Dusty Thursday: Canadian Club, 100 proof "Export Strength"

Back in July of 2014 I reviewed a bottle of Canadian Club. It was fine, a bit delicate. I rated it a meh, having this to say about it:

“There is absolutely nothing wrong with this whisky. And, if you love delicate flavors, I can see this being a nice inexpensive bottle to keep on hand. I prefer my whisky to be a bit more in-your-face and not so eager to please so, although I wouldn’t turn down a glass if offered, I doubt I’ll be buying this one again.”

I’ve reviewed a few more Canadian Club whiskies since then. None were bad. They tended to range from “I really like this” to “meh.” So it was with more than a small bit of excitement when a friend of mine gifted me a bottle of Canadian Club 100 proof as a belated Christmas gift. It sounded like the perfect answer to my main complaint about the base release. Excellent!

But there was bad news. This bottle was one of the few that were left. My friend told me he thought that it had been discontinued. It isn’t on either the Canadian or US website for Canadian Club as a product or on Davin’s site. And I couldn’t find any other info on the expression in any of the other sources I normally check. So, I’m forced to believe him. Either that or it is released in such limited quantities as to be next to impossible to find anyway.

Canadian Club 100 proof Export Strength

Purchase info: 14.99 for a 750 mL bottle, Top Valu Liquor, Columbia Heights, MN

Details: 50% ABV, 6 years old.

Nose: Strong solvent odors off the bat, followed by floral cherries, wet stone and delicate oak.

Mouth: Bright and tingly in the mouth. Sweet and floral with strong vanilla and mineral notes. 

Finish: Nice heat with lingering brown sugar and mineral notes.

a smile because I like this

Thoughts: Oh man! Do I like this better than the base release! It has the same delicate flavors but adds a little heat to the mix. I opened the bottle my friend gave me the night I received it and I’ll admit, the next day I went up to the store and bought another one…and then yesterday I went back and bought one more. I left one on the shelf for the next guy though. It seemed only fair. Though the next time I’m up there, I’ll be stopping in to see if it’s still on the shelf and if it is…that bottle is mine. Because I’m very sad to have discovered this after it seems to have gone away.

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Forty Creek: Three Grain Harmony 2015

If it hasn’t been made perfectly clear in the past, I like trying new whiskies. So when my friend (and patron) Rick in Canada offered to pick me up a bottle of Forty Creek’s annual limited release when he got his, I jumped at the chance. We had a little fun with it and did a bottle swap. I got him a US only release and he got me this. 

I love friends. And Whiskey Friends make the best friends.

Forty Creek: Three Grain Harmony 2015

Purchase Info: I got this in a bottle swap, but it looks like the LCBO listed it for roughly $70 Canadian. Of course, it is long gone. 

Details: Bottle number: 3764, 43% ABV

Nose: Toffee and dried fruits followed by notes of faintly smoky oak.

Mouth: This has a wonderfully soft mouthfeel that balances a sneaky spiciness. Butterscotch, dried fruits, baking spices and hints of vanilla. 

Finish: Medium length finish with lingering dried fruit and a gentle heat.

A smile because I like this

Thoughts: This is a fine example of a product produced by a Master of the blender’s art. It is an amazingly well put together whisky. And while ordinarily the pronounced dried fruit note would turn me off, in this case it was tasty enough that it worked. I enjoyed this quite a bit and those who normally enjoy dried fruit notes should enjoy it even more.

Thanks Rick!

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Woodford Reserve Double Oaked Single Barrel

In the last couple years, liquor mega-store, Total Wine has come into the Twin Cities market. They offer ok selections and decent prices to a market that has been fairly well dominated by either small chains or municipal liquor stores.

The chains and munis fought hard to keep Total Wine out and when they lost that battle ended up pulling out of some markets. It’s sad to see people forced out of business when a bigger competitor enters the market, but in this case I found it hard to feel too sorry for those local chains as they previously tended to do the same thing to independent stores when they entered a city. 

And while the local chains with the limited sections and higher prices were facing the competition with mixed results, the independents are tending to take a different route. As I travel around the Twin Cities looking for interesting places to spend my liquor budget, I’m noticing that the answer that many stores (both the independents and some of the chain franchises) have come up with is to offer more selection. In the case of one of the small independents in my town, that meant having more facings and differentiating themselves with barrel picks. Right now they offer private selections from Woodford Reserve, Knob Creek and Russel’s Reserve. 

I'd had their Russel’s Reserve Single Barrel. It was quite good. So a few weeks ago, I picked up a bottle of their selection of Woodford Reserve Double Oaked Single Barrel. 

Woodford Reserve Double Oaked Single Barrel

Purchase Info: $57.99 for a 750 mL bottle. Viking Liquor Barrel, Prior Lake, MN

Details: 45.2% ABV. Sadly Woodford doesn’t add any barrel information to the label.

Nose: Sweet green apple, baking spices, spearmint and oak.

Mouth: Sweet and nicely spicy. Caramel, clove and allspice dominate with a touch of fruitiness showing up a bit later. 

Finish: The oak shows up on the finish with lingering char and tannins. Paired with that is a nice sweet fruitiness that lasts even longer. 

A smile because I like this one.

Thoughts: I liked this enough that after tasting it, I immediately went back and bought another bottle. If they still have some in a few weeks, I will probably grab a third. 

If you like Woodford Reserve Double Oaked and see one of these on a store shelf, I recommend giving it a shot. 

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Woodford Reserve Distillery Series: Double Double Oaked

Double Double Oaked. What does that mean? Well, with Woodford Reserve Double Oaked the mature Woodford is put into a second new barrel for six months to a year. This second barrel has been heavily toasted and very lightly charred. In the case of the Distillery Series Double Double Oaked that year in the second barrel has been lengthened to two years. So it was double oaked for double the time.

And since Woodford experiments tend to be hit or miss, I guess the only real question is: is it any good?

Woodford Reserve Distillery Series: Double Double Oaked

Purchase info: $50 for a 375mL bottle at the Woodford Reserve Distillery Gift Shop, Versailles, KY

Details: Summer 2015 release, 45.2% ABV

Nose: Brown sugar, caramel, cloves and a hit of latex paint.

Mouth: Sweet and spicy. Butterscotch and baking spices with a hint of fruit and bubble gum.

Finish: Warm and tingly. It starts sweet and transitions to a dry spiciness with a lingering not of “Brown Forman latex paint.”

A smile because I really like this

Thoughts: This is quite tasty. It has good spice and is sweeter than I would have initially expected. This tastes like a Brown Forman bourbon though so if you are not a fan of Old Forester or Woodford Reserve, this is one you might want to pass on. If however you are like me and really tend to like their stuff, then this is a tasty treat and you should grab it if you have the opportunity. Especially if you are a fan of the Double Oaked.

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Woodford Reserve Distillery Series: Sweet Mash Redux

Sour mash fermenting is the process of adding a little bit of the leftovers from a previous batch of fermented and distilled mash (called variously: backset, stillage, slop, all that mash that wasn't alcohol, etc) to your current fermentation run. It’s done to adjust the pH so that the little yeasties have a slightly more ideal environment for eating, growing, procreating and excreting precious, precious alcohol. 

But what happens at the beginning of the cycle when there isn’t any leftover sour mash left? Well then you’d do a non-soured, or sweet, mash batch (or you'd just adjust the pH in some other manner). By not adjusting the pH you adjust how both enzymes work during cooking and how yeast does its gobbling, procreating and alcohol production during fermentation. Either of which could very possibly lead to different flavors being produced in the end product.

A few years ago, Woodford Reserve released a Sweet Mash bourbon under their Master’s Collection label. They must have thought enough of the effort that they decided to try it out again and released Sweet Mash Redux as one of their first releases in the gift shop only Distillery Series.

Woodford Reserve Distillery Series: Sweet Mash Redux

Purchase Info: $50 for a 375 mL bottle at Woodford Reserve Gift Shop, Versailles KY.

Details: 45.2% ABV. Uses a non-soured mash. Summer 2015 release.

Nose: Corn flakes, warehouse dust and the usual Woodford/Old Forester latex paint note.

Mouth: Strong perfumed grain presence with spearmint, citrus, raisins and a hint of baking spices.

Finish: Baking spices, raisins, citrus and a nice tingle that hangs around a while.

A frowny face becasue I don't like this one

Thoughts: I’m not a huge fan of this one. It is fairly similar to regular Woodford, but with a much stronger perfumed grain and raisin presence that I am finding more than a bit off-putting. The difference is interesting and if you are more interested in being interested by a bourbon than in keeping your $50 for something tasty, feel free to grab it. But otherwise I have a hard time recommending this one on taste alone.

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Wild Turkey Diamond Anniversary

Ever pay money for an expensive bourbon only to find out that it’s…not bad? I mean one that is fine, but for the price you were kind of expecting…better? The it’s a decent bourbon, but not for it’s price range sort of thing?

I honestly hope you haven’t. Unfortunately, I have. Numerous times. And I’ve shared them with you. Numerous times. And it saddens me to say that tonight I’m going to be doing it again.

Wild Turkey Diamond Anniversary is a bourbon that I think people were excited about trying before it came out. It was an Wild Turkey expression made up of 13 and 16 year old bourbons. It was put out honor a legend’s 60th anniversary in the business. Everything was set up for this to be a special release. 

Then it came out. The reviews were nice, but less than stellar with most of them being something along the lines of what I described above. I decided early on that I wasn’t going to be purchasing it. The MSRP was out of my price range and though I love almost everything Wild Turkey has put out, I had to pass.

Then my wife got auction fever. We were at the Oscar Getz Museum Master Distillers Auction during BourbonFest 2015 when this bottle came up for bid. It came with a set of four nice tumblers. No one was bidding on it and she felt bad. She ended up getting the bottle and the tumblers for $140. A little below MSRP once you toss in the price of four glasses. We figured that it was for charity and any bottle that wasn’t sold wouldn’t help the museum. So she waited until it fell below MSRP and pounced. She was the only bidder.

Wild Turkey Diamond Anniversary

Purchase Info: $140 at BourbonFest Master Distillers Auction (with 4 glasses included), Bardstown, KY

Details: 45.5% ABV. A blend of 13 and 16 year old whiskeys. 

Nose: Kind of flat on the nose with sweet fruit and oak.

Mouth: Sweet. Brown sugar, oak and baking spice.

Finish: Lingering oak and caramel flavors. Slight heat and spiciness.

For the price I find this to be just...meh.

Thoughts: This is a whiskey that either fits your palate or doesn’t. I find it flat and uninspiring while my wife really likes it. Neither of us are looking to buy a second bottle though, not even when Total Wine put it on sale for $89. 

To be honest, if I’m going to spend a lot on Wild Turkey, I’d go with Master’s Keep. I actually picked up a second bottle of that when I saw it for $130 (I also saw it all over the place for around $150). If I’m not trying to spend a lot, I like the Rare Breed better than the Diamond and it is less than one third the price. Both of them tend to be more energetic in the mouth than Diamond, which is something I like about Wild Turkey normally. 

Diamond is not a bad bourbon. It’s actually quite good. It’s just not $90 to $130 good. For the price and the pedigree, I expected a lot more. 

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Wiser's Legacy

Early in my fanatical, must-try-everything phase of whisky exploration, I was offered the chance to blind taste a bunch of Canadian whiskies on Twitter along with author Davin De Kergommeaux and an international group of whisky fans and bloggers. As I was eager to try all the things, I jumped at the chance. Among other things, this experience taught me that there is some really good whisky coming out of Canada. 

Today's whisky was not in that group. But one of it's sibling was. Though Wiser's Red Letter was only available in Canada, it showed me that I really needed to be paying more attention to the stuff that was crossing our northern border. I knew Red Letter was a special whisky, so I went in search of another whisky that was a little more readily available. 

I found it in Wiser's Legacy. One sip and I was in love. Due to the nature of the try-all-the-whiskies phase I was in, I fooled around with a lot of different whiskies. I'd buy a bottle, we'd have some fun, but eventually something else would catch my eye and I'd move on. Not so with the Legacy. With Legacy, I knew I'd found a whisky to settle down with. 

Until rumors started popping up that Legacy was being pulled back to a Canada-only release. The rumor went that what was in the States was all that was going to be there. I nearly cried. Instead I did the one thing that I normally never do. I bought up enough bottles that I would be assured a supply should the rumors be true. Now, a few years later, it seems that that rumor was just that. But, from that point on, I've always had at least one "buffer bottle" in the closet to go with my one open bottle. And once a bottle is emptied, I buy another so I have a supply as long as possible. 

It's a comforting thing knowing that no matter what happens, you will always have at least one more bottle of that one you wanted to settle down with.

Wiser's Legacy

Purchase info: I've bought so many, but one bottle I still have a receipt for says: $42.99 for a 750 mL bottle at Surdyk's, Minneapolis, MN.

Details: 45% ABV.

Nose: Bubble gum, spearmint, hints of baking spice.

Mouth: Nice spicy rye tingle, mint, delicate oak and baking spices with more bubble gum underneath.

Finish: rye spice, mint, bubble gum and a gentle heat that lingers.

A heart because I love this.

Thoughts: This has been my favorite Canadian whisky for quite some time and no matter how many I buy, it continues to maintain that top spot. It is delicate with just the right amount of heat. Sweet, but also spicy. Amazingly well-balanced with well integrated flavors. I always have at least one bottle of this in reserve (though normally two).

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