Lot No. 40 Canadian Rye

good, not great. darkish color. burns slightly to drink. can smell sweetness, vanilla, rum. however, the sweetness or vanilla taste doesn't come off strong on the palate and isn't artificial tasting. has a sort of pleasant mouth burn. has a sort of rumish after taste/ quality about it. would drink again.

Meh. Not my favorite

Canadian whiskey isn’t familiar territory for me. I’ve tried the big names: Canadian Club - Couldn’t get a taste for it. Tried the 12 year old and the standard offering and found both to be far too sweet and without much depth. Crown Royal - I’ve tried the baseline CR, Crown Royal Reserve, and the Noble barrel 13 year old. CR Reserve I found to be what I hoped the baseline CR would be, namely a pleasant sipper with just enough going on in the palette and finish. The 13 year old is an interesting experiment that I’m not sure entirely works but it’s a totally different animal than the other two and a nice insight into what a decent span of time in the barrel can do for Crown. So anywho, getting back to Lot 40. This doesn’t have much of a typical Rye profile but its a flavorful pour, much more so than the aforementioned Canadians. I don’t find the nose to be particularly dynamic but I get a nice dose of sweet grain on the palette, the distillate has received a nice sprucing up from the barrels used as well. The finish is where I was really surprised. Much more lengthy than I would’ve guessed and with a wonderful red apple note that just sits on your tongue and has no plans to leave. It’s a note that comes out of left field at the end and was a very pleasant surprise. I’ve got a bottle of the “yellow label” Lot 40 which apparently has a different Rye mashbill than this one. I’m looking forward to seeing the differences. I’d love to get my hands on a bottle of the cask strength version but it’s never shone it’s face here in NH.