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Crown Royal Limited Edition
Distiller Score 85
The nose opens slowly on green apples sprinkled with nutmeg powder and cloves, and displays the dustiness of rye with the sweet vanilla of bourbon. Dry brown hay and dusty grain round it out. The toffee-sweet palate is rich with gingery spices and crisp oakiness on a creamy vanilla custard base. Spicy hot pepper balances a zippy citrus zest. A slight tannic pull precedes a classic grapefruit pith finish.
Reviewed by Davin de Kergommeaux
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J.P. Wiser's Legacy Canadian Whisky
Distiller Score 94
J.P. Wiser would be rolling in his grave. Not because this whisky insults the name, quite the opposite in fact – he’d be rolling to bust out and try it. The whisky’s nose pulses from one note to the next where a potpourri wafts in and out like a star-studded movie full of cameos. The cast includes maple, baking spices, vanilla, rye bread, charismatic oak and the full spectrum of orchard fruits. Missing is George Clooney. All of the same notes land in the palate mingled with a sweet and peppery citric zest. Toasted oak comes through and fades into tobacco as Legacy starts rolling its long list of delicious finishing credits.
Reviewed by Blair Phillips
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Pike Creek Canadian Whisky Finished in Port Wine Barrels
Distiller Score 88
The port wood influence is strong and pleasant on the nose, suggesting raisins and ripe red fruits. Though lightweight on the palate, it is not light on flavors as blood orange, ginger, and mild baking spices make their presence known. Due to the modest ABV, this whisky has just enough heat to let the port flavors and wood tannins merge to a balanced finish.
Reviewed by Paul Belbusti
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Gibson's Finest 12 Year
Distiller Score 88
Honey and strawberries on the nose. There's also a bit of citrus zest, caramel corn, and it has a waxy astringent character. Lots of rye, bitter orange peel, wood varnish, and caramel come next. Both caramel and strawberry notes assert themselves as it sits. The finish is warm but doesn't stick around very long. A thoroughly pleasing example of a refined, complex, but smooth and familiar tasting Canadian whisky.
Reviewed by Keith Allison
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Crown Royal Hand Selected Barrel
Distiller Score 93
Not a lot of oak on the nose on this whisky, instead, the bouquet shows butterscotch, flambéed bananas foster, freshly-baked cinnamon rolls, and maple syrup covered flapjacks. The palate starts sweet, think divinity, with walnut and a touch of oak before going into a very soft grain-forward profile. Ginger, cinnamon and nutmeg notes follow behind. The finish is smooth and lingering, with warm gingerbread, black pepper, oak, spearmint and a bit more cooked banana. There is a bit of heat from the alcohol, but it is balanced and provides a good counterpoint to the sweetness of this whisky.
Reviewed by Distiller Staff
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Alberta Premium Dark Horse
Distiller Score 89
There is a pleasant savoriness coupled with sweetness that is quite enjoyable, like beef jerky dusted with brown sugar. Leather, vanilla, banana, and a bit of bitter dark chocolate are notes on the palate after the initial touch of sugar on the tongue. The rye is present on the mid-palate and comes back around on the finish.
Reviewed by Stephanie Moreno
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Alberta Rye Dark Batch Whisky
Distiller Score 89
Sherry aromas, vanilla, baking spices and oak notes along with a slight alcohol burn appear on the nose. The palate brings more vanilla, oak, citrus blossoms, cinnamon, nutmeg, old lumber and dried prune creating a complex flavor profile. The whisky is wrapped up with a long and gentle finish of weathered oak, cinnamon and cardamom.
Reviewed by Distiller Staff
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Forty Creek Copper Pot Reserve
Distiller Score 89
Dark chocolate, vanilla cream, and dark cherry greet you on the nose. The body is far richer than other Forty Creek bottlings. On the palate, Turtle Candies came to mind (pecans and caramel covered in chocolate). The sweet and spicy notes balance each other and make this a fairly easy whisky to consume in large quantity. You are left with a warm feeling in your chest and a mild bitterness on the finish. Forty Creek has made a quality product at a very fair price.
Reviewed by Stephanie Moreno
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J.P. Wiser's Small Batch Canadian Whisky
Distiller Score 85
Vanilla and bourbon baking spices pour out of the bottle as the whisky hits the glass. The kind of baking spices that drift from Grandma’s kitchen, if Grandma rides a Harley. In the mouth it’s maple-syrup-covered pancakes, ginger candies, rye grain and a flash bang of hot spice fading into bitter sweet citrus zest. Fresh oak is at every step.
Reviewed by Blair Phillips
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Paul John Brilliance Single Malt
Distiller Score 85
Grassy, newly harvested barley and a soft maltiness tell of youth while a rush of carnival red-candied apple brings briskness to a juicy mouthfeel. There are plenty of aromas and flavors here: fermenting mash, green grass, blistering spice with an underlying earthiness, and hints of gunpowder generally reserved for long-aged sherry malts. The juiciness of the palate becomes almost licorice like, but without the licorice flavors. It finishes on kumquats – vaguely sweet and refreshingly bitter. The whisky broadens and deepens if left in the glass for a few minutes.
Reviewed by Davin de Kergommeaux
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Mackmyra Brukswhisky
Distiller Score 85
The sweet side of the malt is showing itself in the nose with notes of green apple, pear, banana, citrus and more gourmet flavours including honey, custard cream, vanilla, butterscotch. The palate, however, is rather different: fresh, grassy and peppery. A pleasant duality in this dram then and overall, an easy-drinking nectar to drink in good company!
Reviewed by Anne-Sophie Bigot
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Penderyn Sherrywood
Distiller Score 87
Penderyn's lean, fruity new make achieves some exciting flavors here when paired with an oloroso cask. The nose is an energetic blend of cayenne pepper, tropical fruits, and sea salt. The palate is lean and more fruit-driven with spiced apple up front and a savory finish of crusty bread.
Reviewed by Colin Howard