Review: Forty Creek Art of The Blend   83.5/100
a review by Chip Dykstra
Published June 14, 2023

Forty Creek recently rebranded itself as Forty Creek Niagara Whisky which seems to be an attempt to infuse the notion of Canadian Whisky style unique to the  Niagara wine growing region of Canada. Their Art of The Blend whisky was as far as I know the first of their bottlings to sport the new moniker. And, I suspect to drive the point home,this is a whisky with a firm connection to wine making.

According to the Forty Creek Whisky website:

Our Master Blender Bill Ashburn celebrates 35 years of imagination and craft with this extraordinary limited creation. Art of the Blend tells his story, first the making of wine, then the art of whisky blending.

Ashburn’s creation is our iconic Niagara whisky infused with grapes harvested in the darkest hours of winter. A stunning expression of whisky mastery and experimentation, it is a sensational journey that never ends.

Forty Creek’s Art of The Blend was bottled at 45 % alcohol by volume.

Forty Creek uses the same attractive bottle for each of their annual special releases. I have always loved the impressive look of this bottle, and my growing collection of Forty Creek Special Release bottles are one of the major attractions on my Whisky shelf. They always draw the attention of my guests when I have a tasting and I suspect they have the same impact in a retail setting.

In The Glass 8.5/10

When poured into my glass, the Forty Creek Niagara Whisky features a rich copper colour and a wide bloom of scents and smells to fill the nostrils. What strikes me first is how fruity the nose is with red berries, purple grapes and fresh green apples showing off in the breezes. There is also a hint of sourness which reminds me of fermenting fruit and tart raspberry jam. Behind this is a oaken spiciness which, because of the 45 % bottling strength, seems aggressive. Grains begin to unravel from the fruit, first a nutty and leathery barley is noticed, but firm rye grain smells are not far behind. Baking spices (vanilla, cinnamon and clove), some traces of solvent, bits of resin, and growing hints of chocolate round out the nose which is complex and demanding.

In The Mouth 49/60

The Art of The Blend whisky is heated, and I am finding myself wishing that Forty Creek had chosen a lower bottling proof. With no age statement it is difficult to be sure; but my feeling is that the whisky has too much youthful exuberance to carry the 45 % alcohol by volume bottling strength. The combination of the fine spicy oak, and the push of alcohol makes me reach for ice much sooner in my examinations than I usually would.

With ice, I taste sweet and sour fruit, dark caramel, vanillans, toasted walnuts, and raisin bran cereal. Baking spices (vanilla and cinnamon), bitter chocolate and gluey solvent flavours are present as well. Again I really like the complexity; but I guess I am not sold on the overall combination. I think the sweet and sour fruit is at odds with the barley and the rye grains. It’s kind of like less would have been more in this case.

In The Throat 12.5/15

When sipped neat, I found the spirit uncomfortable. There was a light spicy burn that caused me to add that dollop of ice. Once the ice was added I could enjoy the finish which demonstrated flavours of dark wine and chocolate combining with light baking spices that were now comfortable and tasty.

The Afterburn  8.5/10

The heavy bodied spirit named Art of The Blend is a contradiction. It has a wide nose and complex flavours; but it also features heated spice and extra alcohol which make the spirit difficult to sip. I think the complexity is coming from the infusion of grapes which add a lot of desirable flavour. However, my feeling is that the spirit could have spent a few more years maturing in oak so that the whisky could acquire the structure required to carry not only the infused grape flavours comfortably, but also the higher alcohol content.

I like the Forty Creek’s Art of The Blend, but for myself it has become more of a high end mixer, than it is a sipper. See my suggested cocktail below.

You may read some of my other Whisky Reviews (click the link) if you wish to have some comparative reviews.

________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Suggested Serving

This is a serving I created to showcase the cocktail potential of Forty Creek Art of the Blend. The play of citrus fruit flavours against the backdrop of the whisky’s grape infusion creates a delicious serving.

The Continuum

1 1/2 oz Forty Creek Art of The Blend
1/2 oz Lemon Juice
1/2 oz Grapefruit Juice
1/2 oz Bols Triple Sec
1/4 oz Sugar Syrup
Ice cubes
Citrus Peel

Add the ingredients into a metal shaker with ice
Shake until the outside of the shaker begins to frost
Strain into a cocktail glass
Garnish with a Lemon coil

Please Enjoy Responsibly!

________________________________________________________________________________________________________

As always you may interpret the scores I provide as follows.

0-25 A spirit with a rating this low would actually kill you.
26-49 Depending upon your fortitude you might actually survive this.
50 -59 You are safe to drink this…but you shouldn’t.
60-69 Substandard swill which you may offer to people you do not want to see again.
70-74 Now we have a fair mixing rum or whisky. Accept this but make sure it is mixed into a cocktail.
75-79 You may begin to serve this to friends, again probably still cocktail territory.
80-84 We begin to enjoy this spirit neat or on the rocks. (I will still primarily mix cocktails)
85-89 Excellent for sipping or for mixing!
90-94 Definitely a primary sipping spirit, in fact you may want to hoard this for yourself.
95-97.5 The Cream of the Crop
98+ I haven’t met this bottle yet…but I want to.

Very loosely we may put my scores into terms that you may be more familiar with on a Gold, Silver, and Bronze medal scale as follows:

70 – 79.5 Bronze Medal (Recommended only as a mixer)
80 – 89.5 Silver Medal (Recommended for sipping and or a high quality mixer)
90 – 95 Gold Medal (Highly recommended for sipping and for sublime cocktails.)