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Posts Tagged ‘Last Straw Distillery’

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Review: Last Straw Distillery Rice and Rye

Posted by Arctic Wolf on June 30, 2023

The Last Straw Distillery is Ontario’s smallest production micro-distillery located at 40 Pippin Rd. in Vaughan, Ontario (a wee bit north of Toronto) just off Highway 400 and around the corner from Vaughan Mills Shopping Centre.

Last Straw Distillery’s Rice and Rye Whisky is the result of a question posed by Mark Hayhoe, then of K2 Milling. He wondered out loud when speaking to Don DiMonte of Last Straw whether wild rice make good whisky?

So the folks at Last Straw Distillery ran a batch of Argentinian Wild Rice through the distillation process. Problem was, the batch didn’t produce enough distillate to fill a cask. So they decided to to top up that cask (a #3 char re-charred ex-Bourbon barrel) with rye distillate. Four years and Nine months later, they decided to send out some samples and get a few opinions as they prepared to bottle their new creation.

The whisky sent to me to analyze was constructed from 55% Argentinian long grain rice, sourced from farms in Cordoba, Argentina and 45% Ontario Rye grain sourced from small family farms in York and Simcoe Counties.

Here is a link to what I found out when I tasted this new Rice and Rye whisky:

Review: Last Straw Distillery Rice and Rye

“… When I nosed the glass, I found it was full of leathery grain and rye spice. Some dusty dry grain is evident as well. Bits of sweet honeycomb is forming in the breezes and there is a little fresh tobacco as well some light baking spices …”

Please enjoy this review and stay tuned for more Canadian Whisky reviews in the coming weeks (and a little bourbon too).

Chimo!

Posted in Canadian Whisky, Whisk(e)y, Whisk(e)y Review, Whisky Review | Tagged: , , , | Comments Off on Review: Last Straw Distillery Rice and Rye

Review: Last Straw Distillery Stout Whisky (Lot No. SW001)  

Posted by Arctic Wolf on May 6, 2022

The Last Straw Distillery is Ontario’s smallest production micro-distillery located at 40 Pippin Rd. in Vaughan, Ontario (a wee bit north of Toronto) just off Highway 400 and around the corner from Vaughan Mills Shopping Centre. 

Last Straw Distillery Stout Whisky is the result of a collaboration between Vaughan’s Lake Wilcox Brewing Co. and the distillery, and it can be said to be the distilled essence of the Lake Wilcox Stout Beer. According to the distillery website the stout whisky  is produced in small batches, bottled at 45 % alcohol by volume, is non-chill filtered with no colour added and aged for 3 years in a #3 re-charred ex-wine cask.

Here is a link to my full review:

Review: Last Straw Distillery Stout Whisky (Lot No. SW001)

“… heated oak spices combined with maple and chocolate. There is also a light underlying bitterness which compliments rather than clashes with the implied sweetness of maple. The second sip brings more flavours and nuances forward, graham wafers dipped in maple syrup, vanilla and baking spices, nutty barley and again hints of treacle which remind me of dark rum …

Please enjoy my review of this remarkable whisky from the Last Straw Distillery.

Chimo!

Posted in Canadian Whisky, Whisk(e)y | Tagged: , , , , , | Comments Off on Review: Last Straw Distillery Stout Whisky (Lot No. SW001)  

Review: Last Straw Distillery Golden Gin

Posted by Arctic Wolf on January 23, 2020

The Last Straw Distillery is Ontario’s smallest production micro-distillery located at 40 Pippin Rd. in Vaughan, Ontario (a wee bit north of Toronto) just off Highway 400 and around the corner from Vaughan Mills Shopping Centre.

I reviewed The distillery’s Gin Twenty-One last year and found myself very impressed that this relatively young distillery was making such a nice gin so quickly. This led me to inquiring about their aged Golden Gin which I was planning to review last summer. I did manage to include the spirit in a blind Twitter Tasting where I pitted the spirit against two other oaked gins, but the review never materialized due to some unexpected tribulations on the home front.

When I checked Last Straw’s website (here) I saw that this limited edition Gin was still available so I included it in my first Gin Tasting of 2020 and have decided to complete that review today.

Here is a link to the new review:

Review: Last Straw Distillery Golden Gin

” … Piny juniper, hints of licorice/fennel, bits of coriander and citrus peel. Maybe a hint of sandalwood and ginger. and some vague lemon balm. Something vegetable creeping into the breezes …

Please enjoy my review which concludes with my serving suggestion, the Lemon Fizz.

Chimjo!

Posted in Gin, Gin Review | Tagged: , , , | Comments Off on Review: Last Straw Distillery Golden Gin

Review: Last Straw Distillery DARKer Side

Posted by Arctic Wolf on June 25, 2019

The Last Straw Distillery is Ontario’s smallest production micro-distillery located at 40 Pippin Rd. in Vaughan, Ontario (a wee bit north of Toronto) just off Highway 400 and around the corner from Vaughan Mills Shopping Centre. According to Mike Hook, the team at Last Straw Distillery come to the craft of distilling from a variety of different backgrounds, and surprisingly none have had prior experience in the beverage or alcohol business. They are self-taught, and developed their recipes in house, through research, and trial and error, without the use of outside consultants.

Last Straw Distillery Darker Side is a traditional southern moonshine recipe, distilled from corn & sugar, which is aged for 4 months in a heavily charred cask. The spirit is bottled at 45.5 % alcohol by volume.

Here is a link to my review of this surprisingly good Moonshine Spirit:

Review: Last Straw Distillery DARKer Side

“… When I close my eyes and take a sniff of the breezes above the glass I am somewhat torn as to my first impression. Does this smell kind of like a bourbon? Or does it smell kind of like a rum? The truth is that is seems to be a little of both …”

Please enjoy my review which includes a few cocktail suggestions for your enjoyment, the Ontario Railcar, and DARKer Fashions.

Chimo!

Posted in Moonshine and New-make | Tagged: , , , | Comments Off on Review: Last Straw Distillery DARKer Side

Review: Last Straw Blackstrap Rum (Double Barreled)  

Posted by Arctic Wolf on June 20, 2019

The Last Straw Distillery is Ontario’s smallest production micro-distillery located at 40 Pippin Rd. in Vaughan, Ontario (a wee bit north of Toronto) just off Highway 400 and around the corner from Vaughan Mills Shopping Centre. According to Mike Hook, the team at Last Straw Distillery come to the craft of distilling from a variety of different backgrounds, and surprisingly none have had prior experience in the beverage or alcohol business. They are self-taught, and developed their recipes in house, through research, and trial and error, without the use of outside consultants.

Last Straw Distillery Blackstrap Rums are some the few rums in the world actually made from blackstrap molasses rather than sweet molasses. One of the reasons there are so few is because blackstrap is much harder to work with than sweet molasses as the sugar content is lower, and the sugars are harder for the yeast to access. The tradeoff is that blackstrap molasses gives a richer, more robust flavour when it is distilled. It took the Distillery about 6 months (of experimentation) to discover a method to obtain reasonable yields out of blackstrap molasses without sacrificing flavour. The Double Barreled Blackstrap Rum is first aged in ex-bourbon barrels then finished in Last Straw’s own Darker Side barrels. The spirit is bottled at 45 % alcohol by volume.

Here is a link to my complete review:

Review: Last Straw Blackstrap Rum (Double Barreled)  

“… The breezes above the glass are interesting. I notice firm impressions of molasses, licorice and treacle accented by fruity orange peel and banana. There is also a light funk reminiscent of Jamaican rum in the air with scents of menthol, baking spice (cinnamon, vanilla and cloves) and some wood spice presenting themselves …”

Please enjoy my review which includes two cocktail suggestions, the Zombie, and the Time Traveller.

Chimo!

Posted in Rum, Rum Reviews | Tagged: , , , | Comments Off on Review: Last Straw Blackstrap Rum (Double Barreled)  

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