Lot No. 40 12 Year Cask Strength

Not a fan of rye ... first sip is pretty potent but the finish is nice. Almost minty...

Not the strongest nose, but full. Smells like rye bread. Some sweetness, and herbal notes. It definitely kicks you in the face, way more than you would expect for a 110 proofer. Lots going on here. Lingering spice. Floral and herbal with a pleasant sweetness. Flavor bomb but not harsh. Definitely need to come back to this. 12/22/17 Same bottle, almost 7 months later. Unmistakably a rye on the nose. Rye bread and brown sugar, a slight floral note. On the palate, sweet flowers. Flavorful but light. Not as complex as I remember. I must not be a huge rye fan, this is a bit hyped. 7/7/18 Different bottle. A musty note on the nose that I don't think I've noticed before. Still stings. Sweet bread, cola. Nice nose. On the palate, a strong industrial note. Sweetness and a hint of tea. I can see why some would like this, but still not a huge fan. 11/29/2021

SPICY, COMPLEX AND LONG ASS FINISH! AMAZING AMAZING AMAZING. BEST CANADIAN WHISKY I'VE EVER HAD. AWESOME JOB! 10/10

Brilliant nose. Well balanced. Really spicy. Sparkles on the tongue. Really rich and full. Bursting with rye. Most interesting rye (Canadian whisky) of the year. Wow. Like a meal. $70 and very hard to find. I got one of the last bottles in Ontario and the LCBO didn't want to seem to give it to me. One per customer.

The nose is one of the most enticing things I've experienced. Spicy sweet goodness, extremely tasty, very sad I cannot snag every bottle on the shelf. The sweetness isn't overwhelming but wraps it's arms around you in the warmest of Candian hugs.

For starters, I LOVE Lot 40 regular. I think it's my favorite sipping rye to be honest. And at the price ($40 in Ontario), I don't mind throwing it in some ginger ale either. If there are any 'Rye and Ginger' lovers out there, give the regular a try. I guarantee it will change your life. Onto the cask strength. How can you make the regular Lot 40 better? Bump up the ABV to 55% and age it for 12 years obviously. I tasted the cask side by side with the regular. On the nose, the cask is as you'd expect, a little stronger on the alcohol side. But I was surprised at how little it burned. On the palette it was the regular amped up. Lots of dark fruit, spice and a hint of molasses. The finish lingered, as it should. Here's where it got fun! I added five drops of water and WOW!! Not only were the flavours more pronounced, but it became thicker and creamier. The regular Lot 40 just doesn't do that with water. I've had that happen with some single malts before, but never a rye. After letting it sit for a few more minutes, cinnamon starts to develop. And the finish is long bringing all the flavours back over and over again. I'm ecstatic about this rye. I won't be testing it with ginger ale, that's for sure. It certainly doesn't need it!