J.P. Wiser's Last Barrels

The nice thing about visiting home for the holidays is the chance to return to some whiskies you've bunkered away over the years. This one's the highlight of the bunch. Smell is cedar-y, oaky, wood-smoke, with a touch of paint thinner, and some nice cherry/cherry-wood (not unlike what I get from Buffalo Trace), some slight custard, maybe sour milk? Body is a bit thin. Taste has some of that slight cherry, some tart apple, cedar, a lot of dry oak, tons of baking spices, cinnamon sticks, brining spices (clove, caraway, dill?), grainy grittiness. Finish is like licking lumber, with a bit more of that sour milk. I like this juice a lot--it taste likes what it is, which is to say that it's a Canadian whisky made in the style of a straight bourbon. But I think people also got super-excited by the rarity of this bottle and over-rated it as a result. It's a nice whisky, but can't compete with the real stars of the bourbon world. As an experiment, though, I do really like it, and I'd love to see other Canadian whiskymakers following in Wiser's steps with these sorts of bottlings.

Truly astounding. One of most flat out enjoyable whiskies I have had. Certainly the best Canadian. In a different league than Wiser's Legacy or Lot 40. Much more of a bourbon, a light, balanced, incredibly smooth Canadian bourbon. 92/100.

So outstanding that it's almost cruel that there should be so little of it available and that we'll probably never see it's like again.