Pendleton Whisky is named to honour The Pendleton Round-up, a rodeo in Pendleton Oregon, and in fact, Pendleton Whisky sponsors numerous other rodeos, including the aforementioned the Pendleton Round-Up, the Cheyenne Frontier Days, and the Walla Walla Frontier Days.
Their premium whisky, Pendleton 1910 Canadian Whisky, is definitely a spirit with a western flair. It is crafted from a 100 % rye blend, distilled and oak-aged in Canada for 12 years. After the spirit is fully matured, it is transported to Oregon in bulk where it is brought to bottling proof by Hood River Distillers using the glacial fed waters from Mt. Hood.
Note: I was able to confirm that the whisky is distilled by Alberta Distillers Limited (ADL) in Calgary, Alberta. ADL is the largest distiller of rye whisky in the world.
The folks down at Hood River are onto something good as their 12-year-old 100 % rye whisky checks into my Top 25 Canadian Whisky Countdown in the Number 7 position. Here is a link to my September 2012 Review:
#7 Canadian Whisky – Pendleton 1910
Pendleton 1910 reminds me of why I love rye whisky! The combination of spicy rye and sweet butterscotch is just about perfect.
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Note: You may follow my Countdown list of the 25 Best Canadian Whiskies here: The Rum Howler 2013 – Top 25 Canadian Whiskies
What makes this whisky special is that this edition of Forty Creek Whisky has been finished in Port Wine Barrels. The whisky was produced at 45 % alcohol by volume and was limited to only 6600 bottles.
These barrels made the journey to the Highwood facility in 2005 and have been sitting in that darkened corner waiting to be tapped and bottled. When the time is right, Highwood’s Master Blender carefully chooses the right barrels, and then carefully blends the wonderful elixir within to create a spirit which contains the distillery’s most prized well aged whisky, Lot 1525 Century Reserve Custom Blend Canadian Rye Whisky. The spirit represents yet another gem from those folks in High River, and this gem of a whisky is ranked Number 11 in my Top 25 Canadian Whisky Countdown.
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When I spoke to John Hall (Forty Creek founder and Whisky Maker) about this whisky, he mentioned that Canadian oak trees are heavier and more dense than American oak due to the harsher Canadian climate. As a result, the oak barrels made from these trees impart a different flavour characteristic to the whisky. The vanillans are more pronounced, and the wood tannins seem to be slightly stronger. In fact, John told me he almost scrapped this whisky altogether when after the first and the second years of ‘finishing’ in the Canadian oak barrels, the whisky was, to him, harsh and unappealing. But rather than scrapping the whisky, he allowed time to take its course. To his delight the whisky mellowed considerably after the third year of finishing, and the desired flavour profile for his whisky was achieved.
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