Black pepper and an earthiness reminiscent of agave spirit give way to hard and gingery rye while citrus zest, with dark fruits, real black pepper, and dashes of pickle juice meld into cold wet slate. ★★★★

Butterscotch and maple fudge with cleansing zesty limes. Gingery hot pepper and fresh cooling mint. Crisp charred oak. Rich, weighty, balanced, and ever so complex. Fruity & Spicy. ★★★★☆

Much nuance, many hints. Pepper, ginger and other rye spices, ripe dark fruit, earth, dry grain, floral notes, vanilla, cedar, Fruity & Spicy. ★★★

Crisp clean oak and fresh red cedar, ripe fruit, butterscotch, vanilla, grapefruit pith, simmering spices, and dusty rye. A quick explosion of flavour followed by a slow, complex reveal. Rich & Oaky. ★★★★★

Canadian Whisky Awards 2011. Whisky of the year: Forty Creek John’s Private Cask No. 1. Canada’s award winning whiskies: Canadian Club, White Owl, Masterson’s, Gibson’s Finest, Wiser’s Small Batch, Wiser’s Legacy, & Collingwood. Special recognition to 20 successful years of Glen Breton.

New Year’s 2012 thanks to Canadian whisky lovers and whisky makers, and to the promoters and sponsors of the Victoria Whisky Festival, Savour Stratford, The Spirit of Toronto, and Whisky Live, who have supported CanadianWhisky.org in 2011.

Thirteen favourite Canadian Whiskies to make Christmas 2011 just that much more special: Canadian Club, Collingwood, Crown Royal, Royal Canadian Small Batch, White Owl, Pendleton, Danfield’s Alberta Premium, Wiser’s, Masterson’s, Forty Creek, Gibson’s, & Glen Breton.

Dave Broom, a contributing editor for Whisky Magazine, and a leading authority on whisky, rum, cognac and cocktails is introducing a comprehensive on-line whisky appreciation course called The World Masterclass. Here is an opportunity to tap into Broom’s vast knowledge.