Canadian Club Whisky is now the oldest (and probably the most influential) Canadian Whisky brand in the world. It is found in over 150 countries, with sales in Canada that are unmatched by any other premium whisky brand. In 2014, Canadian Club (owned by Beam Suntory) launched a new 100% rye grain whisky, Canadian Club Chairman’s Select – 100% Rye.
It is of course produced exclusively from rye grain, distilled (and almost certainly aged) in Calgary by Alberta Distillers Ltd (who are also owned by Beam Suntory). The Chairman’s Select is aged in American Oak (bourbon barrels), cut to bottling strength (40 % abv) and then bottled in Walkerville Ontario, the home of Canadian Club.
Here is a link to the 10th best Canadian Whisky of 2016:
#10 Canadian Club Chairman’s Select – 100% Rye
Stay tuned as the countdown continues tomorrow with the Number 9 Canadian Whisky.
Chimo!
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* You may follow my 2016 Canadian Whisky Countdown by bookmarking this link:
1703 is the year that the Mount Gay Rum was first produced on the Isle of Barbados, making Mount Gay Rum one of the oldest, if not the oldest brand of rum in the world. Because Barbados is situated as a gateway from the Atlantic to the Caribbean, sailors from the Old World often used the island as the first resting point on the way to the New World. This meant Barbados was ideally suited for trade between the two worlds in the eighteenth and nineteenth century. Part of that trade was rum which is why the island is rightfully considered the birthplace of the rum trade.
It was in 1910 that the appearance of Haley’s comet coincided with a total solar eclipse, and this event is said to have inspired Mount Gay to create their Eclipse Rum. The Eclipse is a traditional double distilled gold rum produced from copper pot stills and aged in white Kentucky oak barrels which were previously used to age bourbon.
What makes this year’s Limited Edition whisky unique is that it is the first of the Forty Creek expressions to be dominated by barley.
While the vast majority of the rum distillate produced at the distillery is destined for bulk sales (much of it to Diageo), about 10 % of the rum distilled is set down to rest in American Oak barrels and aged at the NJR facility at Innswood, an older distillery which now serves as an aging and blending facility for Claredon.
This movement towards a more rye forward flavour profile seems to be a common theme within the Crown Royal family as two other recently released blends (Crown Royal Hand Selected Barrel, and the Limited Edition Crown Royal Monarch 75th Anniversary Blend) have recently followed that common path.
The Rum Howler Blog 