Collingwood (40% alc/vol.) Canadian Whisky Review

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. ★★★★★

Sweet vanilla pods and fresh-cut lumber. A complex mosaic of flavours from cedar to tropical fruit set on a creamy base with hot pepper and a delicate underlying citric zest. Rich & Oaky. ★★★★★

Whisky drinkers seeking richer, more robust, and more sophisticated flavours will find that Alberta Premium Dark Horse delivers exactly that – an extraordinary symphony of rye. ★★★★★

Luscious and weighty with beautifully integrated aromatic spices and waves of white pepper. Sweet, like Mackintosh’s® toffee, vanilla and dried fruit. Citric zest, linen, some dustiness, and hints of oak. Spicy Rye. ★★★★☆

Sweet, peppery and hot with dusty old wood, citrus zest, and burnt toffee that ends with a refreshing grapefruit pithiness. It’s a bit spirity which is why it works so well in cocktails and highballs. ★★★

Buttery caramels with refreshing bitters in an oaky, peppery, and weighty dram. Mouth warming, spicy and smooth as the proverbial silk. Simple, straight forward, and richly flavourful. ★★★★

Candy, sweet, dark fruit, cream sherry, pepper and hot spices, dusty, floral rye, spirit, slight zestiness, and hints of fresh wood. Fruity and Spicy. ★★★

Creamy caramel and hot pepper. Ripe dark fruit, citric zest, fresh-cut wood and hints of spirit. Mild rye spices – cloves, cinnamon, ginger. A bit under-stated. Spicy Rye. ★★★☆

Caramel and pepper dominate well-defined fruits, fresh oak, vanilla, rye spices and zesty undertones. Both dusty and oily. Rich and Round. ★★★★

Succulent buttery caramel cream, canned cream-style corn and Mackintosh’s toffee waft gently into softly glowing peppery rye spices.

Crisp, clean, Canadian oak. Musty corn, cardboard, gentle caramels and vanilla. Herbal, slightly spicy and quite peppery with a cleansing citric pith. Malty & Dry. ★★★★☆

Fragrant and flavourful with sweet dark fruit, loads of fresh-cut wood, hot pepper, and recurring rich tobacco notes. Deceptively complex and surprisingly lively. Rich & Round. ★★★★★

Plums, prunes, black currents balanced with sweet butter tarts and baking spices and the warming glow of real black pepper. Silky mouthfeel with hints of oak but not the woodiness of long-aged whisky. ★★★★★

Creamy smooth and full-bodied. Peppery with subtle, understated fresh cedar, black fruits, caramel, musty corn, citric zest, and pith. Soft Corn. ★★★★☆

A weighty, highly integrated, and fruity synthesis of wood, toffee, vanilla, dusty rye, and baking spices, with developing hot pepper, dark fruits, prune juice, and citric zest. Rich & Oaky. ★★★★★

Sweet oak caramels and burnt sugar, raisins, prunes, and Christmas cake. Peppery with a slippery creaminess and underlying notes of clean oak. Fruity & Spicy. ★★★☆

A typical fruity, rye-forward Canadian Club nose becomes sweet, hot, and spicy on the tongue. The most whisky like of the spiced whiskies with added notes of black licorice, Mom’s baking vanilla and a touch of clean oak.

Sweet, peppery, and fruity, with a pleasing bitter zest. Hard, flinty, earthy rye tinged with cinnamon and ginger. Nice weight and creamy mouthfeel. Spicy Rye. ★★★★

Rich and very fruity– from raisins to peaches to berries. Sweet hot tobacco, black tea, pencil shavings, pepper and baking spices. Fruity & Spicy. ★★★★☆

Faint spirit evolves into robust rye spices with rich butterscotch, hints of dry grain, and ripe dark fruits. Very flavourful and mouth-filling with sizzling pepper, fleshy dark fruits and lime peel. Spicy Rye. ★★★☆

Toffee sweet, vanilla, grassy with citric fruits, and a cleansing bitter lemon zest. Some earthiness, sour mash, rye grain and rye spices, with a youthful spirit. Malty & Dry. ★★★☆

Brio, cola, white pepper, ginger, sultanas, prunes, coconut, grapefruit zest and juice, dry grain, mash, and hints of fresh-cut lumber. Fruity & Spicy. ★★★☆

An excellent example of a well-aged Canadian whisky with a bold display of gingery spice, pepper, exotic fruit – kumquats, passion fruit – and oak. Finishes with a slight pleasing pithiness. ★★★★☆

The most appealing barrel tones accented by peppery spices, high fruity esters and dark fruits, in a lush, creamy body. ★★★★★

Robust, yet elegant and fine. Continues to develop in the mouth and in the glass. Sip slowly for maximum pleasure. Red cedar, lilacs, kumquats, and spicy-hot pepper in a rich butterscotch. ★★★★★

Creamy vanilla, a dusting of rye spices, bursts of citrus and a veritable tsunami of fresh-cut wood. Soft Corn. ★★★★★

Rich in nuance and suggestion, though muted, this is about as complex as pure corn whisky gets, with bittersweet citric notes, lilacs, spices, fresh-cut wood, and hot pepper. Soft Corn/Rich & Oaky. ★★★★☆

Charred oak, pencil shavings and silky tannins melt into sweet citrus fruit, marzipan, hints of flowers and a certain meatiness. Peppery baking spices. Finishes long and hot with woody undertones. A carpenter’s nirvana. ★★★★★

Ripe fruit and stewed prunes with vanilla coconut custard, blistering hot spices and a nutty cereal side accented with rose water, dusty roads and hints of oak. Fruity & Spicy. ★★★☆

Mellow, smooth and oh so robust with dark and sour rye bread, floral tones, something like licorice, and loads of herbal notes. The smoothest of the smooth. ★★★★☆

Scotch snobs who rely on age statements to tell them if they like what they are drinking take note: Coyote Ugly is one three-year-old shooting whisky that is simply loaded with flavour. Loaded! Recommended. ★★★☆

Rum-soaked Christmas cake. Creamy, with vanilla, hot pepper, ginger, dark fruit, orange bitters, Bourbon, charcoal, oak, and floral notes. Rich and Round. ★★★★

Fruity/floral esters, vanilla, green apples, nutty and creamy with clean grain and oak tannins. A silky smooth and very approachable whisky. ★★★★☆

High esters, vanilla, green apples, nutty and creamy with oak tannins. A silky smooth Canadian whisky in the bourbon vein. ★★★★☆

Peaches, apricots, Concord grapes and Port wine with rye spices, hot white pepper, peach pits and bitter lemon. Fresh-cut lumber. Fruity & Spicy. Last Call – 2013. ★★★★☆

Spicy, sweet, fruity and floral. Rye spices, rye grain and fresh-cut cedar. The fruity notes turn tropical with mango, papaya and bananas. Chocolate tones that linger just below the surface fade slowly away.

A complex synthesis of ginger, clove oil, hot white pepper, cedar lumber, and prunes, with fresh spring lilacs and pansies and wilted tobacco. Caramel, vanilla and cooling citric pith. Rich & Oaky. ★★★★★

Controlled, elegant, creamy, and balanced with nutmeg, cloves and ginger, hot pepper and peppermint, green and ripe apples, floral bourbon-like vanilla and oak, cereal, and orange bitters. Spicy Rye. ★★★★☆

Sweetness and apple pie with hints of roses that develop tingly spices, crispy wood and typical rye fruitiness. Smooth vanilla pudding with a buttery finish. ★★★★★

Vanilla sweet with a mesquite-smoke undercurrent. Barrel spices with clean dry oak and typical Crown Royal creaminess. ★★★★

The smoothest Crown Royal ever, except for the 1939 original. Rich and creamy in the mouth with clean wood, leather, tobacco and ripe black fruits Some berry notes and sizzling gingery pepper. ★★★★★

A rich, weighty, hugely complex and skillfully structured whisky displaying ripe red fruit, fresh-cut oak, hot spices, dry grain, and violets. Rich & Oaky. ★★★★☆

★★★★☆ Prune juice, sweet sherry and black fruit with spicy heat, clean oak and a delectable mix of clean farm smells and coniferous forest. Rich and creamy with a dash of black licorice.

Classic rye spices—cinnamon, cloves, ginger, and pepper—all brought together in a lumber yard. Sweet, fragrant wood with a tangy citric zest and lots of weight. Rich & Oaky. ★★★★☆

Dillon’s unaged Canadian rye grain spirit is handcrafted in a copper pot still, from 100% Ontario-grown rye, without being aged in wood, thus showcasing the pristine flavours of the rye grain itself.

Hot, and sweet with dark fruits, creamy cereals, hints of pansies. Burley tobacco takes it into the lower registers as do hints of oak. A bright, lively, potent, but not overly complex whisky, with a sweet and fruity finish.★★★★☆

Blueberries, grape popsicle, sweet simple syrup and maybe just a hint of clean oak in a whisky liqueur-cum-ice-cream-topping designed for summer patio or winter hot spot bliss.

Creamy, sweet corn whisky with dusty, earthy rye, ripe red fruits, sherry, sweet-and-sour sauce, floral perfume, ginger, cinnamon, hot pepper, and hints of citric peels. Fruity & Spicy. ★★★★

Butterscotch, fresh-cut wood, toasted oak and wood smoke. Sweet vanilla, berries, barbeque sauce, mash, granola. Restrained, but full-flavoured. Rich & Round. ★★★★☆

Rich toffee and searing chili peppers with bursting rye spices, rye grain and bitter orange. A delicate floral touch with oaky maple syrup. Rich and hearty. ★★★★

John K. Hall looked to Ireland for inspiration when crafting one of his latest creations, a cream liquor, made with fresh Ontario dairy cream in a base of Forty Creek whisky.

Toasted oak sugars, vanilla, hot pepper, mustard, and ginger. Lemon cream, sweet- and-sour rye, dry grain, new sawdust, fresh fruit, and a citric zestiness. Almost chewy. Soft Corn. ★★★★☆

Oh my, what wonderful whisky! On-line reservations from Monday, May 27th to Friday, June 21st, 2013. After that you take your chances.

Bursting gingery spice bombs, dark fruits, clean sweet wood, and crème caramel. A spice
“Monster.” Sultry fruits and dusky rye spices like fireworks in an ancient muggy rainforest. Spicy Rye. ★★★★★

Full-bodied with floral rye, black fruit, herbs, butterscotch, licorice root, celery, gunpowder, & old Madeira. Spiced fruit berries, apple cider, sweet pipe tobacco, clean oak, peppery cloves and cinnamon hearts. ★★★★★

Mountains of dark fruit, toffee, and crispy oak burst to life amidst searing peppers. The initial boldness is then tempered with a delicate range of fruits, spices and floral notes. Complex. ★★★★★

Redolent of rum, kola beans, vanilla, and sweet rye on the nose and the ever-so-robust palate. Sizzling spices spiciness and the classic Gibson’s grapefruit pith finish. ★★★★

Crème brûlée, oak, cedar, spicy pepper, cloves, citric zest, black fruits, strawberries and cream. Masterfully balanced and seamlessly integrated. Rich & Oaky. ★★★★

Butterscotch, crisp clean oakiness, peppery spice, citrus fruit. Creamy with baking spices, then bitter citrus pith and black tea. ★★★★

Creamy, soft, round and smooth. Fresh-cut wood, caramel, and vanilla. Hot peppery spices, a slight saltiness, and gentle citric zest. Mildly floral and fruity. Soft Corn. ★★★★

Rich and creamy mouthfeel with a plethora of sweet fruits and berries, citric zest and pith, a nuttiness, black pepper, and hints of spirit. Soft Corn. ★★★★

Spicy rye, butterscotch, and vanilla fudge, with glowing with heat. Hot pepper is softened by vanilla ice cream and fresh dairy butter. Real maple sugar and real maple syrup accentuate clean wood.

Sweet, spicy oak and pine sawdust, rich in toffee, vanilla, and hot spicy pepper. Biscuits, with typical rye dustiness, spice, fruit, and just a drop of pickle juice. Rich & Oaky. ★★★★★

A complex interplay of fresh fruit, spring flowers, nutty grain, and hot white pepper all kept in place by the pith of white grapefruit. Floral & Fragrant. ★★★★☆

Sweet heat and very flavourful. Rich dark rum brisk spices and strong barrel tones with camphor and cinnamon. Body is robust and muscular body. ★★★★☆

Hot, peppery and slightly spirity. Rich in toffee, with hints of burnt caramel and nutty dry grain. Dusty rye with earthy and flinty overtones and hints of pickle juice. Cooked fruit and hints of flowers. ★★★☆

Warm floral tones, fresh-baked bread, clean but creamy palate with nutty dry grain, and a warming glow in the throat. ★★★★★

Pansies, clean, crisp oak, dry grain, dark fruits and pithy citrus notes. Tightly integrated and very complex. Great Canadian whisky. ★★★★★

Clean wood, vanilla, crème brulée, dried candied fruit, smoldering rye spices, creamy corn and delicate barrel notes. ★★★★★

Dark fruits, wet slate, sweet spices and assertive pepper. Sweet, crisp and slightly pulling. Great complexity and tightly balanced. Fruity, silky, long and clean. ★★★★★

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. ★★★★

Vanilla ice cream with butterscotch pudding and real maple syrup. Fresh, sweet red cedar and weathered wood, dried cloves, sweet grapefruit juice. ★★★★★

What’s a visitor to bring home from a visit to Canada? The easy answer is maple syrup. The whisky lover’s answer is Highwood’s maple whisky.

Rich, luxurious and creamy sweet with dark fruit, maple cream, cooked corncobs, hot peppermint candy and both sweet and savoury spices. Huge, complex and simply gorgeous. ★★★★★

Complex, balanced and elegant with green apples, clean lumber, peppery spices, butterscotch, vanilla, barrel notes, cigar box, and dried baking fruits. Typical Canadian citric zest finish. ★★★★★

Round, creamy butterscotch, fragrant flowers, clean wood, sweet baking spices, then peppery rye fading into a sweet citrus flavours. ★★★★★

Canvas and burlap with heavy fall flowers and dry brown hay. The palate begins with burnt caramel, searing spices and ripe orchard fruits and ends in a long juicy finish with a slight bitterness that integrates IPA hops and citrus pith. ★★★★☆

Fruity floral tones, oak, tobacco, sweet grain, and brisk and glowing peppers. Hints of hay and green grass. Soft waxy finish. ★★★★★

Floral fruity esters, sweet butterscotch, balsam, crisp clean wood, tobacco, vanilla, dark fruits, silky corn and lively peppers The glories of great spirit matured slowly. ★★★★★

Clean dry exotic woods, dried figs, marmalade, brisk peppers and rye spices, Bounty chocolate bars, fresh firewood. Very unusual. ★★★★★

Big whisky with butterscotch, bracing hot peppers, sweet baking spices, dried grain, roasted chestnuts, dried fruit, and coffee beans. ★★★★☆

Malty with cereal notes, mild honey, tree fruits, gentle spices and a creamy mouthfeel. ★★★☆

Maple butter, vanilla, and butterscotch. Dry wood, shellac, cedar, apricots and lilacs. Fresh-churned butter. Balanced, simple, and very flavourful. Soft Corn. ★★★☆

Rye, rye bread, sour rye, floral rye, hard rye, earthy rye, dusty rye grain, and then sweet citric notes, oranges, hot peppery spices, and tannic wood. Spicy Rye. ★★★★★

Dark fruits, blistering spices, pleasingly bitter with oak caramels, an oiliness and hints of wild flowers. ★★★★★

Hard Christmas candy, sour rye and sweet fruitiness with hot pepper, hotter spices and heavy rye bread. A pleasing farminess accents sweet floral esters. ★★★★★

A carefully crafted panorama of grassy dry grain, moist earth and burlap sacks, along with zingy pepper, blossoming floral vanilla, fragrant leather and tobacco leaves. Spicy Rye. ★★★★★

Grand Marnier, luscious sweet buckwheat honey, creamy, rich and mouth filling, bran buds with chocolate milk, hot and peppery. Dried, dark fruits, barrel notes. Creamy and weighty in the mouth. Highly recommended. ★★★★☆

Unusual 100% unmalted barley whisky with a huge herbal nose and dusty herbal palate. Earth, corn cobs, fennel, green apples, sweet spices and crème brulée. ★★★★★

Dark ripe fruit, lively spices, clean crisp oak, simmering white pepper and citrus zest all wrapped in luscious butterscotch. Big, big whisky.

Sweet and spicy, with apples, peaches, sweet flowers, malt, and nutty cereal. Slippery mouth with hints of chocolate and halva. Long, sweet spicy finish. ★★★★☆

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. ★★★★☆

Full bodied with hefty toffee notes and searing peppers over flinty rye, citrus notes and soft fruit. ★★★★☆ (Four and one half stars)

Red wine and ripe red fruit with candied ginger, caramel and blistering pepper. Minty and herbal notes complement the softest oak tannins. A big, slippery, smooth, voluptuous whisky. ★★★★☆

Spicy dark fruit, poached pears, gingery spice, and clean oak. Like a nutty fruit bar with cleansing bitter grapefruit pith on the finish. Treads softly into single malt territory. ★★★★★

Sweet and fruity with dry lumber, tobacco, mild peppery spices, malted barley and dried fruit. Mouth warming and a little bit slippery. ★★★★★

Introducing Proof Whisky, a new Canadian whisky from Toronto’s Proof Brands, that has been showing up quietly on LCBO shelves for the past couple of weeks.

Rich and creamy; smooth as the proverbial baby’s bottom. Vanilla, camphor, cherry cough drops, spicy pepper, and pleasing citric pith. Tasty Spice.

A vibrant young whisky with a lush and creamy richness. Caramel and sweet fruits swim in peppery rye spices, musty rye and sweet fruit. A tightly balanced mixer. ★★★☆

Full-flavoured and peppery with creamy maple syrup, clean oak, hints of rose petals, dark fruit, and tangy oranges. Fruity and Spicy. ★★★★

A very sweet fruit smoothie with earthy rye, hints of fresh oak, hot pepper, baking spices, pickle juice, spirit, and refreshing bitter notes. Fruity & Spicy. ★★★☆

Prototypical light and smooth 1970s cocktail whisky. Starts small, gradually becoming complex but subtle, with brittle rye, hot pepper, creamy toffee and lemon zing. Spicy Rye. ★★★☆

Pine pitch, Canada balsam, butterscotch, clove oil, dusty rye, pickle juice, hot pepper, flowers, and assorted fruits all neatly stitched into one. ★★★★☆

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

A complex synthesis of maple sugar, licorice cough drops, ripe black fruits, sweet flowers, and sizzling pepper painted in oils on an artist’s canvas. ★★★★

Butterscotch, dusty rye, hot white pepper, dark fruits and ginger. Refreshing citric pith and zest. Creamy smooth, then slightly grippy. Spicy Rye. ★★★★

Sweet, poached pears, marzipan, and apple pie with juicy fruit gum, cinnamon, nutmeg, wet hay, and earthy rye. Grain dust and cream of wheat mellow hot white pepper. Youthful but mature beyond its years. ★★★☆

A tingling effervescence turns initially buttery, mouth-filling, toffee indulgences into clear, clean refreshment. Ever-present hot pepper is restrained by a richness of body and crisp cleansing pith. ★★★★☆

Hits all the right notes with sweet intro, peppery, spicy, citrus middle and a longish peppery, pithy finish. ★★★★

Dave Pickerell is a true icon of the American whisky industry so when he declares Canada as the source of the world’s very best rye whisky, that’s news to be shouted from the rooftops.

Subtle vanilla, crisp oak, rich butterscotch and subtle rye spices, then hot pepper, lots of citrus pith in the finish with tingling ginger and cloves – a most whisky-like spiced whisky.

Sprite™, citrus fruit cooler, anise, soft baking spices, butterscotch, hot cayenne, hints of oak tannins. Probably the tastiest white whisky anywhere in the world.

Maple syrup, vanilla, oak, marzipan, suggestions of red fruits and floral rye notes. Luxurious creamy mouthfeel and developing hot peppery spices. Complex and beautifully balanced. ★★★★★

Sweet, rich and very spicy with overt rye notes. Cinnamon and cloves, dark fruits, hot peppermint and citric zest. Spectacular. Very highly recommended. ★★★★★

Dusty rye, baking spices, crisp oak and fresh-cut firewood, with vanilla-caramel sweetness dissolve in a long, hot, gingery finish that fades to citrus pith. ★★★★★

Big whisky. Cinnamon, cloves, and other rye spices. Dark fruits, vanilla, butterscotch, cedar oil, some earthy tones, and a slight flintiness. Weighty. Spicy Rye. ★★★★☆

Wood, wood, wood, but ever so complex with hot pepper, baking spices, butterscotch, vanilla, rye grain, tobacco, cigar box, sour-dough, and dried baking fruits ending in a citric zestiness. Rich & Oaky. ★★★★★

Complex, ever-changing flavours of dry grain, tobacco, Christmas spices, wood smoke, new tires, sour German rye bread, black fruits, cedar and fresh-sawn oak, toffee, vanilla, hot pepper, and bitter grapefruit. Rich & Oaky. ★★★★★