Gooderham & Worts Eleven Souls

I’m a huge fan of Canadian whiskey, and this is one of the very best. Golden yellow, sweet on the nose, Eleven Souls promises rich, fruity delights - and delivers from the first sip. There are dark red fruits and rye spices, as you might expect, but the total effect is... banoffee pie! That’s right. Warm caramel and creamy banana are boosted to dizzy sublimity by a hefty 49% alcohol, and that lovely flavour just unreels and unreels. Awesome. Try it.

Damn Canadians. Generally, Canadians are the nicest people in the world. But, when it comes to their whiskey, they’re hoarding all good stuff!! They have great free healthcare , a leader so good looking that would make me reconsider my sexual orientation , and now this!!?? I was sent a pour of this by my buddy up the I-80 just a bit northeast of me in NJ, @Richard-ModernDrinking . This is really good stuff...with an interesting history and recipe. It’s made by using 5 grains, 2 distillations methods, and 2 woods. Some permutation there resulted in eleven distinct whiskeys which were blended together. Eleven was also the number of children the founder had adopted, hence Eleven Souls. This is buttery smooth, with flavors of bright cherries, toasted bread, and almonds...with a hint of rye spice in the background. If you ever visit Canada, this has to be on your buy list. Meanwhile...my dear neighbor to the north: please stop sending the likes of Canadian Mist, Crown Royal, Seagram’s, and Canadian Club. Send this instead. Thanks @Richard-ModernDrinking for the pour!

I really enjoyed the Northern Borders collection of Canadian whisky released in 2017 so when I visited Toronto for work this week I made time to track down this bottle, which was hailed at one of the standouts from the 2018 series. I’m glad I did. The nose starts out like a high-rye bourbon but quickly evolves into something more complex. Waves of cream oscillate with the spicy aromas of fennel and cardomon seeds. The interplay between cream and spice continues in the mouth and peak in a finish that is long and yeasty, like a crumpet or Indian appam pancake. It reminds me in many ways of the recent Michter’s 10 yr rye and although this one doesn’t carry an age statement it’s three-quarters of the price. While that’s still ambitious by the historic standards of Canadian whisky, it’s hard to complain about the quality. A winner.