Forty Creek Cream Liquor

Review: Forty Creek Cream Liquor   82/100
a Review by Chip Dykstra (Aka Arctic Wolf)
Posted February 12, 2012

Forty Creek Whisky expanded their portfolio last fall with three new whisky products added in time for Christmas, Copper Pot Reserve, Portwood Reserve 2012, and Forty Creek Cream Liquor. Copper Pot Reserve is a new premium whisky built upon the success of the distilleries flagship brand Forty Creek Barrel Select, and Portwood Reserve 2012 is the second edition bottling of their successful Portwood Reserve which was originally released in 2009. Something a little different for the distillery is their new Forty Creek Cream Liquor. This Cream Liquor is a product of fresh dairy cream blended with Forty Creek’s finest spirits and of course their award-winning Forty Creek Whisky. It is bottled at 15 % alcohol by volume, and is meant as an after dinner drink to be sipped on its own or in your afternoon coffee.

I was given a pre-release sample of the Cream Liquor to review on my website in late August; but I decided to wait until this winter to sample the new cream liqueur for the purposes of this review. Maybe it is just me, but I find winter is the time of year when I like to slip a little dabble of cream liqueur into my morning coffee. So it made more sense to me to leave the Forty Creek Cream Liquor sealed for a few months such that I could enjoy it when the morning chill is brisk and the evenings are cold.

In the Bottle 4/5

The Forty Creek Cream Liquor is housed in a dark brown, medium-tall whisky bottle. In fact this is the same bottle which houses the Forty Creek Barrel Select Whisky. I like the bottle, and I like the nice contrast of colour which the label displays. This colour scheme is pleasant to view and (to me) implies professionalism. It seems to have the ability to catch my eye every time I see it on the shelf. And of course, that is the point of a good presentation. It should catch your eye in a positive way, and perhaps stir the inkling within the observer, that whatever is inside must be worth investigating.

In the Glass 8.5/10

The Forty Creek Cream displays itself in the glass with a rich light caramel/beige colour and a smooth creamy texture. The nose brings forth nuances of creamy chocolate, butterscotch/caramel, vanilla, hints of cinnamon, and light almost indistinguishable dabs of cocoa and coffee. A mild spicy influence of Canadian Whisky drifts into the breezes above the glass as well. This is unassuming and pleasant.

In the Mouth 49/60

The spirit is (of course) very soft and creamy in the mouth. Things are lightly sweet, with flavours of creamy caramel-milk chocolate mixed with a light sweep of vanilla, and almost indistinguishable hints of cinnamon, coffee and whisky spice. I appreciate that the “cream liquor” is only lightly sweet. The spirit will never become cloying, and is quite delicious when served on its own in a small sipping glass.

However, I found that when I slipped a wee bit into my morning coffee that the mild nuances of chocolate, cinnamon and butterscotch were somewhat lost beside the stronger flavour of coffee. It is pleasant, but I would have preferred just a little stronger flavour.

In the Throat 12.5/15

The creamy texture and light sweetness ensure a lingering finish. It is here where I most notice the ebbing flavours of butterscotch and whisky spice left over on the palate seemingly urging me to pour another small glass.

The Afterburn 8/10

John Hall’s Forty creek Cream Liquor is a nice creamy after dinner treat. It has a quiet unassuming flavour profile which is very easy to like on its own which is exactly how I would suggest it be served.

You may read some of my other Cream Liqueur Reviews (click the link) if you wish to have some comparative reviews of some of the other Creme Liqueurs I have reviewed.

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Each Review contains a rating or score out of 100, and these scores can be interpreted using the following scale:

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 spirit.  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 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.)
95.5+            Platinum Award (Highest Recommendation)

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