High River Canadian Whisky

Vanilla and Toffee

Back on December 23rd my wife and I were in Windsor at my brother in laws house for a Festivus party. If you are unfamiliar with Festivus, look it up and also, shame on you! One of the party guests, a nice Canadian who lived in Australia and was home for the holidays, brought a bottle of this blended Canadian whisky. He popped the cork and before the night was done the bottle was empty, but before that happened I poured myself a couple of samples to bring home with me to review. This NAS whisky is exclusive to the Canadian market. Bottled at 40% ABV, chill filtered and probably has colorant added making it a shiny copper color. The bottle notes that this was from recipe# 9108, whatever that means. The nose is very light and inoffensive. Typical Canadian style. Pronounced butterscotch, toffee and vanilla. Light fruits, oranges, tangerines, plums and subtle cherry. Distant mint or pine notes. Light oak and toasted marshmallow. There is a grain alcohol note, but it’s smooth and well integrated. Not much else, this is a simple and seemingly young whisky. Once again this is a typical Canadian profile on the palate. Strong butterscotch, maple syrup, brown sugar. Vanilla, oranges and a (very) mild pepper. A slight grain harshness, but like the nose it’s not really that off putting. A light bodied mouthfeel, creamy and dry. The finish is medium short with butterscotch and grain alcohol, but mostly butterscotch. This is an incredibly smooth and easy drinking whisky, but it’s very simplistic. It’s an all day/night sipper. One you could pour a hearty dram and drink it without really realizing how much you’ve had. Then another. And another. It’s fine neat or on the rocks, but I’m not sure how it would perform in a cocktail. If this wasn’t a Canadian exclusive I would absolutely buy a bottle to keep around for friends or when I’m having a party. I believe it goes for around $30-35, not a great price for a middle of the road Canadian, but I’d still buy it. 3.25 Cheers

Faint vanilla nose. Smooth. Needs no ice. Spicy on the tongue. Delightful. Only $35 in Ontario.