LouisianaLonghorn
Forty Creek Confederation Oak Reserve
Canadian — Ontario, Canada
Reviewed
December 18, 2020 (edited April 26, 2022)
It's that time again. That magical time of year when all the "Best Whiskey of the Year" lists come out. I've been searching around and found that most of these lists consist of highly aged Scotch and limited release or allocated Bourbon, and while I'm sure these drams are delicious, the fact remains that most of us will likely never taste most of these, so over the next five days, I present to you this longhorn's humble top 5 whiskies of 2020.
Most of us could agree that this was not our best year. However, all the time spent at home resulted in expanded imbibing of our favorite brown beverage. This is the criteria for my list: (1) The whiskey has to be readily available on store shelves. No special releases. This means the most excellent Wild Turkey Masters Keep expressions I tried and rated this year are out, though you should feel confident to buy on sight. (2) Every dram on my list is $80 or less. Everyone should be able to taste great whiskey, and yes, I realize my definition of "great" might be different than others, but that's the fun of what we all do here, and (3) I had to have tasted it in 2020. None of the whiskies on my list were released this year, but this year is when I finally got around to them.
Coming in at #5 was an early contender for this list. I've professed my love for Canadian whiskey and I don't care who knows. There's a lot of cool offerings out there once you move past the bottom shelf, even at 40%, and this one ticks off all the right boxes. Finished in Canadian oak barrels (who else can claim that!), this dram presents notes of maple, spice, butterscotch, toffee, and more. At $55 and bottled at 40% ABV, it packs a lot of flavor into a modern classic from the North. I've written (read: lamented) before about how Canada keeps all the best stuff for themselves, but this one makes it south to us here in the US, and any whiskeyfile should give this a go before they write off Canadian whiskey as a category. Those folks at Forty Creek know what they're doing. Pick up a bottle and try for yourself. Cheers!
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Great review and I agree this is an excellent offering. I have a number of the limited Forty Creek releases (Heritage, Unity, and Victory) and this is my favourite. I find the others quite sweet although they are still good, especially as a dessert whisky. The oak in this one seems to add a little spice to balance out the flavours a bit.
@Anthology thanks for your kind words! I've been intrigued by Unity. It's a "shelf turd" around here. On sale for $50 now. Might have to pick it up myself!
Cool to see The North cracked @WhiskeyLonghorn 2020 top 5. Shows your versatility and fairness. Also bumps up my hopefulness for the unopened/untasted Canadian whiskeys on my shelf, which incidentally includes a Forty Creek product (Unity). Will keep an eye out for this one as well. Onto #4!
@WhiskeyLonghorn great review and a great idea. Looking forward to the next four reviews!
Agreed on the quality and value coming out of Canada. Haven’t been blown away by Forty Creek previously but this one sounds intriguing.
Finally... a list for the masses! By the people for the people! Your words are making me think that perhaps my hazy recollections and abdominal discomfort due to plastic handles of Canadian Mist and a splash of cola is not the pinnacle of Northern craftsmanship.