD. and artfully blended his J.P. Wiser’s Dissertation. The whisky is a rye forward blend bottled at 46.1 % alcohol by volume.

Here is a link to the Rum Howler #2 Canadian Whisky in my list of the 100 Best of 2017:

Review: J.P. Dissertation

“… There are some notes of burlap and maple syrup dipped graham wafers, rich marmalade, canned apricots and oodles of beautiful rye and oak spices. After my tasting sessions the empty glass was full of rich brown sugars, maple and baking spices reminding me of fresh-baked cinnamon rolls coming out of the oven …”

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We have reached the top 5 whiskies in my 2017 countdown of Canada’s best. Just to make sure I got it right, I re-tasted each of the top 5 spirits side by side to determine my final scores and rankings.

Note: To follow the countdown list of the Top 100 Canadian Whiskies of 2017, you should follow me on twitter (Rum Howler on Twitter) using the hashtag #Top100CanadianWhisky.

Alternatively you can view the list as it grows by viewing my Reveal Page here on this website:

The Rum Howler – Top 100 Canadian Whiskies of 2017

Posted in Awards, Canadian Whisky, Extras, Whisk(e)y, Whisk(e)y Review, Whisky Review | Tagged: , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on #Top100CanadianWhisky #2: J.P. Wiser’s Dissertation

#Top100CanadianWhisky #3: J.P. Wiser’s Last Barrels

Posted by Arctic Wolf on December 21, 2017

JP Wiser’s Last Barrels is an interesting new Canadian whisky which was produced from the last batches of whisky barreled under the direction of former J.P. Wiser’s Distiller Jim Stanski.

According to the media reports, in early 2001, Stanski decided to go rogue by making some whisky in more of a bourbon style. He began by blending the grains (80% corn grist, 11% rye and 9% barley malt) prior to mashing them. Then he let milk go sour in the J.P. Wiser’s lab and harvested the resulting bacteria (Lactobacillus) to use a starter culture for his bourbon-style mash so as to have a fermentation process similar to the sour mash process south of the border.

The whisky was set down in barrels later that year and are said to be the last barrels of Jim Stanski Whisky produced, hence the name Last Barrels. (Don’t worry, Jim didn’t get fired as a result of this experiment, he just moved up the ranks into management.) Incidentally, the mashbill of grains used was chosen by Stanski to replicate one used by the original J.P. Wiser in 1869.

Here is a link to the Rum Howler #3 Canadian Whisky in my list of the 100 Best of 2017:

Review: J.P. Wiser’s Last Barrels

“… The breezes above the glass indicate to me that the Last Barrels is indeed very much like bourbon with aromas of rough oak and cedar, honeycomb, roasted corn, and baking spices (vanilla, nutmeg and cinnamon). Rich brown sugars are evident as is maple toffee, bittersweet chocolate, pipe tobacco and walnuts …”

______________________________________

We have reached the top 5 whiskies in my 2017 countdown of Canada’s best. Just to make sure I got it right, I re-tasted each of the top 5 spirits side by side to determine my final scores and rankings.

Note: To follow the countdown list of the Top 100 Canadian Whiskies of 2017, you should follow me on twitter (Rum Howler on Twitter) using the hashtag #Top100CanadianWhisky.

Alternatively you can view the list as it grows by viewing my Reveal Page here on this website:

The Rum Howler – Top 100 Canadian Whiskies of 2017

Posted in Awards, Canadian Whisky, Extras, Whisk(e)y, Whisk(e)y Review, Whisky Review | Tagged: , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on #Top100CanadianWhisky #3: J.P. Wiser’s Last Barrels

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