Review: Bison Ridge Special Reserve (8 Year Old) Canadian Whisky

My friends Connie & Lukasz were over the other day, and even though they know my cupboard is well stocked with Canadian whisky, they always try to find something that I haven’t tasted yet. On this occasion, they brought along a bottle of Bison Ridge Special Reserve Canadian Whisky to share a few drams with me. The whisky is produced (by this I mean bottled) by the Crosby Lake Spirits Company who are located in Minnesota, USA. All Canadian whisky must (by law) be distilled and aged in Canada; however, I could not locate any information as to which Canadian Distillery was the source for this brand.

You may read my full review by clicking on the following excerpt:

Review: Bison Ridge Special Reserve Canadian Whisky

“… The initial nose reflects sweet butterscotch, some notes of corn mash, with wood spices rising in the background. As the glass breathes I notice an underlying ‘earthiness’ which reminds me of the scent of an old those fashioned damp cellars which were built with wooden floorboards lain directly over the black dirt …”

Please enjoy the review which includes a recipe recommendation, the Buckeroo!

Announcing: Forty Creek – Heart of Gold

Forty Creek Whisky has just announced Heart of Gold as their 2013 limited release whisky.

According to the information from Forty Creek, Heart of Gold is a whisky that was inspired by both the heart of the distillation and the heart of the maker, and was created with an artist’s palette of noble grains, unusual yeast selection, copper pot stills and delicately toasted oak barrels, mixed with passion, innovation and patience. The project began almost ten years ago with a particular emphasis on Canadian rye grain.

According to Whisky Maker John Hall,

“I have always brought out the spicy, fruity notes of rye in my whisky, but this time, I wanted to perfect capturing the underlying delicate floral notes of the rye that too often get lost in the process. I decided to use a wine yeast strain for the fermentation because I felt this approach would allow the floral aromas and flavours to prevail.”

“I aged this rye whisky in lightly toasted barrels to ensure the oak did not overwhelm the subtle flavours captured in the heart of the distillation. Yes, my Heart of Gold is a rye forward whisky. But, it is not 100% rye. I believe the art of blending adds a complexity and creativity to the final whisky. The final Heart of Gold blend includes some barley whisky for nuttiness and some corn whisky for weight and body. Yet, the fruity, floral rye whisky notes are the star of this show!”

This special release will be limited to only 9000 individually numbered bottles. It will be bottled at 43%  alc./vol with a retail price of $69.95. Customers in Ontario may reserve any number between 00003 and 9,000.  These on-line reservations for numbered bottles will begin exactly at noon on May 27th and end June 21st. For more information follow this link

What’s new at Forty Creek?

Review: Gibson’s Finest Rare 18 Years Old Canadian Whisky

In 1856, John Gibson purchased 40 acres and built a distillery along the shore of the Monongahela River in Pennsylvania. By the turn of the century, the Gibson’s Distilling Company was the largest producer of rye whisky in North America. Unfortunately, early in the new century, fate dealt the company a tragic blow, in the name of Prohibition. Consumption of legal whisky all but dried up, and Gibson’s Distilling Company went bankrupt. In 1923, the entire contents of the distillery including the stills, the aging barrels, all of the remaining spirit, (and even the grain which was on site) was sold via Sherriff’s auction to Schenley Industries of New York. Fifty years later this whisky brand, which was born on the US side of the border in Pennsylvania, was resurrected by the brand owner at the Schenley Distillery in Valleyfield, Quebec. Now, of course, it has become one of the iconic brands of Canadian Whisky.

Of course the story continued and Shenley Distillers underwent re-organization at the end of the 20th century. As part of that reorganization, the Gibson’s Finest Whisky brand was purchased by William Grant & Sons in 2002. Some time after the acquisition, William Grant & Sons moved the production of Gibson’s Whisky from the Schenley plant in Valleyfield, Quebec to the Hiram Walker Distillery in Windsor, Ontario.

You may read my full review by clicking on the following excerpt:

“… The initial aroma is spicy with a firm oak presence. The breezes above the glass are filled with tobacco, rye, and (what I am going to term) clean firm oak spices. These dominant scents are accented by caramel, butterscotch and vanilla. Some dusty dry notes of freshly harvested grain, autumn cornstalks, and dry straw rise into those initial breezes as well …”

Please enjoy my review, and my suggested bar drink, The Old Fashioned Cocktail.

Review: Seagram’s 83 Canadian Whisky

Seagram’s has a rich and storied history which can be dated back to 1857 when the Granite Mills and Waterloo Distillery Company was formed. About seven years later, Joseph Seagram joined the company and by 1911 the company was known as Joseph E. Seagram & Sons. Today, over 100 years later, the Seagram name is still in use as a brand, but ownership of this whisky has been passed on to Diageo who now use the aged stocks at their Valleyfield Distillery in Quebec to produce the whisky.

Like the previously reviewed Seagram’s VO, the Seagram’s 83 is what I term, an ‘old-fashioned’ Canadian rye whisky. The emphasis is on rye flavour blended into the whisky to be enjoyed in those tall cocktails us Canadians enjoy so much all year round.

You may click on the following excerpt to read the full review:

“… When those whisky scents arrive they are full of rye spice which for me is always a welcome beginning. There are also indications of sandalwood, and mildly sweet tones of vanilla, honey and butterscotch. If you take some time with the glass sour fruit, and tobacco can be found as well as light corn accents and a wee bit of  maple …’

Enjoy the review!

Review: Crown Royal Reserve Canadian Whisky

Crown Royal Canadian Whisky is currently produced in Gimli, Manitoba, at the Crown Royal Distillery. The distillery and the brand are owned by Diageo, and I think it is fair to say that Crown Royal is Diageo’s flagship Canadian whisky brand. In 1992, a premium version of Crown Royal was introduced as Crown Royal Special Reserve. This whisky was produced from specially selected casks which were tasted and monitored closely by the Crown Royal Master Blender. These ‘premium casks’ represented whiskies with special character, and they were allowed to age longer with the aim of producing a more premium whisky.

In the fall of 2008, this more premium Crown Royal Special Reserve was relaunched as Crown Royal Reserve Canadian Whisky. I reviewed this whisky back in January of 2010, and I began to suspect something was amiss when I tasted the whisky for a second time in a blind format in the fall of 2011, almost two years later. I was on the jury for the Canadian Whisky Awards, and although my blind scores were for the most part reasonably close to my review scores; this particular whisky was one which stood out as an anomaly. When exactly the same thing occurred in the fall of 2012, I decided I had better revisit the whisky and re-score it. (I am not above admitting I might have gotten something wrong.)

You may click on the following excerpt to read my new review!

“… I smell distinct impressions of ginger and wood spices. As the whisky breathes some baking spices begin to rise with vanilla, nutmeg, and cloves. These are accented by a touch of maple and some spicy tobacco spice. Some tart apples make their way into the breezes as well as some impressions of sour fruit and canned peaches …”

Please enjoy the review and the two recipes included at the end, the Royal Bang, and the Evening Salute.

Review: Black Velvet Toasted Caramel

The Black Velvet brand has a long history in North America, originally produced at the Schenley Distillery in Valleyfield, Quebec in the late 1940s. The whisky was originally called Black Label; but because of the perceived smoothness of the whisky, the producers soon changed the name to Black Velvet. It has been a staple of the Canadian whisky scene ever since. It is now produced at the Black Velvet Distillery (also called the Palliser Distillery) in Lethbridge, Alberta.

Black Velvet Toasted Caramel is a new flavoured whisky produced introduced last year by the company. It is apparently constructed from natural toasted caramel flavour and Black Velvet Whisky.  The product is bottled at 35 % alcohol by volume.

You may read the full review by clicking the following excerpt:

“… Black Velvet Toasted Caramel runs towards the sweet side of the palate with caramel and maple flavour leading the way. The strong undercurrent of maple confuses me at first; but upon reflection I suspect this must be the wood and whisky spices showing through and moving some of that caramel flavour to maple …”

Please enjoy the review which includes a nice new recipe, the Canadian Caribou High Ball.

Cheers!

 

 

Review: SinFire Cinnamon Whisky

Flavoured and Spiced Whiskies seem to be popping up all over the landscape these days. It seems that not only rum companies are jealous of the success of Captain Morgan. The Whisky producers want a share of this market too. Time will tell whether these flavoured spirits are just a fad or part of a new market trend. But since they have arrived with such force, I will continue to review those which cross my path.

SinFire Cinnamon Whisky is produced by Hood River Distillers, an importer, producer, and bottler of spirits in the Pacific Northwest of the United States. The Company’s bottling plant is located beside Columbia River with Mt. Hood standing majestically behind the facility, and they have been there since 1968. I received a small sample of their new SinFire Whisky a few weeks ago and decided to put the sample through the paces of my review methodology. This cinnamon flavoured whisky apparently  combines imported Canadian whisky with spicy-sweet natural cinnamon flavors. It is bottled at 35 % alcohol by volume.

You may click on the following excerpt to read the full review which includes a nice Highball style cocktail for Cinnamon Whisky called The Buzz Saw Highball:

“… As I put my snoot near the glass I receive a very strong indication of cinnamon heart candies. Some butterscotch is apparent in the breezes as well as a light sandalwood and hints of rye whisky. Although I receive indications of sweetness, it does not appear to be overdone …”

Please enjoy the review!

Cheers!

 

Review: 8 Seconds Blended Canadian Whisky

8 Seconds is a new Canadian Whisky from Frank-Lin Distillers, Products Ltd. who have been a bottler and producer of distilled spirits since Frank Maestri founded the company in 1966. (Frank-Lin currently operates out of their new facility in Fairfield California with annual capacity of over 10 million cases of wines and spirits.)

The 8 Seconds brand is marketed with a direct tie to the western rodeo as it makes its push into the North American marketplace. (In case you are wondering, 8 seconds is the amount of time a cowboy must ride a bucking bull, or a bucking bronco, in the rodeo contest before the bell signals his ride is complete.) The whisky itself is a pretty straight forward offering, distilled in Canada and aged in oak. It is (I assume) shipped in bulk from Canada to Frank-Lin’s facility in Fairfield, California for bottling. The whisky has no age statement; but I note that the more premium 8 Seconds Black carries a statement of 8 years. I presume that the less premium 8 Seconds Blended Canadian Whisky would be somewhat younger than that.

You may click on the excerpt to read my full review:

“… The initial nose carries a fair amount of vanilla and caramel, as well as some rough and tumble wood and rye spices. I let the glass breathe to see if the scents deepen, and indeed the rye spices seem to grow in strength with perhaps a hint of corn joining in.  This is not overly complex, but it is pleasant …”

Please enjoy the review and my cocktail which follows, the Prescott!

Note: The sample was provided by River Valley Beverage Group

Review: Crown Royal Black Canadian Whisky

Crown Royal Canadian Whisky is currently produced in Gimli, Manitoba, at the Crown Royal Distillery. The distillery and the brand are owned by the spirits conglomerate, Diageo, and I think it is fair to say that Crown Royal is Diageo’s flagship Canadian Whisky brand. A couple of years ago Crown Royal Black was introduced as an addition to the Crown Royal family of whiskies. This new Crown Royal Black is a bit of a departure from the rest of the Crown Royal line-up featuring a stronger bourbon profile in the whisky through the use of new charred oak barrels during a portion of the maturation process of the whisky. It is bottled at 45% alcohol by volume and is intended as a robust alternative to their best-selling Crown Royal Whisky.

You may click on the excerpt to read the full review:

“… I smell rich oak spices melded with caramel toffee, some lovely bourbon-like honeycomb and vanilla with hints tobacco and rye spices and a light influence of maple and chocolate. As I let the glass breathe, some rum-like brown sugar aromas evolve and I seem to sense some light corn accents in the breezes as well. The Crown Royal Black appears to be well-balanced and quite robust in the glass …”

Please enjoy the review and the cocktail suggestion included, The Long Autumn.

Review: Wiser’s Small Batch

Founder, John Philip (J.P.) Wiser, purchased a distillery in Prescott, Ontario in 1857, and began to produce Wiser’s Whisky. In fact the J.P. Wiser Distillery may have been the first to use the term “Canadian Whiskey’ on their labels, as this is how the whisky was proudly introduced at the 1893 Chicago’s Wold’s Fair. From the beginning, J.P. Wiser established his brand as a quality whisky with high standards of production. As a result the distillery grew, as did the popularity of his style of whisky. By the early 1900′s Wiser’s was the third largest distiller of whisky in Canada.

The company merged with the H. Corby Distillery Company sometime after the death of J.P. Wiser in 1917.  Shortly after in 1932, production of the Wiser’s brands moved to the Corby Distillery. A controlling interest in the Corby Distillery was acquired by Hiram Walker several years later, and by 1989, the Corby Distillery was closed, and all production was moved to the Hiram Walker Distillery where all Wiser’s brands are currently produced. Through all of these changes the Wiser’s Brand has been recognized as a vital component of the company’s portfolio of brands, and now, 150 years later after it all started, Wiser’s remains one of Canada’s leading whisky brands. In fact, Wiser’s is one of the top-selling brands of Canadian Whisky worldwide.

I have been on a bit of a mission these days re-sampling the spirits from older reviews, and seeing if my views have changed over the course of the last three to four years. Recently I sampled a new bottle of Wiser’s Small Batch. Although my impressions were very similar to my original review, I nevertheless revised the review slightly to account for the small changes in my perspective.

You may click on the excerpt to read my review:

Review Wiser’s Small Batch Canadian Whisky

“… Oak and brown sugar rise from the glass which has a nice rum-like accent. As the glass breathes, rye spice, caramel, oak and cedar,  corn, tobacco, marmalade and baking spices round out the nose which is remarkably deep and complex. I found nosing the glass to be thoroughly enjoyable …”

Please enjoy my recent revisit to the Wiser’s Small Batch!