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Alberta Springs 10 Year
Distiller Score 85
Richly sweet with fiery pepper over layers of fruit, grain and rye spices. Dusty rye with a slight sourness on the nose becomes richly sweet on the palate with vanilla and crème caramel. Green apples, red grapes, and dried fruits ride waves of hot pepper and luscious caramel. Finishes in dry grain, hints of fresh-cut lumber and mild citrus pith. Deceivingly simple to begin with, then unfolds in many layers.
Reviewed by Davin de Kergommeaux
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Centennial 10 Year
Distiller Score 80
This blend of soft, ten-year-old wheat whisky and equally-aged spicy rye seems simple at first. Before long though, subtle citrus notes, hints of sweet flowers and savory spices join cloves, cinnamon, hot ginger and blistering pepper on a creamy butterscotch palate. Sip it again and you’d swear you taste the nuttiness of barley and the creaminess of corn, though neither was used in making this whisky. Finishes with a pleasant, cleansing bitterness and hints of barrel.
Reviewed by Davin de Kergommeaux
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Canadian Club Reserve 10 Year
Distiller Score 82
Old-style flinty Canadian rye whisky. Sweet voluptuous toffees and peppery heat mingle with Canadian Club’s signature dark fruitiness. The heat becomes a showdown between ginger and white pepper until it dissolves into the slightly bitter pull of grapefruit pith. Hard, steely flint in the background.
Reviewed by Davin de Kergommeaux
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Seagram's VO Gold
Distiller Score 82
The creamy sweetness of corn and the dustiness of rye in a bath of pleasing, peppery spices. The middles is filled with peaches and sweet apple pie, seasoned with hints of baking spices. Finishes quickly and tightly on grapefruit pith and just a hint of oak tannin. An amped up version of the ever-popular VO.
Reviewed by Davin de Kergommeaux
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Alberta Premium Canadian Rye Whisky
Distiller Score 84
The nose presents with dark rye, apple skins, milk chocolate, and wood spices. The taste profile is enjoyable, but not particularly complex. It is a solid, smooth rye whisky with a nice roundness to take the edge off. Considering the price, you'd do well to pick up a bottle if for nothing else but making yourself a damn fine Manhattan cocktail.
Reviewed by Stephanie Moreno
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Pendleton Original Canadian Whisky
Distiller Score 75
There is a strong initial whiff of something chemical, like Elmer's Glue, which quickly vanishes and gives way to a near overpowering sweetness. Toffee, vanilla, and artificial maple syrup all carry from the nose directly to the taste. Despite heavy flavors, it's a very light whisky. Fruity, floral notes lurk beneath the sweetness, along with a faint hint of oak and grass and dark chocolate. Nothing sticks around to produce a finish. This is a casual sipper that would be well-suited by the addition of cola or other mixer.
Reviewed by Keith Allison
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Forty Creek Barrel Select
Distiller Score 83
There is a fruity aroma from the sherry casks, but it isn't overwhelming. Spices such as cinnamon, orange spice, and ginger come across along with caramel and cooked apples. The whisky is bright and spicy, and for the price, is quite the value.
Reviewed by Stephanie Moreno
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Texas Crown Club Ultra Premium
Distiller Score 74
The nose is pretty neutral with some sweet corn and barrel spices found if you really, really try. Sweet caramel hits the tongue and the whiskey feels soft and round on your palate. The finish isn't very long, but what you are left with is gently sweet and ever so slightly bitter.
Reviewed by Stephanie Moreno
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J.P. Wiser's Deluxe
Distiller Score 68
The nose contains aromas of lemon pith, apple skins, and straw. White sugar coats your palate along with more straw and lemon rind. The flavors seem more akin to a Cachaça (Brazilian sugarcane distillate) than a whisky.
Reviewed by Stephanie Moreno
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Tangle Ridge
Distiller Score 83
Sweet maple covered pecans and dark rye bread come to the forefront upon nosing. As you taste, the sweetness overtakes you at first, but the whisky catches up to make it less unctuous and rummy. The alcohol seems to be a bit out of balance in the glass. Overall, however, the whisky would be fine with a large chunk of ice in your glass.
Reviewed by Stephanie Moreno
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Canadian Club Classic 12 Year
Distiller Score 74
Walnuts and vanilla come about from the onset. Sweet from the moment it hits your tongue, there is also a slight char note .The finish is reminiscent of drinking the last swig of a warm, overly sweet Old Fashioned cocktail.
Reviewed by Stephanie Moreno
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Canadian Club Reserve 9 Year
Distiller Score 75
The nose is a bit harsh on your nose, seeming higher than 80 proof. The whisky starts off sweet on your palate. It is not particularly complex; rye and vanilla are here and maybe some coconut, but not much else. The finish is less slick than the standard 1858 bottling tingling the gums and throat. Best to drink as a mixed drink.
Reviewed by Stephanie Moreno