Tag: canadian

Canadian Mist

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Maker: Canadian Mist, Collingwood, Ontario, Canada (Brown-Forman)wpid-2015-05-01-17.23.50.jpg.jpeg

Style: Canadian blend.

Age: 3 y/o

ABV: 40%

Michigan State Minimum: $12

Appearance: Bright orange with short legs and necklacing (coloring is allowed in Canadian whisky.

Nose: Boiled corn on the cob, cumin, winter savory, hint of leather, new make.

Palate: Mild. Lavender, alcohol, multi-grain bread.

Finish: grape jelly bean, new make, burn.

Mixed: Performs well in an old fashioned and in ginger ale, although it gets a bit lost. Servicable with club soda.

Parting words: Canadian Mist is a perfectly adequate, entry level Canadian blend, but not much to write home about. It tastes very young, which it is, and doesn’t have much to offer except grain character with faint whispers of mature characteristics like oak and caramel. If you’re looking for something undemanding to sip with soda or in an old fashioned, Canadian Mist fits the bill. Black Velvet fits the bill just as well but is $2 cheaper. I think you know what I’d do in that situation. Canadian Mist is mildly recommended.

Collingwood 21

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Maker: Canadian Mist, Collingwood, Ontario, Canada (Brown-Forman)wpid-20150206_163642.jpg

Style: 100% malted rye Canadian whisky finished with toasted maple wood.

ABV: 40%

Michigan state minimum: $60

Appearance: Bright orange

Nose: Rich and bright. Dried orange peel, vanilla sugar cookies, cut oak, ground walnut.

Palate: Soft and mild. Grade A maple syrup, faint notes of clementine, maple sugar, oak.

Finish: A little oak and potpourri, then softly fades into a gentle sweetness.

Parting words: The nose on this whisky is truly amazing. It’s complex, elegant and beautiful from beginning to end. Wood is very much present, both maple and oak, but it’s never overbearing. Everything is seamlessly integrated. I could just sit and smell this whisky for hours.

Then there’s the taste and finish. Anticlimactic would be a polite word for it. Neither is bad, but they don’t even come close to matching the promise of the amazing nose. This is yet another Canadian Whisky that is held back from being the world class spirit is should be by being bottled at 40%. At 45% or, God forbid, 50% this would be world class. As it is, it’s a sad reminder of what is holding Canadian whiskies back. No, forget sad, Collingwood 21 makes me angry. The women and men who made this product deserve better than a showing like this.

$60 is too high but, my anger not withstanding, at $50 or lower, Collingwood 21 is recommended.

Collingwood

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Maker: Canadian Mist, Collingwood, Ontario, Canada (Brown-Forman).wpid-20141121_112418.jpg

Age: NAS (at least three years old)

Style: Blended Canadian finished with toasted maple staves.

ABV: 40%

Michigan State Minimum: $30

Appearance: Pale copper.

Nose: Popcorn, butterscotch, cut maple.

Palate: Semi-dry with a velvety mouthfeel. Hotter than expected. Maple candy, a bit of grassiness.

Finish: Maple syrup, sweet cinnamon. Fades fairly quickly.

Mixed: Good in an Old Fashioned and in a cocktail I found called a Ste. Agathe made with triple sec, lemon juice and grenadine but it didn’t hold up in one I tried called an Original (shot of whisky with a teaspoon each of sweet vermouth and grenadine). A cocktail from the Collingwood website called a Collingwood Classic (muddled orange peel, bitters and syrup) was tasty and refreshing. Orange seemed to work well with the rye and maple notes in the whisky.

Parting words: “Mellowed” with maple staves in a stainless steel vat after aging, Collingwood is a relatively new addition to the Michigan state list. I’m not sure why that term is used and not  finishing or infusing. Mellowing has the potential to confuse consumers who may be more familiar with the mellowing process used by B-F’s cash cow Jack Daniels. Jack Daniels is filtered through a vat filled with maple charcoal after distilling, so there’s beyond the use of maple wood, there’s no similarity.

I’m not familiar with Collingwood’s sibling, Canadian Mist, so I can’t make that comparison but Collingwood compares favorably with other Canadians in the $20-$35 range. It’s not as good as Gibson’s Finest, but better than Crown Royal and Forty Creek Barrel Select. Plus the maple finishing adds an extra element that justifies a couple extra bucks.

The bottle looks like it should contain aftershave but it does fit easily on a shelf and comes with a built-in pourer like a 175 ml bottle.

Collingwood works best as a quality mixer or a casual post-supper sipper. Recommended.

Wiser’s Legacy

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Maker: Corby, Corbyville, Ontario, Canadawpid-2014-10-16-18.21.08.jpg.jpeg

Distilled: Hiram Walker, Windsor, Ontario, Canada (Pernod-Ricard)

Age: NAS

ABV: 45%

Michigan State Minimum: $45

Appearance: Light copper with long thick legs.

Nose: Leather, spearmint, potpourri, coriander, green cardamom, woodruff, Habanero peppers.

Palate: Full bodied and medium dry. Butterscotch, white pepper, basil, cilantro, alcohol.

Finish: Eucalyptus cough drops, aged Alsatian Pinot Gris, hint of oak.

Parting words: Wiser’s Legacy is the legacy of now retired master blender David Doyle. Wiser’s Legacy is back in the U.S. after two year long absence. Named 2013 Canadian Whisky of the Year by Whisky Advocate, it’s a remarkable product.

It’s made from a blend of rye, malted rye and maltly barely and has loads of minty Canadian rye aromas (think early batches of Whistle Pig) that are elegantly balanced with candy sweetness and toasted barrel notes. It manages to be both unabashedly Canadian and a transcendent, world class-whisky on par with bourbons twice its price and single malt Scotches four times the price. I taste something new every time I pour myself a couple ounces.

Nobody knows how long it will be back on American shelves, so buy a bottle or two while you can. Wiser’s Legacy is highly recommended.

 

Head to Head: Black Velvet vs. Black Velvet Reserve

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BV= Black Velvetwpid-2014-08-22-17.47.05.jpg.jpeg

BVR= Black Velvet Reserve

Maker: Black Velvet, Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada (Constellation)

Age

BV: 3 y/o

BVR: 8 y/o

ABV: 40%

Michigan State Minimum

BV: $10

BVR: $13

Appearance

BV: Pale copper with some beading.

BVR: Very similar. Maybe a little darker.

Nose

BV: Alcohol, creamed corn, burnt caramel.

BVR: More balanced. Corn syrup, oak, caramel, vanilla, cumin, tarragon.

Palate

BV: Sweet and fruity. Plum, maple sugar candy.

BVR: Sophisticated and complex. Pralines, plums, oak, toffee.

Finish

BV: Very light. A hint of cookie butter and corn syrup.

BVR: Caramel, charred oak, black cherry, alcohol. Lingers for a long time.

Mixed

BV: Does very well in an old fashioned and with ginger ale. OK on the rocks.

BVR: Did not mix.

Parting words: I had been avoiding Black Velvet for a long time, just because I assumed it was terrible given its price point and its Canadian-ness. I gave it a half drunken try at a local whiskey tasting and I was pleasantly surprised. I was downright impressed with the reserve, which I tried after that.

Both have a sweet fruity quality that is very enjoyable. The original BV is a little rough around the edges, but the low proof smoothes it out nicely. It also mixes very well.

The reserve is a tasty, sophisticated, complex and well-balanced sipper. It’s a steal at only three dollars more for almost three times the age and flavor of its younger sibling. In its case the low proof works against it, though. Black Velvet Reserve would be highly recommended and possibly one of the world’s best whiskies if it were unfiltered and at barrel proof. It’s a shame that it’s not, but as it is, both Black Velvet and Black Velvet reserve are recommended.

Lot No. 40, 2012 Release

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Maker: Corby, Windsor, Ontario, Canada (Pernod-Ricard)Lot No. 40

Style: Canadian Rye

Age: NAS

ABV: 43%

Price: $60 (Binny’s)

Appearance: Auburn, with long thick legs.

Nose: Wintergreen, cotton candy, pine, leather.

Palate: Light mouthfeel, but spicy and hot. Butterscotch, oak, clove, curry powder, cayenne.

Finish: Hard candy, more evergreen and potpourri then heat. A little oak and tobacco rounds it off.

Parting words: This whisky is a reboot of a reboot, sort of. The original lot no. 40 was the farm plot of early Canadian and distiller Joshua Booth on the northeastern shore of Lake Ontario. His descendant Michael D. Booth created Lot No. 40 the whisky as a tribute to his ancestor as a part of Corby’s ill-fated Canadian Whisky Guild line in the 1990s. It was revived in 2012 and that’s the edition currently on store shelves.

If there’s a knock on Canadian whisky as a category, it’s that it’s dull. The overwhelming majority of them are blends built to provide lots of  “smoothness” for little money. As more flavorful styles of whisky like bourbon, rye and single malt Scotch have become more popular, Canadian distillers have begun to release bolder and even unblended whiskies to chase consumers who are tired of bland spirits.

Lot No. 40 is one of the greatest examples of these bolder offerings. It packs a wallop of flavor to rival ea bourbon or single malt Scotch. A lot of that is down to the 100% rye (10% malted and 90% unmalted)

recipe. Many Canadian distilleries make a whisky like this but it almost always gets blended away to add flavor to bland grain whisky in cheap blends. I’m very glad this made it into a bottle as is, and I can’t wait for the next edition.

The price is high for a Canadian whisky but it’s worth every penny. It may actually be cheaper in Canada, so make a run for the border if you can sometime soon. Lot No. 40 is highly recommended.

Head to head: Canadian Club Reserve vs. Canadian Club Classic 12

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CCR= Canadian Club ReserveCC Res vs Classic

C12= Canadian Club Classic 12

Distiller: Hiram Walker (and possibly elsewhere), Windsor, Ontario, Canada (Beam)

Age

CCR: 9 y/o

C12: 12 y/o

ABV: 40% (both)

Michigan State Minimum

CCR: $18

C12: $23

Appearance: Burnt orange (both).

Nose

CCR: Burnt almonds, cedar, roasted corn, habanero

C12: Leather, caramel corn.

Palate

CCR: Full bodied, caramel, cayenne, a touch of oak.

C12: Thinner and milder. Light brown sugar, vanilla and some oak.

Finish

CCR: Maple syrup, alcohol,

C12: Fades quickly. A little more oak and a light, warm sweetness.

Parting words: Before I say anything else, I want to say that I don’t like the newly revamped Canadian Club label designs. The different expressions look too much alike on the shelf.

That out of the way, CC Reserve recently got knocked back a year from 10 y/o to 9 y/o. The 10 was one of my favorite Canadian whiskies and I was pretty annoyed when the change was made. It doesn’t seem to have changed the flavor of what’s inside. It’s still spicy and bold and a pleasure to drink. The price is impossible to beat for a Canadian with this much character. It’s recommended, and a few proof points more would probably push it into highly recommended territory.

The Classic 12 is good too, especially for the money, but it’s held back by its low proof. It works as a first pour of the night sipper whisky, but that’s about it.  Classic 12 is mildly recommended.

Gibson’s Finest

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Maker: Hiram Walker, Windsor, Ontario, Canada (Wm. Grant & Sons.)Gibsons Finest

Age: 12 y/o

Style: Canadian blended whisky

ABV: 40%

Michigan State Minimum: $28

Appearance: Medium gold.

Nose: Spicy and dry. Fresh lumber, chipotle, hay, cardamom.

On the palate: Medium-full bodied and spicy. Butterscotch, red pepper, curry powder.

Finish: Big and buttery with a touch of oak and butterscotch candy. Fades quickly, unfortunately.

Parting words: Gibson’s is an old Schenley brand that has traveled a lot in its long history. For now, it is made at the Walkerville plant in Windsor and belongs to Grant & Sons, Scottish distillers best known for their blended whisky Grant’s and as the owner of the Glenfiddich and Balvenie distilleries. In Canada, an NAS and an 18 y/o version are also available.

At any rate, in its current incarnation, Gibson’s 12 y/o has long been a popular duty-free brand and it’s easy to taste why. Unlike many of its Canadian siblings, it packs a lot of flavor into 40% ABV. It’s bold but not brash, and offers a healthy dose of oak, always a pleasant surprise in a Canadian blend. It’s now available in Michigan at a very reasonable price. Gibson’s Finest is recommended.

Crown Royal

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Maker: Crown Royal, Gimli, Manitoba, Canada. (Diageo)Crown-Royal

Style: Blended Canadian Whisky

Age: NAS (at least 3 y/o by Canadian law)

ABV: 40%

Michigan State Minimum: $25/750 ml.

Appearance: Pale copper with some spotty necklacing.

Nose: Harsh and grainy. Burnt creamed corn, a sharp shot of rye, wood varnish.

On the palate: Full-bodied and sweet. Clotted cream, a touch of caramel, slight bite of alcohol and wood tannins.

Finish: Grape Nuts Cereal, a bit of caramel and then it quickly fades.

Mixed: Good with ginger ale and in an Old Fashioned. OK in a Manhattan and in an old cocktail recipe I dug up called a Frontenac (Canadian Whisky, Grand Marnier and bitters). It doesn’t add much to either of the latter, except perhaps some body, but it doesn’t hurt them either.

Parting words: Crown Royal has all the hallmarks of very young whiskey: cereal, full body and sharpness. This is most pronounced in the nose, which is by far the least appealing aspect of this whisky. It borders on nauseating. The rest of it isn’t so bad, just dull.

As a mixing whisky it does well as noted above, but it is hampered by the low proof. There is also a Crown Royal Black at 90 proof that may be a better option for Manhattans and similar cocktails but given the nose, it might not be a bad thing to cover that mess up with mixers.

My biggest beef is the price. $25 is too much for something this young and brash. Canadian Club 100 is $17 and comes in at 50% ABV, and the 12 y/o CC Classic comes in at $23 and sips as well as it mixes. A minor beef is the gaudy, ridiculous bottle and packaging. The bottle resembles something that might contain perfume belonging to an elderly French prostitute and the purple gold trimmed felt sack that it comes in goes right into the garbage as soon as it’s purchased. Overall, Crown Royal is mildly recommended for cocktails, but not recommended as a sipping whisky.

Wiser’s De Luxe

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Maker: Corby, Corbyville, Ontario, Canada

Distilled: Hiram Walker, Windsor, Ontario, Canada (Pernod-Ricard) (?)

Age: NAS

ABV: 40%

Appearance: Pale gold

Nose: Curry, sherry, horseradish.

On the palate: Medium-bodied. Ginger, coriander seed, mace.

Finish: Big sherry hit, followed by lingering sweetness and burn.

Parting words: Wiser’s De Luxe is what they call a grower. I found the agressive sherry and spice in the nose to be off-putting at first. But after a few months of drinking this, I’m at the point where I like it. It’s still rough around the edges, as any whisky this age is likely to be. But it has much more sherry and rye character than the competition. This is a nice, entry level Canadian whisky that also does well in soft drinks, particularly ginger ale. Wiser’s De Luxe is recommended.