Glynnevan Double Barrelled Rye

Maker: Glynnevan, Guysborough, Nova Scotia, Canada. (Authentic Seacoast Co.)

Distiller: Undisclosed (maybe Alberta Distillers, Calgary, Alberta, Canada.)

Style: Double barrelled (?) Canadian rye.

Age: NAS

ABV: 43%

LCBO price: $56 CAD ($42 USD)

Appearance: Medium light copper.

Nose: Roast corn, old French perfume, newish oak, tarragon.

Palate: Subtle, but full-bodied. Caramel, burn.

Finish: Light and sweet. Taffy, a little heat.

Mixed: OK in an Old Fashioned, gets lost in anything else.

Parting words: This bottle was one of several I brought back from our family vacation to Niagara Falls last summer. I had never seen it before, and I thought the bottle looked nice so I picked it up. While I don’t regret the purchase, I probably would have chosen something else if I had tasted it before.

Glynnevan’s label states that it’s made of “prairie grain” whisky, but it doesn’t name the distillery. The most obvious candidate is Beam-owned Alberta Distillers Ltd. in Calgary, but I saw another review say that it WASN’T Alberta distillate. This reviewer unfortunately didn’t offer any suggestions as to what other distillery it could be, so I’m sticking with my assumption that it’s Alberta.

Wherever it was distilled, it was aged in Eastern Nova Scotia, at a distillery owned by a small beverage company called Authentic Seacoast. They also sell other spirits, in addition to coffee, beer, hand sanitizer, and, of course, maple syrup.

The whisky itself is fine. It has a classic Canadian Rye profile and a rich texture. Other than that, it doesn’t stand out. I’m not sure what the “double barrelled [sic]” process is, but the texture does bear a vague resemblance to rebarreled bourbons I’ve had. I can’t detect notes I would characterize as “maritime”, other than a salted caramel taste that emerges after I let the whisky sit in my mouth for five minutes while thinking of the sea. It could have been aged in Toledo, Ohio, for all that shows up on the palate. It also falls victim to the unfortunate Canadian Whisky tendency to smell great, but fall flat on the palate.

I don’t mean to make it sound like this is bad whisky. It’s not. It’s just not as good as I hoped it would be for the price. Glynnevan Double Barrelled is mildly recommended.