Five More Four Roses Single Barrels: The OEs

Four Roses. Ten recipes. Three standard releases. Two yearly limited releases.

If you’re like me, that all adds up to a very large amount of happiness. 

I told you last time how, for Christmas, my wife and I bought each other a Private Selection Single Barrel bottle of each of the ten different recipes. and how we spent a nice Saturday tasting our way through my wife’s present: the OB line. 

Well, this past Saturday we finished our project. We tasted our way through the Christmas present my wife gave to me, spending another really nice afternoon tasting the five different OE bourbons. The results are below.

OESK

Age: 9 years, 1 month

Label details: 58.0% ABV, Warehouse KW, Barrel 89-2P

Purchased at: The Party Source

Nose: Maple Syrup, citrus and a hint of ginger

Mouth: Thick and sweet. Honey and black pepper with a generous dose of oak, but not too much.

Finish: Bitter tannins, honey sweetness and a heat that just lasts.

Thoughts: Thick and sweet this is like drinking a spiced honey. Really tasty.

OESV

Age: 10 years, 1 month

Label details: 51.3% ABV, Warehouse ES, Barrel 78-1F

Purchased at: The Party Source

Nose: Delicate. mint, citrus and honey. 

Mouth: Fresh and floral transitioning to bitter as it moves back in the mouth.

Finish: Warm and long. Fades to a pleasant bitterness.

Thoughts: If ever a bourbon asked for the descriptors of “crisp and refreshing,” this is it. I want a deck, a sunset and a glass of this with a little ice. Delicious.

OESF

Age: 11 years, 2 months

Label details: 57.9% ABV, Warehouse HW, Barrel 47-2H

Purchased at: The Party Source

Nose: Sweet pears with cinnamon and brown sugar.

Mouth: Peppery. Sweet brown sugar with just a hint of fruitiness.

Finish: Very long. Warm and sweet.

Thoughts: The nose on this one is obvious in its complexity, throwing up all of it’s aromas at once. The mouth and finish are mostly sweetness and heat. The finish is so nice, I had a hard time finding flavors—I kept forgetting myself and swallowing to savor it.

OESO

Age: 10 years, 3 months

Label details: 57.5% ABV, Warehouse BN, Barrel 30-3E

Purchased at: The Party Source

Nose: Caramel, warm earth, growing plants. Floral perfume.

Mouth: Dry with a hot peppery heat. Vanilla sugar.

Finish: There is a hint of the nose’s floral perfume that fades quickly to a slightly smokey cherry.

Thoughts: This is like a desert. Dry and hot. But somehow also sweet and comforting. It’s good, but I’d probably add a bit of water to tame it when drinking it. It also had an odd note that reminded me somewhat of a Canadian whisky I once had, though I don’t remember which one.

OESQ

Age: 9 years, 5 months

Label details: 58.5% ABV, Warehouse RN, Barrel 85-3N

Purchased at: The Party Source

Nose: Wild and uncontrollable at first. After it settles down a bit: rose petals and warm honey with a delicate hint of ginger.

Mouth: Sweet and slightly sharp. Brown sugar and a floral waxiness.

Finish: JuicyFruit gum fading to a nice bitterness. A pleasant warmth that lasts nicely.

Thoughts: Though I notice the resemblance to the OB version of this yeast, I’m not sure its as distinctive. I might not bat an eye at it’s “interestingness” but I’d drink it all night long and be happy with the choice.

I like all of these. In fact, I might be in love with the first three. The finish of the F, the refreshingness of the V, the sweet spiced honey of the K. Delicious. I’m very happy with the decision to buy all ten. I’m not sure I could choose between them if forced to buy just one.

Five Four Roses Single Barrels: The OBs

It’s really no secret that I love Four Roses Bourbon. They initially grabbed my attention when their social media person sent a note of encouragement to my wife on her first session of chemo a few years back. It meant a lot to her and we’ve had a soft spot in our hearts for the brand ever since. The fact that they also make kick-ass whiskey doesn’t hurt either. 

Ever since we first learned about the ten Four Roses recipes, my wife and I have wanted to sit down and try them all to see how they were different from one another. Well, after thinking about it for a few years, this year we decided it would be a good idea to buy a single barrel of each recipe. For Christmas. I bought her the five OBs and she got me the five OEs.

As you can tell, deep down, we are romantics. 

Last Saturday we finally started our project. We tasted our way through my wife’s Christmas present, spending a really nice afternoon tasting the five different OB bourbons. The results are below.

OBSK

Age: 12 years, 6 months

Label details: 60.9% ABV, Warehouse VE, Barrel 5-5D

Purchased at: Four Roses Cox’s Creek Gift Shop

Nose: Alcohol, first and formost. But under it, is a sweet caramel cookie.

Mouth: Sweet spiciness. Think warm cinnamon candy and brown sugar.

Finish: Sweet and spicy, with a surprising bit of fruitiness

Thoughts: This is all about sweet spiciness. But there are enough hints of other things to keep you interested. Things like that surprise fruitiness in the finish.

OBSQ

Age: 11 years, 4 months

Label details: 56.0% ABV, Warehouse BN, Barrel 22-2H

Purchased at: The Party Source

Nose: Caramel, cinnamon red hots, and a floral waxiness

Mouth: Floral with a hint of mint or menthol. This is spicy enough that a lovely tingle runs down your tongue as it moves back in the mouth.

Finish: Christmas cookie, menthol, hot though not burning.

Thoughts: Distinctive doesn’t begin to cover this. This is different than any bourbon I’ve had.

OBSV

Age: 10 years, 1 month

Label details: 55.1% ABV, Warehouse ME, Barrel 2-1F

Purchased at: The Party Source

Nose: Brown sugar, honey, vanilla, baking spices

Mouth: Creamy, fruity, and sweet vanilla/caramel

Finish: Sharp with a hint of bitterness. Mouth drying

Thoughts: I get why this recipe might be used as the “regular” release of single barrel, it is the most generic bourbon flavor of the batch. A tasty, tasty, generic.

OBSF

Age: 8 years, 1 month

Label details: 52.3% ABV, Warehouse HW, Barrel 29-4E

Purchased at: The Party Source

Nose: Bubble gum, oak, ginger

Mouth: Mint on the tip of the tongue, a sharp ginger spiciness, salty

Finish: Sharp, puckers the mouth with a warmth that settles in your chest.

Thoughts: Not sure if I cared for this one. It’s sharp and spicy. Maybe too sharp.

OBSO

Age: 10 years, 3 months

Label details: 54.9% ABV, Warehouse BN, Barrel 4-1M

Purchased at: The Party Source

Nose: Menthol, brown sugar, and baking spices

Mouth: warm, with nice body. Spiced cirtus punch.

Finish: cooling mint remains in the mouth while a nice warmth settles in your chest

Thoughts: This is exactly what I imagine when I imagine four Roses.

There were none of these I disliked. In fact, I was prepared to say that I was a big fan of all of them until I had the OBSF. That one I will need to spend a little more time with. Luckily, there is enough left in each bottle that we’ll be able to spend some time with all of them yet. 

Now if you’ll excuse me, I need to go celebrate Christmas again.

Double Blind Review: Evan Williams Bottled in Bond vs Old Heaven Hill Bottled in Bond

Evan Williams Bottled in Bond and Old Heaven Hill Bottled in Bond

It’s sometimes hard for those who only casually know me to believe that I am a frugal person. They’ll point to the fact that I have over 50 different whiskies (just in my office closet, unopened, that I paid for), as evidence of the fact that I am, in fact, the very opposite of a frugal person. 

But truth be told, I do not like wasting money. I don’t mind spending money, if the object is worthwhile or the price is obscenely discounted. But spending money without doing your research is just foolish. You may get lucky, but more often than not money will be wasted. 

Researching value. When it comes to bourbon, it often means looking below the top shelf. It can mean finding a liter of 100 proof bourbon for less than $20. But can it mean finding one for less than $15? 

I recently bought two very similar bourbons, Evan Williams Bottled in Bond and Old Heaven Hill Bottled in Bond. Both are produced by Heaven Hill. Both are 100 proof, bottled in bond. Heck, they are both even packaged in the same style glass bottle. The only differences from the outside are the name on the label and the fact that one costs 50% more than the other. 

To avoid price influence, we tasted these in a double blind format. I poured into glasses 1 and 2 and my wife moved them to spots A and B. I knew what bourbon was which number and my wife knew which number coresponded to which letter, but neither of us knew which bourbon coresponded to which letter. Then we sat down for a nice Sunday afternoon tasting.

Bourbon A:

Nose: Shoe leather, corn, dusty oak and a hint of caramel

Taste: Caramel corn and candied ginger

Finish: Long and sweet with a bit of charred oak

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Thoughts: Does it knock my socks off? No. But no matter which one this is, for under $20 per liter there is no reason to not always have this on your shelf. I like this one.

Bourbon B:

Nose: Dried corn, mint, dried grass or hay

Taste: Hot. Hot and harsh. Cinnamon red hots candy and dried corn

Finish: Long. More cinnamon candy which fades to a sour corn flavor.

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Thoughts: This is really hot. Cinnamon candy is predominant with a lot of grain flavors supporting it. Kinda meh here.

Bourbon A was my favorite and after the reveal, I learned that it was the Evan Williams Bottled in Bond. In this case, price really does make a difference. Though I was kind of hoping that the lower priced underdog would somehow pull it out, and that the extra 50% higehr price was just spent on all the marketing that the Evan Williams brand receives, I wasn’t really surprised. It does make it a little more palatable to know that that 50% works out to just around six bucks. 

For me, Evan Williams Bottled in Bond beat Old Heaven Hill Bottled in Bond hands down.

A Review of Two Different Evan Williams Single Barrel Vintage, 2003

There are a ton of bourbon brands on the market. But as we know, unless you are dealing with a craft distiller (that actually distills their own product) almost all of those brands are created by just a handful of distilleries in Kentucky and Indiana. Most of them with just a couple of mashbills or recipes each. 

So how is it that they all end up tasting so different? How does Knob Creek taste so much different than Jim Beam Black? How is it that Evan Williams Bottled in Bond is easy drinking and Henry McKenna Bottled in Bond is so hot? One answer? Barrel selection. Sometimes a barrel tastes like Henry McKenna and sometimes it’s Evan Williams. 

Bourbon is a natural product. It’s affected by it’s environment. Where was the warehouse it was aged in? What side was it on? North? South? Was it high up in the warehouse where the temperature swings are greater? Did we have a spell of really hot summers or really cold winters? The list can, and does, go on and on. 

But these are big brands. Your average consumer doesn’t want to know that the Evan Williams comes from this barrel or that. They just want to know that it tastes like the last bottle of Evan Williams that they bought. Because they like it. Thank goodness for what Four Roses calls “mingling.” You see if you want the next batch of bourbon to taste as much like that last one as possible, you just dump in enough barrels until it all averages out and pretty much does.

But what if you want something just a little different than last time? Or what if you are just curious what different barrels taste like, one to the next? Well, then you pick up a single barrel product. If you want to make it more interesting, pick up two. Preferably from different barrels. Because a single barrel bourbon is just what it says: the product of one barrel. Theoretically, they all taste slightly different. 

I’ve bought a lot of single barrel products in the past. But until now, I’ve never had two of the same open at the same time. Last Saturday I was having lunch and doing a sample swap with a friend, DP. He’d done a review of the Evan Williams Single Barrel Vintage 2003 over at his blog, Whiskey Detectives, and didn’t care for it. I mentioned that I normally like those, so he was nice enough to throw the rest of the bottle into the swap. So that left me with two open bottles of this bourbon from two different barrels. What is a guy to do, but to taste them side by side to see just how different they are?

I’m reviewing barrel number 16 (barreled on 9-8-03 and bottled on 12-12-12) and barrel number 642 (barreled on 2-11-03 and bottled on 7-30-13).

Evan Williams Single Barrel Vintage 2003

Nose: 

642: This starts floral, but after a bit of time in the glass it transitions to a strong cherry and chocolate scent, like the cheap chocolate covered cherry cordials you find at christmas.

16: This starts remarkably similar to the other bottle. After a bit of time though this is still very floral with only hints of the chocolate and cherries of 642.

Mouth: 

642: Sharp and vegetal at first. After a bit it settles down though and brings out more of a traditional sweet vanilla/caramel/spice bourbon flavor. 

16: This also starts vegetal, but somewhere along the way, it turns itself into a florist’s shop. It’s almost perfume-like. 

Finish:

642: Decent length heat that fades to a nice bitterness

16: Still floral. Still perfumey. Not as hot as 642.

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Thoughts: In my opinion, neither of these are as good as I remember previous releases to be. They both hit me with a sharpness I didn’t expect and that I found it hard to get past. Barrel 16, which I bought as a birthday present to myself was like drinking perfume. I just couldn’t get behind it. Barrel 642 from my friend DP was better. It was sweeter and had a nicer finish. All that said, if you handed me one without the other, they are similar enough that I wouldn’t know which you had handed me. And in my opinion, that’s not a good thing. I wanted to like these. I thought I would, but I don’t.

Battle of the Bigs: Head-to-head Review of Jim Beam and Jack Daniels

Today the internets are all abuzz with the news that Beam, Inc of Deerfield, IL was purchased by the Japanese company Suntory. On twitter there is shock, on Facebook there’s anger, racial slurs and xenophobia in general. Everyone has an opinion. Me? My thoughts on the matter are really boring. I’m generally apathetic as to which multinational conglomerate owns the distillery where the whiskey I’m drinking is produced. Or where they call home. Or where their stock is traded. I know bourbon jobs have to stay in the US, so ultimately I don’t really care.

But in the spirit of the news of one of America’s own moving to Japan (not really) I decided to do a head-to-head that I’d been thinking of for a while. Japan’s Jim Beam (not really) versus the local boy Jack Daniels. 

I’d been thinking of this, not because either of these end up on my shelf at home very often, but because I travel a lot. And when I’m sitting in a hotel bar somewhere, I’ll as likely as not be faced with the choice between these two with maybe a Maker’s thrown in for good measure. When faced with this prospect, I’ve often made a run to the local liquor store to try to pick up a replacement or gone without. But maybe, just maybe there is something that I am missing. I mean these are the two biggest bourbons* in the world, there has to be something to them.

Right?

Jim Beam (White Label)

Nose: Initially it’s just like standing in the Jim Beam warehouse that they let you go in while visiting the distillery. Oak, alcohol and dust. After a bit of teasing, there is some wet rock, a floral note and a bit of crisp sour apple. 

Mouth: Thin. Watered down tasting. Past that: corn, a little vanilla, pencil shavings and more sourness. 

Finish: Gentle is the only word for this. Lingering Corn. 

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Thoughts: I’m not a fan of this one. The thin mouthfeel and sour flavor are off-putting to me. That said, I’ve had decent cocktails made with this so it has it’s place. It’s just not in my glass. Maybe it’s in yours?

Jack Daniels Old No. 7

Nose: The nose on this one is really quite nice. Cherry, vanilla, a hint of chocolate. It reminds me of the chocolate covered cherry cordials you can buy at Christmas.

Mouth: Dusty, dried corn and some vanilla

Finish: A gentle burn with more corn and a lingering dusty bitterness.

Thoughts: Disappointing. The palate does not live up to the nose. But unlike Jim Beam, I can see why it’s popular. This is gentle and sweet enough to appeal to the new or non-whiskey drinker. And since many people never move beyond the first thing they fall in love with, I can see it. Will it have a permanent home on my shelf? No. But that’s not because it’s bad, it’s just meh.

Overall: If forced to choose between Jack and Jim neat, I’d go Jack. But that said, I doubt I’ll ever be buying either of them for that reason (bars almost always have one halfway decent beer on tap). And as with all whiskey reviews, your milage may vary. Try it yourself. Maybe you’ll love them. 

 

*Jack Daniel’s Sour Mash Tennessee Whiskey meets all the legal requirements of bourbon and could be called bourbon if they chose to. So for the sake of stirring the pot, for this post, I choose to call it bourbon. Because sometimes I like to see people who care way too much get upset.

Four Roses Single Barrel Head-to-Head Review: Gift Shop Edition

I’ve been meaning to write this post for just about a year. I tried when I first got back from Kentucky last year. It was a blind head-to-head. Imagine that, two different four Roses Gift Shop releases. One 13 years old, the other 17. What could be a better set-up? Well that was a question that needed to remain unanswered. You see, I accidentally started with the 125 proof one. I burned out my taste buds before I could even try it with water. 

I was sad.

So I put it off. And off. And off. Until I realized that I had very little left in the bottles. They’d become candidates for “removal.”

Removal is what I call the process of drinking only one bottle until it is gone in order to free up shelf space for the next bottle. It usually occurs when there is about 1/4 left in the bottle. It’s a policy that helps me to get over my urge to hang on to the “special” ones for longer than I should. And it’s a policy I desperately need. I secretly think that I might have a little hoarder in me. 

Actually, there’s a pile of little hoarders in me. They’re over there, behind the spleen. What? I might need them someday!

Anyway, the two gift shop releases of Four Roses had reached the point where they have been tagged for “removal.” I’d had the samples poured in my library for a while now, all I needed was that blog post and I’d be free to concentrate on finishing off those two bottles. 

The reason for the post has changed over the last year. Initially, it was a bit of a brag. Look what I have: it’s a 17 year old Four Roses…blah. It’s a good thing I never wrote that post. I would have been a dick. Now it’s a reminder. A reminder, that if you end up in Kentucky, to stop into the distillery and pick up a bottle of something so good, they decided to keep it for themselves.

So let’s get to the tasting. First the older/lower proof one (see I learned from last time).

Four Roses Single Barrel Gift Shop Release 17 year

Specs: OBSV. 17 years 5 months. 54.8% ABV. Warehouse QS. Barrel no: 73-3W. Selected as one of four barrels to commemorate the opening of their new visitor center.

Nose: Maple syrup, licorice, old wood that’s gone punky

Taste: whoo, that’s sharp. JuicyFruit gum, and baking spices. adding water amplifies the sweetness and the spices.

Finish: There’s just a wisp of a burn here, but it dries the mouth nicely. Adding water devastates the finish making it dangerously quaffable. 

Four Roses Single Barrel Gift Shop Release 13 year

Specs: OBSK. Barreled November 1998 (bought September 2012). 62.6% ABV. Warehouse NS. Barrel No: 16-4A.

Nose: This reminds me of a warm cookie. Sweet vanilla and allspice. Hints of barrel char.

Taste: Caramel/Vanilla sweetness balanced by cinnamon red hot candies. Sweet. Spicy. Wonderful.

Finish: warm, but doesn’t burn. there’s some wood left over. 

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Thoughts: It’s no secret that I love Four Roses. And I think they hit both of these right out of the park. Both of these are fantastic whiskies and I would be happy to have either or both on my shelf. I’ll be sad to see both of these go. If pressed my wife and I each would choose a different favorite. I loved the 13 year. I’ve reached for this over and over during the last year. In previous drams, I’ve found lovely fruitiness that I just couldn’t find this time. I typically drink it with an ice cube though so that would affect it. My wife prefers the 17 year. Which is no surprise, she loves old woody bourbons. And this trends that direction.

In short: if you find yourself within an hour of Lawrenceburg, KY, stop in. Get a gift shop release. It won’t be either of these, but it will almost certainly be fantastic.

The story of a falling out, a relationship rekindled and a review: Bulleit Bourbon

In light of recent allegations made by the daughter of Tom Bulleit of his homophobia and mental and physical abuse toward her, I have made the decision that BourbonGuy.com can no longer endorse products bearing the Bulleit name. An update has been added to reflect this change in policy.

Can you believe that Bourbon Heritage Month is almost over? Tomorrow marks the closing ceremonies and if you are like me, you'll be marking the occasion solemnly, with a bit of time for quiet reflection on bourbons come and bourbons gone...

Oh who am I kidding? While bourbon lends itself to the quiet contemplation quite nicely, the last hurrah of a month of bourbon should be celebrated. You should raise a glass and let people know that while the official celebration is damn near over, you keep bourbon in your heart all year long. 

To such an end, I'd like to introduce you to a friend of mine. This friend has been with me for most of my bourbon journey. He comes from good stock, though he's a bit shy of telling you exactly where he's from. He's got a reputation for hanging out with musicians, cowboys, and other rough and rowdy types. But he's nice to have around in a pinch and very seldom lets you down. 

Bulleit Bourbon was my first "favorite bourbon," as it is for many people just getting into bourbon. I think that's partly because it is just expensive enough at around $30 to let you feel that you might be drinking the "good stuff" and put together well enough to not make you regret spending the money. 

Yes, it was my first favorite. But, until recently I hadn't purchased a bottle for a couple years. What happened? Well, like any first love, we grew apart. I was looking for the next big thing. More expensive. Harder to find. Limited. Rare. Better, right? You know the drill. I was always out looking for a taste of the strange. Add in the fact that, at the time I finished that last bottle, I hadn't quite come to terms with drinking bourbon without a large chunk of ice and my relationship with Bulleit was doomed. It was everything that the "good" bourbons weren't. It was inexpensive (by comparison). It was readily available. It wasn't "rare" or "limited." And on top of it all, it didn't do well with that large chunk of ice I used to add to every glass. It fell apart into a watery mess. 

So I left it behind. I moved on. I still had a soft spot for it, I mean, who doesn't for their first love. But, no, I barely acknowledged its presence when I'd see it sitting there on the shelf. And did I feel guilty about that? Heck no. I was better than it and we both knew it.

But then a funny thing happened. The next big thing lost its luster. I lost the sense of satisfaction from the hunt. Expensive just seemed...expensive. I just wanted something that wouldn't break the bank. And that I wouldn't feel bad about emptying. And I started to think about the bourbons that I used to love back when everything was new and fun. And I turned back to my first favorite. At the beginning of the month, on my birthday, I bought myself a bottle of Bulleit to see if it was as good as I remembered or as bad as I remembered.

Let's see how it did.

Bulleit Bourbon

Nose: JuicyFruit gum, citrus, sawdust and a tiny bit of smoke.

Mouth: Smoke, sawdust, vanilla, honey and rye spice. This is a hot one.

Finish: The heat continues in a hot finish that settles right over the heart and stays there for a while. Good length to the finish. It's got a good bit of bitter tannins that dry the mouth after you swallow.

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Thoughts: It turns out it was as good as I remember. I really like this. It's a touch hot so it will benefit from the addition of a little water or a very small cube of ice. But be careful. Add too much and it will fall apart and be too thin and watery. The conventional wisdom is that this is made by Four Roses for Diagio and I'd believe that as I found the JuicyFruit gum on the nose that I often associate with Four Roses. And for the price, this is just a damn fine bourbon that you should be happy to have on the shelf and not be too sad when you finish. I mean, there is another bottle waiting for you right where you got that one from.

And that's a good thing.

UPDATE:

So, right after I finished posting this, I pick up the news to find the following (brought to us by WhiskyCast): Decision Time for Diageo On Sitzel-Weller.

From what I understand, this shouldn't affect the ubiquity of Bulleit for a while, if ever. I've read that Diageo ages the bourbon themselves so if Four Roses quits supplying unaged juice in six months there should still be Four Roses produced Bulleit aging for a few more years. The remaining stocks might be mixed with other non-four Roses produced bourbon as they get a new supplier or start producing themselves. In such a possibility, the taste would gradually change over time, but that's part of the fun of bourbon. As much as people try to claim that nothing ever changes, over time it always does.

It does mean that there will be a sample or two of my current bottle put into the library of samples I keep so that I can revisit it in a few years as a comparison.

2019 update:

As stated above I have made the editorial decision that I can no longer endorse or recommend products from the Bulleit family of labels. This is an extension of the policy in my Statement of Ethics where I do not allow homophobic comments. In this case I’d rather not continue to help enrich a man alleged to have physically abused his own daughter over her sexuality. The review has been left intact for transparency’s sake.

Things I learned in Canada and a Review of Forty Creek Confederation Oak Reserve

Well, I've been back in the United States for about a week now. I'm fully recovered from the early mornings, late nights and long drives. But looking back on it, I learned a lot while I was there. Some of it about Ontario, some about me. Some of it is minor, some...well not profound, but certainly less minor. 

Things I learned about Ontario & it's people & me 

Driving:

  • They do not "Merge" while driving, they "Squeeze." And I find that delightful.
  • Toronto will never, not be under construction. (I have that on good authority by an employee of the government.)
  • Ontario speed limits are extremely SLOW!!! 70-90 KPH? In the most extremely non-urban areas? Are you kidding me? I'm used to 70-80 MPH as a minimum.
  • Temporary orange lines for temporary lanes in a construction zone! Genius!
  • Canadian construction barrels are really skinny. But people still run them over.
  • I never want to drive in Toronto again. 

Money:

  • Ontario is expensive! (Across the board: soda, booze, attractions, public transportation, coffee...but not beer. hmmm...)
  • Pennies are stupid. Rounding feels better and less ticky-tacky. (but I still hate dollar coins...except for vending and tolls and bus fare and...)
  • Serious looking people in suits saying Toonie is just a bit silly.

Food:

  • Hamburgers in Toronto come with unannounced mayo.
  • Although vinegar on pizza is not a thing, I hope I helped to make it one. Also vinegar as a condement is totally a thing there.
  • I want the St. Lawrence Market by my house. 

People:

  • Toronto people do not say ah-boot instead of about (at least not those I met)
  • The homeless will thank you for not giving them money and tell you to have a nice day.
  • Canada is empty. The folks I met with claim that 75% of Canadians live within 100 miles of the US border. My limited experience seems to bear this out...though I doubt I was ever further than 100 miles from the US border. 
  • Just as not every Minnesotan loves hockey (me), not every Canadian loves hockey. 
  • Elton John got married in Toronto (acording to our tour guide on the sightseeing tour)
  • Everyone I talked to in Toronto had a slightly different accent.
  • The accent I picked up lasted most of a week before tv and Minnesota brought it back to normal.

Drinking:

  • When a Canadian says "Let's meet for a dram," it's likely they will bring two full boxes of whisky. Or so my one-time experience tells me.
  • Bourbon is a rip-off in Ontario ($75 for a bottle of Bookers, WTF?).
  • Government run liquor stores are generally bad for a varied selection, but centralized inventory lookup is really convenient.
  • It is way cheaper to bring booze home from Canada than into Canada if you are over your duty-free allowance. And that is good, because they really do keep the best whisky at home.
  • Forty Creek lived up to it's (unofficial) advertising. They make tasty stuff pretty much across the board. Though the maple liqueur was a bit much for me.

Miscellaneous:

  • Ontario is really big. It's 354,342 sqare miles of land area is roughly the equivalent of Maine, Vermont, New Hampshire, New York, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, West Virginia, Washington DC, Virginia, North Carolina and South Carolina. It goes from New York to Minnesota and then to Oh-My-God North. (The part we drove through was roughly the size of West Virginia.)
  • I could never take a cruise. I got restless on a beautiful, two-hour ferry ride across a tiny part of Lake Huron.
  • The CN Tower is older than me and glass floors that high up make me way too nervous.

The two most important things I learned in Canada are as follows: 

  1. Canadian whisky folks are amazing people and are worth the trip even if you were to do nothing else but visit them and then hide in your hotel room for the rest of the visit. 
  2. I really need to meet more of my online whisky friends in real-life. Let's all plan to meet at the Kentucky Bourbon Festival next year, ok? Or maybe just drop by my house here in Minnesota. I'm sure my wife will be fine with it. 

I brought three whiskys back from Canada with me. Two, I reviewed during the #DavinTT tastings in May. So here is the third:

Forty Creek Confederation Oak Reserve 

(Lot 1867-B) 40% ABV

Nose: A lot of alcohol on the nose at first. After sitting a bit I get a big hit of buttery maple along with a bit of wet ashes. After a while longer the maple fades and is replaced by some sourness. 

Mouth: First sip is sweet, almost cloyingly so, on the tip of the tounge becoming increasingly sour as it moves back in the mouth. Subsequent sips: bring more of the butteriness from the nose and some spice.

Finish: Short burn, very easygoing with a lingering sweetness in the back of the throat. 

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Thoughts: Overall, I like this but with a few reservations. First, I'd love this at a higher proof. The flavor is just a bit too delicate for me. The finish is almost non-existent and higher proof might help that as well. Finally that sour note was just a bit too much for me this time around. So while I like this, it is not quite in line with my palette. I'm pretty sure he wasn't aiming for bourbon drinkers though. That said, it was fun to taste a whisky aged in Canadian White Oak barrels. Who knows if I'll ever get the chance to do that again.