Much like my Rum Howler Top 50 Rums of 2018 countdown was delayed due to the tribulations surrounding my move to a new residence at the end of last year, my Rum Howler Top 50 Canadian Whisky Countdown was also put on hold until the New Year. Because of the aforementioned trials with my move, I have shortened this years list to the best 50 Canadian Whiskies down from my huge list last year that included a whopping 100.

An unfortunate byproduct of the shortening of the list is that many of the new whiskies from the burgeoning Micro-distilling industry will not find representation on the list. It’s not that I unilaterally decided to omit the micro-distilled whiskies, the truth is that these small distillers just haven’t been in the game long enough. For the most the ‘craft whisky’ sold by these small distilleries is still quite young and the players in the industry just do not have enough aged barrels in their inventory to be creating a product that rivals the best whiskies of the major distillers. That is going to change as the Micro-distilling industry gets its legs underneath itself, but we are not quite there yet.

The  small craft distillers are not completely absent, Yukon Brewing, North of 7, Pemberton Valley, and Last Mountain Distillery all bucked the trend and produced quality whiskies that stacked up well against the large established distillers. They should be proud of their efforts. And based upon my recent evaluations of over 100 Canadian Whiskies as part of my duties as judge for the 2019 Canadian Whisky Awards, I can confidently say that more breakthroughs from other craft distilleries are on the way.

This year my list contains several whiskies which, although I have tasted them and written out brief tasting notes and scores, I have not yet published reviews for. Reviews for these spirits will be published in the coming year (as well as many others). That is (I hope) something for all of you to look forward to.

Here is my list (albeit delayed by about a month) of the Rum Howler Top 50 Canadian Whiskies:

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50)  Forty Creek Barrel Select
49)  Hundred Volt Canadian Whisky
48)  Pendleton 1910
47)  Pemberton Valley Single Malt
46)  Centennial Limited Edition Canadian Whisky
45)  Canadian Club Premium
44)  Crown Royal Limited Edition
43)  Hiram Walker Special Old
42)  Crown Royal Black
41)  Alberta Premium Canadian Whisky

40)  Windsor Canadian
39)  Gooderham and Worts 4 Grain
38)  Ninety (Premium cask Aged) 5 Year Old Canadian Rye Whisky
37)  Crown Royal XO
36)  Highwood Canadian Rye Whisky
35)  Last Mountain Single Cask 100 % Wheat Whisky
34)  Wiser’s Small Batch 
33)  Two Brewers Yukon Single Malt (Special Finishes)
32)  Canadian Club Chairman’s Select – 100% Rye  
31)  Last Mountain Private Reserve
30)  Gibson’s Finest Rare 18 Year Old
29)  Canadian Club Small Batch Classic (12 Year Old)
28)  Coyote Ugly
27)  Forty Creek Confederation Oak Reserve Whisky
26)  Forty Creek Copper Pot Reserve
25)  Alberta Springs
24)  J.P. Wiser’s 15 Year Old
23)  High River
22)  Masterson’s 12-Year-Old Straight Wheat Whiskey
21)  North of 7 Canadian Whisky (95 % Rye)

20)  Mt. Logan 15 Year Old
19)  Last Mountain Single Cask Wheat Whisky
18)  Wayne Gretzky No 99 Ninety Nine Proof Whisky
17)  Crown Royal Cornerstone Blend
16)  Lot No. 40 Rye Whisky
15)  J.P. Wiser’s 18 Years Old
14)  Canadian Club 20 Yr Old
13)  Mt. Logan 20 Year Old
12)  Crown Royal Northern Harvest Rye
11)  Lot 40 11 Year Old Cask Strength   (Review Pending)
10)  Forty Creek Double Barrel Reserve
09)  Crown Royal Reserve
08)  Forty Creek Heritage
07)  Crown Royal XR  (New Review Pending)
06)  Forty Creek Unity
05)  Canadian Rockies 21 Year Old

04)  Gooderham and Worts Little Trinity
03)  Ninety “Decades of Richness” 20 Year Old
02)  Caribou Crossing Single Barrel
01)  Gooderham and Worts 11 Souls