Tastes

It’s a nice oily texture on the pallet, buttery, caramel, smooth and a touch of cinnamon. A well done Canadian whisky squarely within the classic Canadian flavour wheelhouse. Looking forward to more releases from this new distillery in Welland, ON.

This is a beautiful dram! The first thing you notice is definitely the wine note on the nose, it is clear and defined, but not unbalanced. The red wine note is present but well integrated into the whole. It is elegant and round, balanced by pleasant caramel toffee sweetness. With time in the glass, this wine influence dissipates and the character of the grains + wood take centre stage. Once it reaches this stage it shows some family resemblance to Wiser's Legacy (which is always welcome in my books!) I expected it to be nearly all corn, but I'd venture a guess that there is some rye in the blend. It is a wonderful experience...another home run for Dr. Don!

As the description here is vague, I'll clarify this is 93% locally sourced rye + 7% German chocolate malted rye. It spends 3 years in "first fill" American oak, and then 5 weeks in 30 year old Oloroso sherry barrels from Spain. And now, on to the show...Wow. Just opened this bottle for the first time last night, and it did not disappoint! In the company of other Canadians such as Lot 40 (regular and CS), Collingwood Double-Barrel, C.R. Northern Harvest Rye, and others...this bottle came out second only to the Lot 40 Cask Strength. And yet, this is such a different animal! It starts as a young vibrant rye with an herbal quality. Dry grassy notes move towards a balanced amount of sherry in the development. And the finish goes on and on! The new oak char is noticeable on the nose and palate. Where else will you find all this in a Canadian rye!!! ...and with time in the glass, fresh dill starts to emerge, just wonderful! It is worth the price, and I only wish I lived near Montreal to stay in touch with this distillery as they release others! I highly recommend.

First nosing was the pink hard powder candy lik-a-stix from a Fun Dip pack! This nose didn’t follow through to the palate...wonderful dry dusty corn with an old barn-board like quality. With time in the glass, the Fun Dip powder came back in the form of purple this time! Very nice, engaging, and a medium level of complexity. A good straight line bourbon that plays “in the box”.

It seems the higher the proof, the better this bourbon performs! Full of deep fruits, caramel, vanilla, and corn sweetness. One of the warmest Kentucky hugs I’ve had in a while...thank you Blanton’s Gold! Can’t wait to try the “Straight from the barrel” sometime!

If you’re a Jamie fan, pick this up, it’s a nice variant on the original. But I’d classify it as good, but simple. Not complex, just a solid “daily drinker”. The best part of this experience is a nice mouthfeel...buttery smooth, oily texture. I don’t regret buying this bottle...once.

Found this to be somewhat different than my last taste maybe a year ago. This time around, we had it beside the 10yo and I found the 10yo to be smokier! The Q.C. has a nice musty quality with lemon candy pinning it down. As the profesh review here states, you get smoke mostly on the breath exhaling...but I found letting the glass sit and develope for about 20 min. brings it to the nose a little more. It’s not the stand-out whisky I remembered but at least on par with the 10yo.

This is like Weller Special Reserve but with the volume turned up! The higher proof takes the cherry flavour and dials it up to more of a throat lozenge...a menthol feeling about it. And that trademark Weller yeasty note is backing it all up. If this were more available, it would always be on my shelf! A bargain price wheater that punches well above its weight class!

It has a soft and pleasant entry on the palate...it’s that kid in school that makes friends on his first day...with everyone. There’s a confectionary sweetness here that reminds me of Campino cherry candies. Mixed with some freshly sawn oak and slight barrel char, there is a pleasant yeasty character that draws me back to the nose over and over. This also pairs tremendously well with a mild cigar.