rawalker
Gooderham & Worts Four Grain Canadian Whisky
Canadian — Ontario, Canada
Reviewed
May 3, 2020 (edited February 13, 2021)
Light amber/dark gold in colour.
Nose: Fairly complex. Vanilla and maple with notes of nutmeg and spice. Brings French toast to mind!
Palate: Initially rich and sweet with a nice combination of maple and cereal notes. Rye spice suddenly and surprisingly kicks in with black peppery goodness. Dried fruit, especially raisin, enters the equation here as well.
Finish: Medium for flavour but long for mouthfeel; some tannins present on the tip and sides of the tongue as well as the back of the palate.
Slightly harsh but overall a fantastic, complex whisky - well done Dr. Don!
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@WhiskeyLonghorn Agreed. Canadian whiskey gets a bad rap, but I rarely see anything above the bottom end, so I don't think it often gets a fair shake.
I’m just jealous you get to try all the Dr. Don products. We get so few of those here down south! I can only find the standard Lot 40, Wisers 18, and Pike Creek 10 YR Rum finish. The Lot 40 is a hitter but word is the cask strength is even better. The Wisers was good but not worth what I paid for it, and the rum finish was overdone on the pike creek. Sweet corn whiskey on sweet rum was too much. Great reviews!
Thanks @rawalker ! I actually stumbled upon your tasting of Pike Creek 21 Oloroso almost immediately after commenting on this, but the direct comparison is a huge help! The dried fruit led me to wonder about sherry, but French oak is the other obvious explanation. Your comparison calling out the richness gap is particularly enlightening :)
@ContemplativeFox thanks for the comment! You inspired me to compare this to Pike Creek 21 Oloroso finish (also a Dr. Don Livermore product). Gooderham & Worts Four Grain has a much spicier tanniny finish, particularly on the tip of the tongue and back of the palate. The Oloroso Pike Creek and other Oloroso cask whiskys have a much richer and less spicy finish. Oloroso Pike Creek is quite rich and seems to focus on the sides of the tongue. I suspect with Gooderham & Worts the tannins come from the Virgin oak that is used. This tanniny finish is reminiscent of the Pike Creek 21 European Oak finish, which is a much spicier tanniny finish. I hope that helps clarify my tasting!
It sound almost like it has an oloroso finish. Or am I misinterpreting?