It’s not been done before. Canadian whisky has never been covered in this depth. Yet in a matter of weeks, McClelland and Stewart, Canada’s major publisher, will release Canadian Whisky: The Portable Expert, my A to Z guide to Canadian whisky. The stars must have aligned. The moon almost certainly is blue. And surely, Canada’s early spring comes from Hell itself, having taken our numbing cold and frozen over. But now, along with the promise of the warmth of spring and long, lazy summer nights, a completely new book is waiting in the wings to make its entrance.

My book is the result of seven years of research with visits to every operating Canadian whisky distillery – along with several ghostly relics as well. I inhaled book dust in obscure local, provincial, and national archives. I sat down with long-retired whisky men who had made Canada’s rye whisky their lives, and I read everything on the subject that I could get my hands on. Then I took all of that research and worked it into the contents for a first-of-its kind book manuscript.

I am thrilled to report that, in spite of all the stories of spending years struggling to get a publisher interested, within weeks of hearing about the book Canada’s longest-established publisher signed-up my manuscript. The result? They have turned it into a genuine piece of Canadiana. I’m exhausted, but it’s mine and, I can tell you, I’m proud of it. And I’m thankful for all the creative and enthusiastic folks at McClelland and Stewart who got behind the project and who worked with me to transform messy manuscript pages into a beautifully designed and crafted book.

To write and publish a book is a labour of love, for sure. As I dug deeper and deeper into our national potation my fascination grew even deeper. My thirst for information was not so much quenched as my appetite was whetted in the course of this enormous project. Canada makes great whiskies and there are tasting notes for no fewer than 100 of them in the book. The history of Canadian whisky is a story of family feuds, of fortunes made, and of legacies lost. The heart-wrenching and sometimes utterly bizarre details of this history are all there in the book. It also shows readers the characteristic processes of whisky making and how the distinguishing flavours of Canadian whisky are developed. And finally, I narrate the unique story of each Canadian distillery and, for the first time in a book of this kind, show their unique approaches to making Canadian whisky.

Coming soon to a bookstore near you! Canadian Whisky: The Portable Expert will be released on May 8. And for those for whom patience is not a virtue and who can’t wait, it is available now for advance order on Amazon, Chapters/Indigo, McNallyRobinson, and several other on-line booksellers. I sincerely hope that the readers of this site will enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it.

Cheers! And don’t forget that extra copy for a friend or relative…

Last Remaining Whiskies from Famed LaSalle Distillery Included to Create New Crown Royal XR

LASALLE, QC., May 16, 2012 – Inspired by a desire to provide whisky lovers with the perfect blend to celebrate life’s special moments, Crown Royal® today announced the second installment in the brand’s Extra Rare Whisky Series.  The latest Crown Royal XR® blend includes select remaining whiskies from the renowned LaSalle Distillery in Quebec, Canada to create an unparalleled experience in luxury whisky.

Crown Royal XR, including whiskies from the famous LaSalle Distillery, marks the second Extra Rare whisky for the brand after releasing the original, crafted from the Waterloo Distillery whiskies, in 2006. As part of this on-going Series, each Crown Royal XR blend will be created including a batch of rare whiskies and distributed for a limited time.

Handcrafted by Crown Royal Master Blender Andrew MacKay, the new XR installment provides an extremely sophisticated tasting experience while maintaining the smooth undertones Crown Royal adorers have come to expect. Crown Royal XR is topaz and amber in appearance, with elegant aromas of aged oak, caramel and vanilla. The 80 proof (40% ABV) whisky’s taste is a sophisticated blend of dried fruits and honey in a harmonious balance with the spicy notes of Canadian rye.

For MacKay, the new installment of XR marks a personal legacy. The LaSalle Distillery, which opened in 1924, is where he began his career as an apprentice and refined his passion for blending whisky before ultimately taking on the title of Crown Royal Master Blender.

“LaSalle holds a historic place in the whisky world and is incredibly special to me, because it’s where I first learned about creating memorable blends,” said MacKay. “To be able to incorporate these Extra Rare LaSalle whiskies into the new Crown Royal XR is an honor and I hope loyal adult Crown Royal drinkers enjoy it responsibly – whether toasting to a monumental anniversary or simply gathering with friends and family on the weekend.”

LaSalle is also significant to Crown Royal, as it was the first distillery opened by the Bronfman family, a legendary name within the spirits industry. The Bronfmans were responsible for the creation of the original Crown Royal in 1939 to commemorate King George VI and Queen Elizabeth’s visit to Canada.

Crown Royal XR will be available nationwide for a suggested retail price of $129.99 for a 750 ml bottle beginning in early June. As with the inaugural installment in the Extra Rare Whisky Series, the new Crown Royal XR will be available for a limited time.

“Crown Royal is thrilled to expand our whisky portfolio with the introduction of a new Crown Royal XR,” said Yvonne Briese, Vice President of Whiskey, Diageo North America. “We’re proud our consumers continue to include Crown Royal XR in some of life’s most important moments and look forward to building upon that legacy for years to come.”

The Crown Royal XR packaging carries through the luxurious presentation established with the first installment in the Extra Rare Whisky Series. The unique bottle shape, deluxe glass stopper and iconic velvet bag will remain the same in shape and design, but will reflect a royal blue color to echo the regal nature of the product.

The launch of Crown Royal XR will be supported through print and online advertising, as well as public relations, point of sale materials and a strong digital strategy.

The Extra Rare whisky is best enjoyed neat or on the rocks, in order to allow the full flavor profile to emerge. Whether enjoying Crown Royal XR neat or on the rocks, please remember to always drink responsibly.

About Crown Royal

Crown Royal Canadian whisky is the number one selling Canadian whisky brand in the US by value and has a tradition as long and distinctive as its taste. Specially blended to commemorate a grand tour of Canada made by King George VI and Queen Elizabeth of Great Britain in 1939, Crown Royal Canadian whisky’s smooth, elegant style reflects its aristocratic origins and is considered the epitome of Canadian whisky. For more information visit www.crownroyal.com. Crown Royal encourages all consumers to please enjoy responsibly.

The original Crown Royal XR from Waterloo Distillery is reviewed here.

Crown Royal Black is reviewed here.

Crown Royal Cask 16 is reviewed here.

Crown Royal Limited Edition is reviewed here.

Vintage Crown Royal Fine DeLuxe from 1963 is reviewed here.

This 2012 special release marks the sixth from Forty Creek. There are only 6,600 bottles of Port Wood available. Once again, for a limited time, Canadian Whisky lovers have an opportunity to reserve their own special bottle number. Reserve any number between 0003 and 6,600 (bottle # 1 and # 2 as always, are already reserved for you know who!)

Reservations for numbered bottles are only being offered from noon on May 7 until 5:00 p.m. on June 7, 2012. Reserved bottles will be available for pickup at the distillery in September, 2012. A more definite date will will be announced later. For those who miss out on the reservation period, general sales will also begin in September. As always, numbers are reserved on a first come, first served basis. Often people choose a number that has special significance – a birth year, an anniversary, a lucky number.

Due to provincial and federal regulations, Forty Creek cannot ship bottles. They must be purchased and picked up at the distillery in Grimsby, Ontario.

Notes from John Hall, Whisky Maker

This is the second release of my Port Wood Reserve whisky. It is back by popular demand, and because I wish I had made more of it the first time.
My vintage ports are made from Niagara-grown grapes and aged in white oak heavy charred barrels. I must confess I am fond of vintage ports so making my Port Wood Reserve has the added benefit of allowing me to enjoy some very tasty ports.

Port Wood Reserve is made in the same style as all my Forty Creek whiskies, in that I do not use a mash bill. My varietal whiskies are aged separately, and once completed, they are brought together for further rounding out. In this whisky, the Forty Creek blend was aged in the vintage port wood barrels for another two years prior to bottling.

I am very happy with how this second release has matured. It is every bit as delicious, complex and smooth as my first lot of Port Wood, which won a Gold Medal at the International Review of Spirits in Chicago.

John Hall’s Tasting Notes

Appearance: Rich copper and gold with red flashes.

Nose: Ever evolving with concentrated, complex aromas. Dried fruit aromas of orange, black cherry, raisin, fig and date. Intense, yet delicate aromas of vanilla, ginger, cereal malt, and exotic spice.

Palate: Full-bodied and smooth, with a fruity oak finish which is nicely framed by fiery cinnamon, chocolate, tobacco, and smoke, and balanced with sweet toffee & honey.

Finish: Long, lingering and ultra smooth.

I hope you enjoy this release of Forty Creek Port Wood Reserve.

You could have in your hands one of only 6,600 bottles. Each bottle is individually numbered. Enjoy!

Port Wood Reserve will sell for $69.95.

Forty Creek John’s Private Cask No. 1 reviewed here.

Forty Creek Confederation Oak Reserve reviewed here.

Forty Creek Double Barrel Reserve reviewed here.

Forty Creek Barrel Select Reviewed here.

Hats off to the LCBO. No, the Auditor General is not their biggest fan. Yes, efficiency expert, Don Drummond, thinks they could put a whole lot more money into the public treasury if they stopped promoting Ontario wine (think local, Don?). On the other hand, Ontario whisky lovers are beaming at an opportunity they share with no one else in the world. Still Waters distillery has produced its first blended whisky and LCBO has secured the whole 90-case first batch to sell across Ontario in its Vintages stores.

It’s about a year and a half since craft distiller, Barry Stein brought two brand new blended whiskies to Whisky Live for visitors to try. Stein, and his partner, Barry Bernstein had sourced the constituents of these whiskies from one of the major distilleries and were conducting focus groups to gauge reactions. Positive results encouraged the partners to continue tweaking their blend until finally on their 11^th try they hit the winning formula. The result is a scrumptious mingling of sourced whisky, aged four to six years, and top-dressed with a splash of Still Waters own spirit.

It’s a succulent dram, dry on the nose until flourishing buttery toffee notes envelope the bouquet. It’s also a prizewinner, scoring 91 points at New York’s Ultimate Spirits Challenge in March 2012, just one point away from winning the Chairman’s Trophy.

First and foremost, Still Waters is a craft whisky distillery, sourcing local grain, then fermenting, distilling, ageing, and bottling it right on site. However, making great whisky takes time. According to distiller and company co-founder, Barry Bernstein, “While waiting for our single malt and straight rye whiskies to mature, we wanted to release a traditional Canadian blended whisky. We personally selected the whiskies in this blend and are quite proud of the international recognition it has already received.”

Still Waters’ pot-distilled single malt whisky is made from 100% Canadian two-row malted barley. Similarly, its corn and rye whiskies begin with locally sourced Ontario-grown grain. True to the craft distilling tradition, its whiskies are made by hand in small batches using artisanal distilling techniques.

If Still Waters’ own distillations continue to mature as they have, we could start to see some single barrel whisky offerings as early as 2013. Let’s hope the LCBO snags those ones for Ontario whisky lovers as well. Meanwhile let’s taste Still Waters’ sourced, and hand-blended Canadian whisky.

Nose: Begins dry and slightly closed before slatey mineral notes and dusty rye emerge only to slide away on wafting hints of dry grain and linseed oil. A smattering of pansies announces layer two: sweetness, with vague initial hints of toffee that build to a crowning crescendo, accented by fluttering fragrances of citrus fruit.

Palate: This whisky feels so good on the palate that at first you could overlook its pulsing pepper. Rich, weighty, and bordering on chewy, with slightly pulling oak tannins and sweet caramels, it almost feels like pancake syrup. The medium-hot pepper does start early though and it stays long with a tingling spiciness that leans towards ginger. A noticeably forward citrus pithiness builds on the early oak and soon develops equally appealing elements of tart citrus peel. It’s a neat balancing act performed with aplomb. As the middle develops a sizzling effervescence, the syrupy feel dissolves into pure refreshment. Hard-core whisky fans will revel in the sheer luxury of sipping this one neat, but do yourselves a little favour and just one time, add a splash of ginger ale.

Finish: Medium, fading to an almost nutty finale with clean grapefruit pith and hints of pepper along the way.

Empty Glass: Buttery Mackintosh toffee and clean threads of oak.

$34.95 at LCBO Vintages locations (beginning April 14, 2012).

Highly recommended. ★★★★☆

Canadian Club launches breakthrough innovations to propel growth

Iconic brand readies for the Canadian whisky renaissance

Toronto, ON (April 11, 2012): For decades, Canadian whisky was the number one spirit enjoyed in this country and also one of the nation’s top exports. In the current era of globalized markets and as the masses fully embrace beverage alcohol as a lifestyle product, the spirits landscape in Canada has grown to offer more consumer choice than ever before. For the iconic Canadian Club® brand (C.C.®), 2012 marks the beginning of a renaissance as it introduces exciting new innovations to fuel growth in the Canadian whisky category.

Leveraging its more than 150-year heritage and hallmarks of quality, versatility and mixability, C.C. is bringing innovations to market that are in-step with the evolving lifestyles and sophisticated palates of Canadians today. Beginning this spring, two new brand extensions will arrive on shelves in select provinces: Canadian Club Dock No. 57 flavoured Canadian whisky and C.C. Mixed & Ready, a line of ready-to-drink Canadian whisky beverages.

The brand is poised to capitalize on recent growth trends in ready-to-drink and flavoured spirits that are giving Canadian whisky a boost and helping to open the door to new consumers – namely younger adults and women – while bartenders are also coming to value flavoured spirits for cocktails.

Investing in the Canadian Club brand through innovation and marketing is top priority for Beam Canada – the maker of Canadian Club. Beam has answered a call to action issued by Spirits Canada in 2010 when it assembled Canadian distillers with a goal to unite and reinvigorate the category.

“As Canadians, we are deeply connected to the Canadian Club brand – it’s been part of our national fabric since before Confederation and generations of spirits lovers have made C.C. memories over the years. So, we’re committed to evolving this brand just as spirits drinkers are evolving,” says Cheryl Hudson, Marketing Manager, Canadian Club. “With Canadian Club Premium whisky at the core, C.C. Dock No. 57 and C.C. Mixed & Ready are innovations that give consumers bold spice and flavour and refreshment and convenience, respectively.”

Trends that fuel innovation: historical dramas and classic cocktails

Thanks to the success of historical dramas like HBO’s Prohibition-era Boardwalk Empire and AMC’s Mad Men (featuring the inimitable Don Draper), Canadian Club’s authentic role in history has moved into modern day popular culture. Add to that a classic cocktail revival in the world of mixology and the trademark characteristics of aged Canadian whisky brands like C.C. – namely, smoothness, mixability and versatility  - have increased in profile and prominence.

“Canadian Club’s smooth taste profile makes it extremely quaffable neat or on ice and highly cocktail friendly, especially in classics like the Manhattan,” says Tish Harcus, Canadian Club Brand Ambassador and curator of the historical archives at the C.C. heritage centre in Walkerville, Ontario. “C.C.’s new innovations will take the brand to the next level both for consumers new to whisky and more seasoned whisky drinkers who are seeking bolder flavour profiles and some spice.”

With younger audiences embracing “what is old is new again” and being exposed to new innovations in flavours and ready-to-drink (RTD) cocktails, brands like C.C. with strong equity and heritage are coming back in a big way.

RTDs in particular rose in volume by almost 4 per cent globally in 2011 over 2010. These products are all about convenience, particularly important during a time of economic slowdown when on-premise consumption has declined in markets like North America.

“RTDs address both the growth of cocktail culture and popularity of take-home consumption,” says Hudson. “They are easy to serve and help broaden the category to more occasions, ones that were typically dominated by beer.”

Canadian Club Dock No. 57:

With a nod to Canadian Club’s roots in Prohibition adventure, Canadian Club Dock No. 57 Spiced and Canadian Club Dock No. 57 Blackberry infuse spice and flavour respectively, with the classic smooth character of Canadian Club. Dock No. 57 Spiced is a Canadian whisky take on a trend that has captured the imaginations of rum drinkers over the past decade while Dock No. 57 Blackberry offers a unique new fruit flavour profile in the brown spirits category.

Dock No. 57 was inspired by the historic Prohibition era shipping dock where Canadian Club’s export manager Bill “The Real” McCoy shipped the Canadian Club whisky that quenched the thirst of Americans during the dry years.

Both flavours will be available in select provinces for approximately $26.00 to $28.00 (750 mL) beginning this spring.

C.C. Mixed & Ready:

Canadian Club’s new C.C. Mixed & Ready is designed to expand Canadian whisky into the ready-to-drink market and capture interest from consumers who are new to the world of whisky.

The brand focused on the most popular mixes – Ginger Ale and Cola – to create a convenient, refreshing ready-to-drink option that also offers an alternative to beer.

The product was test-marketed in Alberta in 2011, selling over 13,000 nine-litre cases and satisfying consumer demand for convenience and refreshment. Now available in Ontario and Alberta, C.C. Mixed & Ready is available in 473 mL cans for approximately $2.95 and 355 mL 6-packs for approximately $12.95.

Canadian Club Dock No. 57 Spiced is reviewed here.

Geo. Jet and I are Facebook friends. We met in 1998 on the now-silent MALTS-L discussion board. Not long after, I discovered his Canadian whisky site, a Yahoo group called “Beauty Eh?” It puzzled me to learn that Geo., a well-respected connoisseur and avid imbiber of the finest single malts, was such an enthusiastic fan of Canadian whisky. It turns out that when your palate is as refined as Geo.’s  liquid in a glass holds sway over words on a label.

When we met face-to-face in Las Vegas, Geo., and a number of his fellow “PLOWED Ringleaders,” sat in the midst of several hundred open bottles of the rarest and most sought-after Scotch single malt whisky, and extolled the virtues of Canadian Club Chairman’s Reserve, Canadian Masterpiece, Crown Royal XR, Lot No. 40, and their Holy Grail: Bush Pilot’s Private Reserve. With reverent affection they had dubbed that one “BPPR.”

A couple of weeks ago a message from Geo. arrived in my Facebook mailbox. “I just found a new CW on the shelf at Binny’s. It’s called Bison Ridge Special Reserve 8yo, imported through Minnesota by Crosby Lake Spirits. You’ll love the marketing mumbo jumbo about its “prohibition style blend”. Yet another ploy to cash in on the popularity of Boardwalk Empire, I guess. 
It is actually a fairly decent whisky for the price, $20 USD. A decent enough hit of rye with bags of buttery vanilla and oaky notes with smooth rounded edges. Sort of like the Chardonnay of CW.”

Well if Geo. liked it, I had to try it, and by George, once again he was right. Tara Gadzik from Crosby Lake Spirits Company was only too happy to oblige and a bottle was soon winging its way to my U.S. parcel service. Yes, it’s Canadian whisky, but Bison Ridge is not available at retail in Canada, nor any of the shops I frequent in Upstate New York.

According to Crosby Lake’s promotional material “During Prohibition, a very limited stock of the finest aged whiskies was smuggled across the border to meet the demands of whisky connoisseurs in America. We are now introducing our select blend from the 1930s to consumers around the world who appreciate incredibly smooth whisky. Taste Bison Ridge and see why the wealthy citizens paid the bootleggers so handsomely to get their whisky!” Of course the stock market crash of 1929 put paid to the booming smuggling industry, but who’s to quibble over dates some eighty years later?

“Our whisky comes from Canada,” Tara tells me, “and is aged for 8 years in American Oak. We’re very proud of its maturity as it dwells in a category that is led by products aged for only a fraction of that time.  Our blend is an homage to the whiskies of the 1930s and has a smoother, more round taste.”

Without question the whisky is smooth – very smooth – and that gorgeous, round mouthfeel is complemented by flavour galore. Not an overly complex whisky, Bison Ridge sticks to the basics and at $15 a bottle scores very well as an everyday drinking dram. Johanna Ngoh, executive producer (and founder) of the Spirit of Toronto whisky show has posed the question: “Do we really keep our best whiskies to ourselves?” Let’s take a sip and find out.

Nose: Sweet caramel, hints of wet clay. Simple, yet rich and expressive.

Palate: Sweet buttery caramel, hot pepper, and refreshing bitters with a hard rye edge. The bitters fade quickly leaving hints of clean oak to linger as the weighty whisky becomes very pleasantly mouth warming with a lovely slatey middle. Slowly, subtle rye spices permeate the pulsing pepper then fade away to nothingness.

Finish: Medium. Citrus pith with hints of caramel.

Empty Glass: Black licorice, caramel, maple syrup.

This is not a Canadian whisky style found commonly in Canada. There is a corps of American drinkers who tend to favour sweet voluptuous whiskies – versatile whiskies that they can sip, shoot, or mix in a cocktail. The Canadian palate leans more towards crisp, clean wood and subtle vibrancy. Bison Ridge most certainly caters to the former.

So do we keep our best whiskies in Canada for ourselves as Johanna wonders? Undeniably, we do have some pretty wonderful drams that never make it across the border. Still, America and the rest of the world also have scrumptious Canadian whiskies that we just can’t find on Canadian liquor store shelves. Bison Ridge Special Reserve fits this category to a T.

★★★★

Suggested retail price: $14.99 (U.S. only).

Starting a small distillery is always a struggle, and Shelter Point is no different. Still, when partners, Andrew Currie, Jay Oddleifson, and Patrick Evans first set out to distill malt whisky on Evans’ farm near Campbell River B.C. they couldn’t possibly have imagined what lay in store for them. Weathering a dearth of trades people to build the distillery was discouraging. Learning that their custom-crafted copper pot stills had been impounded by zealous U.S. custom authorities was disheartening. And the financial stresses of start-up almost proved fatal when the partnership itself imploded. Finally, however, in June of 2011, with some 300 whisky lovers on hand to witness it, Shelter Point laid down its first barrels of malt whisky.

The partnership question was answered when Evans, along with his wife Kimm assumed full ownership of the operation. James Marinus, who did much of the construction, took on the role of distiller. He did so under the expert tutelage of Scottish distiller, Mike Nicholson. And finally spirit began to flow. The spirit itself? Fruity, clean, and just a tad malty.

But that’s not what we’re tasting today. It will be years before Shelter Point has malt whisky ready to bottle. In the meantime, they have sourced some fine five-year-old, pot-distilled 100% rye whisky which they are bottling on site and have for sale in the gift shop. “When people come to visit us they want to take something back with them,” says Evans. It’s also a good source of cash flow while Shelter Point’s own spirit quietly sleeps.

It’s good stuff this Shelter Point rye, and for Canadian whisky lovers well worth the trek three hours north from Victoria to visit the distillery. As it says on the label: “Shelter Point Distillery takes inspiration from traditional Scotch distilleries. Making a good whisky takes time. While we wait, this single grain Canadian rye whisky has been selected by us for your enjoyment.”

Perhaps it’s worth mentioning that they take inspiration from Irish distilleries as well, for tucked away at the back of the warehouse are several barrels of pure pot still whisky made in the traditional Irish fashion with malted and unmalted barley combined. It will be a true Celtic celebration when Evans and Marinus finally decide those few barrels are ready to bottle.

A farmer by profession, Evans has plans to grow his own barley and malt it right on the farm. Now that’s what I call a “grain to glass,” “seed to still,” “crop to shop,” “field to flask” operation!

Nose: maple sugar, burlap sacs, plasticine, hard rye, dry grain, dried fruit and hints of sweet solvents. Quite complex. A generic fruitiness turns to apple cider and red cherries, then floral notes of rose water and vague lilacs sweeten into icing sugar.

Palate: Earthy, very hot, citrusy and rich in tones of linseed oil and canvas. Sourish licorice root, ripe black fruits, black Smith’s Brothers cough drops, a lovely bitter pithiness, subtle sweetness, and tingling spices.

Finish: Longish, peppery.

Empty Glass: Caramel, dry firewood, and cinnamon hearts.

Highly recommended. ★★★★

$39,00 at the distillery only. Quantities are limited.

Now before we get our shirts in knots, let’s not forget that they are still making the whisky we all love.  They are simply expanding their ranges to include fruit flavoured whiskies such as Red Stag bourbon and spiced whiskies such as Dock No. 57 from Canadian Club. Oh, and there’s a fruit flavoured Canadian Club as well – blackberry flavour to be exact – but it’s limited to the U.S. for now, though rumour has it coming soon to Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta.

The revival of the cocktail culture has seen more and more whisky appearing on more and more bars. Flavour is what mixologists are seeking – that magic combination that fills the bar with happy revelers. So why not start right in the bottle with the addition of complementary flavours that let busy bartenders keep it simple? Canadian Club is known for its versatility, smoothness and mixability; what better place to start?

Canadian Club is not the first Canadian whisky maker to release spiced whisky. Highwood has their lip-smacking White Owl Spiced, and of course Revel Stoke morphed into a subculture more than a decade ago. Dock No. 57, however, brings something new to the category.  First of all, it’s more subtle than the others. Made with the same spirit that has been going into Canadian Club since 1858, it maintains its strong rye character then augments it with the addition of just a smidgen of vanilla spice. The judicious infusion of spice bolsters notes of cinnamon, caramel, vanilla, pepper, and aged oak found in the traditional CC.

Dock No. 57 was inspired by the historic shipping dock where Canadian Club export manager, Bill “The Real” McCoy, shipped the CC whisky that quenched the thirst of our American neighbours during Prohibition.

CC Brand Ambassador, Tish Harcus explains: “The dock was built in 1858, when Hiram Walker opened the distillery, and was known as the Walkerville Dock.  In 1921, one year into Prohibition, the Federal Government of Canada established a series of Customs and Excise ports across Canada (in order to control all the spirits that were being shipped into the USA).  The Walkerville Dock was given the number 57E, also known as Dock 57, and yes, that is where the boats would be loaded with cases during Prohibition. In the early 1950’s the grain silos were built and the dock is no longer used.”

Let’s not forget that making whisky was entirely legal in Canada during Prohibition days, as was selling it and loading it into boats moored in Canadian waters. With the strong reputation it already enjoyed in the U.S. and its distillery located right on the border, Canadian Club was a strong favourite with rum runners. One has to wonder what Al Capone, the Purple Gang, and other clandestine yachtsmen would think if they knew that their dock – Dock No. 57E – now has a namesake that brazenly trumpets their once-secret cargo.

Nose: Rye spices and all the old familiar Canadian Club whisky smells. Black fruit, then licorice cigars and vague hints of vanilla but this is clearly Canadian whisky. Suggestions of citrus fruit underlie a surprisingly well balanced potation. This is no one-dimensional concoction, but rather the first spiced whisky that still puts the whisky aromas out front. The nose shows fewer toffee notes than the standard CC Premium 6 year old and develops some elements of artist’s canvas after a few minutes in the glass.

Palate: Sweet, very spicy, and peppery with slight hints of pulling oak. Full bodied but with a feeling of citrus pith though not a lot of citrus notes. Hot cinnamon hearts and hints of vanilla with more toffee than on the nose along with suggestions of sour rye. The blenders have managed to resist the urge to overdo the spices so it retains a pleasant whisky flavour, that with the added sweetness strays vaguely into liqueur territory. The nose is more complex than the palate.

Finish: Short to medium with pepper, hints of white grapefruit, and a nice warming glow.

Empty Glass: Dry grain, clean oak.

The square bottle departs from the traditional round Canadian Club livery offering a fresh look for a whisky tailored for today’s mixed drinks, but honestly, it’s an enjoyable toast straight up, and smooth enough for winceless shooters.

$25.95 at LCBO.

Canadian Hunter was long a staple whisky in the line-up from the House of Seagram. Seagram’s first distilled the whisky at its plant in Waterloo, Ontario. Following the death in 1971 of Sam Bronfman, who had brought the Seagram’s whisky brands to global domination, the company lost its way. Sam’s grandson, Edgar Bronfman, finally just cast the family heritage to the wind at the turn of this century. The Canadian whisky brands his grandfather had nurtured so carefully, and newer ones such as Canadian Hunter, which was introduced in 1984, were dispersed. But they were not lost altogether. Canadian Hunter eventually found a welcoming home with the Sazerac Company of New Orleans.

Sazerac takes its Canadian whisky portfolio very seriously. Its Canadian whisky team is led by Drew Mayfield, a Canadian whisky man who was the last chief distiller at Seagram’s before that company imploded. Canadian whisky, of course, can be made only in Canada, and this is why Sazerac now has hundreds of thousands of barrels of Canadian whisky ageing in Canadian whisky warehouses. From this ready supply Sazerac blends upwards of twenty different Canadian whisky brands, most of them with distribution limited to the U.S. market.

The label on the Canadian Hunter bottle has been updated recently. However, it still retains its image of the mushing huskies that continue to provide transportation in some of Canada’s more remote northern communities.

Nose: Simple and straight forward Canadian rye whisky with sweet baking spices, butterscotch, dry grain, and dark fruit. An initial wisp of spirit quickly develops rich aromas of sweet caramel, typical Canadian rye spices, and a broad ripe fruitiness.

Palate: Sweet, peppery, rich and mouth-filling. This is a big flavourful though not overly complex whisky. The creamy caramel holds steady throughout while hot pepper, ripples of clean oak – and in the background sweet dark fruit including prunes and dried currants – provide substance and body. It is loaded with sweet baking spices, including cinnamon, nutmeg and throbbingly hot ginger, with a wonderfully peppery burn. Round and mouth-filling, its strength is in its straightforward simplicity.

Finish: Longish. Clean but sweet on the finish with dry linen, hints of oak, bitter lemon rind, and pleasingly tingly spices. You can almost hear it calling for ginger ale.

Empty glass: Not a lot, maybe a bit toffeeish with hints of lumber.

$10.00 at liquor stores in the U.S.

Recommended ★★★☆

The year was 1913, and Joseph E. Seagram was busily working on a special project in his Waterloo, Ontario distillery. To celebrate his son’s wedding, Seagram was developing a special blend of his finest whiskies for him. And thus, the V.O. legend was born. Let’s hope the folks at Diageo, who now own the V.O. brand, remember that date and release a special centenary edition for us in 2013.

Seagram’s Waterloo distillery was eventually closed in 1992, a victim of industry consolidations. Since then V.O. has been produced at Diageo’s distillery in Valleyfield, Quebec, with some spirit components coming from other plants. Although flavourful and multi-faceted, V.O. is best served as a mixing whisky, its spirity whiffs and ginger notes complement a dry ginger ale.

Nose: Closed at first, then slowly opening into mild rye notes with a hint of spirit. Fresh farmyard smells, earthiness, cigarette ashes, suggestions of dry grain, and a vaguely floral essence give it an organic feel. Then a slight sweetness and ripe fruitiness develop into hints of cream sherry, followed by more mild floral notes. Soon some woody notes arrive, not obvious, but noticeable, with cedar and newly-cut lumber. This is not an overly expressive whisky. Yes, V.O. certainly has plenty of aromas – wood, sweet rye spices, dry grass, and vague notes of pickles, but although they are varied they could never be described as prominent.

Palate: Starts hot with pepper and alcohol. An appealing bitterness lingers under the full gamut of classic rye notes, including earthiness, freshwater plants, hints of pickles, a flash of flowers, and lots of baking spices – cardamom, nutmeg, ginger, and then some ginger ale. But there is a contradiction in that it is alternately dry at moments, then sweet and creamy. The slight caramel-like sweetness never cloys, but nicely frames shades of bourbon-like vanilla pod. The hot pepper develops into a real burn. Although it has the spirity notes of a classic mixing whisky, the body has a pleasing weight. And though there are ripe fruits, it never becomes overly fruity. If it sounds like there is a lot going on here, there really isn’t. There are lots of flavour suggestions, but it’s really not very complex. The zestiness feels good – almost tannic in its astringency and there is a rewarding underlying woodiness. Vague hints of apple juice are the first really well-defined flavour and are followed by some sweet citric notes. Pleasing.

Finish: Medium to short. Peppery with some heat, and sweet with a citric bitter zest that fades fairly quickly to nothingness.

Empty Glass: Barkeep’s Sunday morning, tidying up after Saturday night at the local bar. Very faint hints of beer, a slight sourness, and cigarette ashes then grain, mild caramel, a bit of wood, dry grass, hints of vanilla, and a slight dustiness.

There’s a long history of whisky knowledge being blended with a mix of lore, tradition, and myth, not to mention commercial hype. Writing in 1809, American distiller Samuel M’Harry said the industry was filled with as many myths as untruths. And the meaning of the letters V.O. is one such example. Although evidence to date is not definitive, some claim V.O. means Very Old, while others insist on Very Own. I’m not sure why everything has to be explained, but lacking solid information let’s just enjoy a rye and ginger and acknowledge there is a vaguely ordinary controversy here, of minor proportions.

LCBO price – $23.00.

Recommended ★★★