Seagram's VO Canadian whisky

Seagram’s VO (40% alc./vol.)

January 16, 2012

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

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 ★★★

Comments

11 Responses to “Seagram’s VO (40% alc./vol.)”

  1. tim:
    August 13, 2010 at 9:07 pm

    I do choose VO over other ryes in a similar price range – and I don’t mind sipping it straight – nice strong rye dominates with a light creamy/sweet undertone.

    VO’s moment in the spotlight (and the reason I first purchased it) was because of it being Alice Cooper’s choice of liquid poison back when he couldn’t remember one night to the next. VO can be seen on the cover of “Lace & Whisky”

    http://images.uulyrics.com/cover/a/alice-cooper/album-lace-and-whiskey.jpg

    I recently opened a bottle of VO GOLD and it was even easier going down… claims to have longer/special aged rye.

    Think I’ll put on the LP at the end of the day and pour myself a nice tumbler of VO.

    Thanks Davin.

    Reply
  2. Davin:
    August 14, 2010 at 12:54 am

    Hi Tim,
    That’s fantastic! I did not know that about Alice Cooper; thanks for pointing it out to me.
    Cooper’s VO looks about the same vintage (1970) as the big bottle in the picture above. (The tasting notes are from a 2010 bottling though, like the little one in the picture.)
    Yes, VO Gold has more flavouring whiskies used in the blending process.

    Reply
  3. Jimmy:
    January 31, 2011 at 6:22 am

    Just stumbled across your website/blog and have to say that I’m loving it. I’ve been into whisky for about 3 years now, mostly Scotch and bourbon since I’m now living in the USA. This V.O. review made me pretty nostalgic since along with Seagram’s 5 star it was the brand my father drank. One quick comment, as a Manitoba boy I have to point out that V.O. was produced at the Gimli distillery along with Crown Royal, 5-star, and Canadian 83 not at Valleyfield. In Manitoba the bottles came with a label proudly stating that they were Manitoba products. Did this change or does V.O. get made at both distilleries now? Keep up the great work and I look forward to learning more about new Canadian releases as you post them.

    Reply
    • Davin:
      January 31, 2011 at 12:21 pm

      Hi Jimmy,
      Now that Diageo owns both the Valleyfield distillery and Gimli there has been some movement of the brands. As far as I know, Canadian 83 is still one of the most popular whiskies in Manitoba, but it is made at Valleyfield in Quebec, as are VO and 5-Star. The Gimli plant now focuses on Crown Royal although it may make some of the components of VO as well. VO, of course, was one of the original Seagram’s whiskies originally produced at their distillery in Waterloo, Ontario.

      Reply
      • Jimmy:
        February 1, 2011 at 4:05 am

        That’s interesting about all the brand movement. I wonder how long before all the stock laid down at Gimli for V.O. is used up. I think it’s good if Gimli is going to exclusively distill crown royal. I feel like the lack of a strong association between the various Canadian whisky brands and the distilleries that produce them hurts the perception of Canadian whisky. Gimli is a pretty town, it’s right on lake Winnipeg and I feel like the distillery can become a magnet for tours considering the popularity of Crown Royal.

        Reply
        • Davin:
          February 1, 2011 at 12:05 pm

          Hi Jimmy,

          They might still make a little bit of whisky for VO at Gimli.

          Touring a distillery is not nearly as easy as it is in Scotland or Kentucky. In Canada we have health & safety regulations, insurance policies/regulations, and unions that make it very difficult to get. Gimli does group tours but not for individuals and not for people who just show up. The only other distilleries that have tours are Kittling Ridge and Glenora. Canadian Club has a tour but they do not let you into the distillery itself, just the old offices. The distilleries are so far apart in Canada that you can’t have a distillery route and they are big industrial complexes and not particularly safe if you don’t know what you are doing.

          Reply
  4. marilyn orr:
    September 30, 2011 at 4:30 pm

    Can one bottle of Seagrams VO be shipped from Ohio to New York state?

    Reply
  5. dennis bowman:
    November 8, 2011 at 4:09 pm

    I have a bottle of Seagrams VO that has been exposed to temperatures over 120 degrees and below 30 degrees for the last year or two. Should I toss it or is it still good?

    Reply
    • Davin:
      November 8, 2011 at 4:46 pm

      Why not taste it and see?

      Reply
  6. PETER:
    January 11, 2012 at 6:12 pm

    I HAVE 2 UNOPENED FLASKS OF V.O. ONE IS FROM 1960, THE OTHER FROM 1961. ARE THEY STILL GOOD OR WORTH ANYTHING?

    Reply
    • Davin:
      January 11, 2012 at 6:20 pm

      Hi Peter,
      If they are still sealed and the fill level is fine, and provided they have not been stored in some toxic environment, they should still be good.
      To establish a value check e-Bay for comparable whisky or look at the archive at whiskyauction.com. I think you will find that like most old Canadian whisky, they have not appreciated very much and your best value is obtained by sharing them and the memories of them with a few close friends.

      Reply

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