In honor of Canadian Rick: Canadian Club Chronicles “The Icon” 45-year-old Canadian Whiskey

It isn’t often that I look at something this expensive, so I thought I’d give a little backstory on how it ended up on my shelf.

It was 2013, and my wife was planning the yearly trip she takes with her mother. Usually, it is somewhere local, like the North Shore of Lake Superior or Door County, Wisconsin, but this time, my mother-in-law wanted to see Niagara Falls. She’d never been and wanted to see it before she no longer could. Normally, the trip is just the two of them, but I’d never been out of the country and asked if I could tag along. They were driving, and I didn’t have enough vacation time to spend the entire week with them. So it was decided that I would fly out, they would pick me up in Toronto, we’d do some sightseeing, and then I would ride back with them.

Want to raise the suspicions of a Canadian customs agent? Fly in on a one-way ticket. She asked a lot of questions about what I do for a living, why I was there, who I was meeting, and why I didn’t just ride along with my wife when they drove in. The defeated way I admitted to not having enough vacation must have done the trick, though, because that was the last question before I was allowed to go.

But anyway, back in 2013, I was chronically online—like all the time. Twitter was my jam at the time, as it was still a few years away from becoming the total cesspool that I abandoned for my own mental health a few years later. I met a lot of really cool friends based on a combined love of all things whiskey. And when I mentioned online that I’d be in Toronto for a couple of nights, well, that was when Canadian Rick took over.

He didn’t go by that or anything, but that was how my wife and I thought of him.

Rick was very possibly the nicest guy I’d ever met. He set up an entire meet-up for local whiskey lovers at our hotel room. But before that, he surprised us at the Forty Creek distillery. He’d found out that we were going to be taking a tour and sat in the parking lot waiting for us to show up so that he could introduce himself to us and welcome us to Canada. And he did that by flirting with my mother-in-law and giving my wife and I the heel portion of a bottle of a very old Alberta Premium. I think it was about 30 years old. There was just enough left in the bottle for a pour for each of the two of us.

It was delicious. It literally sent a shiver up my spine as I sipped it. Until very recently, it was the oldest whiskey (or whisky since it is Canadian) that I’d ever tasted.

The next night, everyone showed up at my hotel room, and we had a lovely tasting. They tried their best to get me to enjoy Scotch the way they did, to no avail. I gained an appreciation but not a liking. (For context, it was sincerely said of one of the samples: “It has the aroma of Band-Aids and candle wax, mmm, delicious.” I did not think that sounded delicious…) Luckily for me, they also brought a bunch of Canadian whiskey along. Now that I liked. Enough so that we had to stop at a couple of LCBO locations on our drive home, even though I was massively hungover and working on very little sleep as my wife drove us back.

After our trip, Rick made sure to keep in touch. We visited on Facebook, via email, and, of course, Twitter. We even shared whiskey samples back and forth. He’d ask for Bourbon and, in return, send Canadian. Eventually, I pretty much gave up social media, and we drifted apart. I know I’m not doing justice to just how nice Rick was, but you’ll just have to take my word for it.

Right as we were starting our brackets last month, we received word from a mutual friend that Rick had passed away. And as you do when you learn that a friend that you’d drifted away from is gone, I wondered why on Earth I hadn’t tried harder to keep in touch. Even though I know there were some lovely whiskeys, I have no idea what we tasted that night in Toronto, but I remember the joy that we all had in tasting them together. There is a lesson there somewhere.

So, what does all that have to do with the bottle of Canadian Club that we are talking about tonight? Well, it was on that trip that I fell in love with good Canadian whisky. I’d been seeing this bottle of 45-year-old Canadian Club just sitting in the case for almost a year. And when I thought of Canadian Rick and his heel of 30-year-old Alberta Premium, something tugged at me to buy it. And when my daughter gave us a $150 Total Wine Gift Card for Christmas this year, I knew exactly what I wanted to put it toward. $300 is a lot for a bottle of whiskey. I’ve never spent that much previously, and it is very likely that I never will again.

And I’m very glad I did. It was the perfect bottle to open to toast Rick’s memory with when we heard the news of his passing. It was the only pour out of the bottle before we did the tasting notes for this post, and it will be a while before we pour another, I’m sure. But maybe someday, when there are only a couple of pours left in the bottle, I’ll need to pay it forward and pass that heel along to a friend newly met.

Canadian Club Chronicles “The Icon” 45-year-old Canadian Whiskey

Purchase Info: $309.99 for a 750 mL bottle at Total Wine, Burnsville, MN

Price per Drink (50 mL): $20.67

Details: 45 years old, 50% ABV.

Nose: Delicate, pleasant oak, along with cinnamon and floral vanilla.

Mouth: Creme brulee, marzipan, oak, and cinnamon.

Finish: Refined, balanced, and of medium length. Lingering notes of vanilla custard spiced with cinnamon and a gentle oak.

Thoughts: This is delicious. The first descriptor that popped into my head was" refined." It is extremely well-balanced, with neither the proof nor oak overpowering anything else. A few years ago, my wife and I tasted a vintage bottle of Canadian Club from the 1970s. It was very floral. Much more so than the currently produced product. You can still taste the floral 1970s Canadian Club roots even at its advanced age. This is definitely something that will live on the special shelf and only be poured on special occasions or for special people.

I didn’t get a chance to tell you anything about this whisky, but if you’d like to learn more about it, Whisky Magazine had a nice write-up when it was released in late 2022, and of course, here is the original press release.

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Pendleton Midnight

We’ve done it! We’ve made it through Dry January, and I’m going to tell you, much to my surprise, it was super easy. My wife and I both came to the same conclusion: after just a little bit, we didn’t even think of having a nightcap before bed. We seem to have gotten out of the rut that we had fallen into regarding our evening’s libations.

Of course, all that isn’t to say that I didn’t go shopping and pick up a few whiskies that sound super tasty. I mean, my weekly allergy shot is very near Total Wine. And really, why wouldn’t I stop in and take a peek through the bourbon aisle while I was in the area? At this point, I’ve already got almost a full month of tastings and reviews planned out with either things I’ve purchased or samples sent to me. February should be full of tasty treats.

Of course, in moderation. It doesn’t seem right to spend so long getting out of a rut only to jump right back in.

So, now that we’ve gotten that out of the way, let’s dive into the last tasting we did prior to the New Year. The Pendleton Whiskey portfolio includes three Canadian Whiskies bottled in Hood River, Oregon, and cut to proof with “pure, glacier-fed spring water from Oregon’s Mt. Hood.” The Pendleton Whisky brand was launched in 2003 by Hood River Distillers. In 2017, the brand was acquired by Proximo Spirits, making the brand corporate cousins with Stranahan’s Rocky Mountain Single Malt Whiskey, Tincup Bourbon and Rye, Bushmills Irish Whiskey, and Jose Cuervo tequila, among others.

If you’ve had the original Pendleton Whisky, you will find this to be a bit fruitier, as a portion of the whisky used in the blend was finished in American brandy barrels. Ok, let’s dig in.

Pendleton Midnight

Purchase Info: $37.99 for a 750 mL bottle at Viking Liquor Barrel, Prior Lake, MN.

Price per Drink (50 mL): $2.53

Details: 45% ABV. Some of the whisky used in this blend was finished in American brandy barrels.

Nose: Caramel, honey, and red fruit.

Mouth: Red fruits, ginger, molasses, and caramel.

Finish: Medium in length and warmth. Notes of honey, red fruits, and cinnamon.

Thoughts: This is quite nice. It's a decent step up from the standard Pendleton release. It's more full-flavored and not as gentle. The brandy barrel finish really comes through, bringing a lot of red fruit notes to all facets of the experience. It's sweet and very tasty. I like it.

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Uncle Nearest Rye, 100 proof

This review sample was kindly provided by the PR team for Uncle Nearest Whiskey with no strings attached.

It’s been snowing for the last two days. I hate snow. It’s cold. It’s wet unless it isn’t, in which case it is even colder. It’s heavy, especially when it is wet. It’s just all-around unpleasant. Though that is an unpopular opinion around here. Most folks in the area love winter. Or they claim to. I secretly think they are just stubborn and don’t want to move.

And don’t you worry, I’m thinking of moving. I think about it with every shovel full of snow that I throw off the driveway. Every time I look out at the snow-covered deck and think about deck drinks. Every time I have to bundle up to walk to the mailbox at the end of my driveway. Every time I think about moving. But…then I don’t. I have family here. My wife has a good job. I can afford to pay the heating bill. There is a lot of inertia in staying put. At least I have tasty rye whiskey to help keep me warm on a cold winter’s night.

Sometimes, like tonight, that rye comes from Canada, a place even colder than Minnesota. Though tonight’s comes from Canada by way of New York and Tennessee. Yep, once again, we are looking at an Uncle Nearest Rye. About a month ago, we looked at the limited edition uncut and unfiltered version. Tonight’s is the mass market, 100° proof version. The press release has the following to say about it:

Due to the challenges around growing rye in Tennessee, this whiskey originates in Canada – according to the exact American specifications required to be a straight rye whiskey – and is then aged in New York for a minimum of four years before moving down to Tennessee, where it is then rested in used Uncle Nearest barrels for additional maturation. The liquid is then tasted, barrel by barrel, and blended by Victoria. “When I was doing my research on Nearest Green, I came across a handwritten letter from President William Taft,” said Fawn Weaver, founder and CEO of Uncle Nearest. “The letter was dated May 16, 1911, and was addressed to his U.S. Secretary of War, Jacob M. Dickinson, thanking him for sending his favorite rye whiskey ‘of the Lincoln County variety.’ This letter led me to believe rye whiskeys were being made in this area, so after I found that letter there was no doubt in my mind a straight rye whiskey would one day be added to our portfolio of whiskeys.”

So, let’s see how it tastes, shall we?

Uncle Nearest Rye, 100 proof

Purchase Info: This sample was provided by the producer at no charge for review purposes. The suggested retail price is $59.

Price Per Drink (50 ml): $4.00

Details: Distilled in Canada, Aged in Canada, New York, and Tennessee. 50% ABV.

Nose: Toffee, almond, a hint of mint, and chocolate.

Mouth: Thick mouthfeel. Cinnamon, mint, toffee, and almond.

Finish: Medium to long and warm. Notes of cinnamon and toffee.

Thoughts: Sweet and thick in the mouth. Nice spice. Almost too sweet for my palate. This would probably be amazing in an Old Fashioned, though. (Spoiler from after I took the notes…it is. Works great in an Old Fashioned with Angostura bitters and the oil expressed from the orange peel garnish.)

About a month ago, we covered the Uncut/Unfiltered Limited Edition Uncle Nearest Rye. So how does the 100° proof version compare? Well, this is very similar on the nose. The mouth of the 100° proof is a bit less punchy than the barrel-strength version. Which at an almost 20° proof difference is to be expected. The flavors are very similar, as you might expect, but the barrel-proof version is hotter and more vibrant. Both are quite good, though.

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Uncle Nearest Uncut/Unfiltered Straight Rye Whiskey

This review sample was kindly provided by the PR team for Uncle Nearest Whiskey with no strings attached.

Holy shit, y’all! I’m back! Did you miss me? I missed you. Not quite as much as I missed my taste buds and breathing normally, but you were at least top three…five. Top five, for sure.

You have no idea how happy I am right now. And not just because I can actually taste and smell the whiskey I’m writing about tonight. No, last night I had just about the best date night I can possibly imagine. My absolute favorite musical artist, Butch Walker, was kicking off his tour last night up in Dinkytown (the area around the northern edge of the University of Minnesota campus), and my wife got us tickets. I’ve been beaming since the show ended. I can’t hear anything because my old deaf ears take longer to recover from the noise of a loud and raucous rock show than they did when I was younger. But I don’t even care. It was worth it.

Add to that fact the opportunity to talk about whiskey, and I’m just in heaven right now. Though I’m going to warn you right now, the flow of this post may suffer tonight. I’m taking frequent breaks to sing along with the Spotify playlist I made that has the songs that were played at the concert. I’ve been doing it all day. Needless to say, it’s been quite the bouncy day for me.

Anyway, we are talking about whiskey, not music. Though if you give me even a sliver of opportunity, I’ll talk music all night. So I’m really trying hard to reign myself in tonight…

Right, yes. Back to whiskey. Tonight we are taking a look at the latest offering from Uncle Nearest. It is a distillery exclusive that holds promise for more widely available releases in the future. Uncle Nearest Uncut/Unfiltered is a rye whiskey sourced from Canada and then aged in New York and then Tennessee. It is bottled at whatever strength that the batch was when the barrels were all dumped. It says “Uncut” right in the name. This batch ended up at 119.7° proof, but I’m going to guess if they have future batches that, they will be at least a little different. If you are curious about what the PR Firm has to say about it, here is the summary I got from them:

To create its uncut/unfiltered rye whiskey, Uncle Nearest sourced its rye from Canada and raised it in New York for four years. Once it was ready, the Uncle Nearest team brought it back to Tennessee to rest and finish in its barrels before being bottled. The new expression reinforces Master Blender, Victoria Eady Butler’s ability to create the highest quality whiskeys possible even when moving away from the filtration process that was created by her great-great-grandfather. Uncle Nearest’s inaugural rye whiskey is available as a distillery exclusive offering available for purchase ($149) at the Nearest Green Distillery in Shelbyville, TN.

As I mentioned, this seems to be just the beginning for Uncle Nearest and their experiments in the world of Rye whiskey. According to the details I got from the producer: “For those unable to make it to Shelbyville, there will be more Rye to come from Uncle Nearest in the coming months, including Straight Rye and Single Barrel Rye.” As a lover of both Rye and Canadian whiskey, this is good news for me.

But most importantly, how does it taste?

Uncle Nearest Uncut/Unfiltered Straight Rye Whiskey

Purchase Info: This sample bottle was kindly provided to me for review purposes. The suggested retail price is $149.

Price per Drink (50 ml): $10.00

Details: Distilled in Canada, Aged in Canada, New York, and Tennessee. 59.8% ABV. Batch 001.

Nose: Caramel, black tea, mint, chocolate, and a hint of bubble gum.

Mouth: Very hot. Caramel, chocolate, and black tea.

Finish: Long and very warm. Notes of toffee, chocolate, cinnamon, and mint.

Thoughts: This is a pretty good rye whiskey. You can taste the Canadian origin. Lots of caramel/toffee and black tea notes. It's very sweet but as hot as one would expect something that's almost 120° proof to be. Just a tiny splash of water does wonders to tame the heat and bring out even more sweetness. This is a "dessert rye" if I've ever tasted one. I think I like the standard Tennessee Whiskey Uncle Nearest releases better, but this is a very interesting change of pace when it comes to rye whiskey. If it were in a store, I doubt I’d want to pay $150 for a bottle. But if I was at the distillery and it was going to be a souvenir, well, then all bets are off. I’ve paid much more for worse whisky as a distillery exclusive in the past. It has made me decide to keep my eyes open for the other Ryes that will be coming along in the fairly near future, though.

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WhistlePig Old World Rye, Aged 12 Years

Tonight we look at the final bottle out of the “Piglets” 3-pack of WhistlePig Canadian Ryes. This one is the oldest of the bunch and the most expensive if you were to buy a full bottle. It is also the lowest proof of the bunch at 86° proof. But even though it is the lowest proof, it is certainly the one that I was most excited to try. I mean, this is a sourced Candian whisky. I love me some Canadian whisky, but I don’t usually like to pay too much of a premium for it. Delicious, 18-year-old whisky from Wiser’s can be had for around $70 and you can get a cask strength version of Alberta Premium at my local corner liquor store for even less.

Coincidentally, way back when WhistlePig first debuted on the scene it was an open secret that the source of their whisky was Alberta Distillers, the same folks that make Alberta Premium (and sell that same juice to a lot of Non-Canadian brands here in the States). No idea if they are still sourcing from Alberta these days, but the point still stands that I can get really good Canadian whisky for a lot less than what WhistlePig is asking.

But getting back to why I found this one more interesting than the others. This one is barrel-finished so it isn’t “just” Canadian whisky. In this case, they used three different types of finishing barrels. Here is what the producer has to say about it:

This whiskey is the marriage of three finishes, each with their own distinctive flavor profiles. After maturing for 12 years in New American Oak, the spirit is divvied into one of three barrels –Madeira (63%), Sauternes (30%) and Port (7%).

Let’s see how it tastes and if my interest was well-placed.

Whistle Pig Old World Rye

Purchase Info: $26.99 for the WhistlePig Rye Whisky Piglets multipack of three 50mL bottles at Total Wine, Burnsville, MN. Retail for a full bottle locally is between $130 and $165.

Price per Drink (50ml): $9.00

Details: Aged 12 years. 43% ABV. Wine Cask finished (63% in Madeira Casks, 30% in Sauternes Casks, and 7% in Port Casks).

Nose: Oak, vanilla, red fruits, and a hint of nutmeg.

Mouth: Soft in the mouth. Notes of red fruit, vanilla, oak, and cedar.

Finish: Warm and on the shorter side of medium length. Fruity with notes of cinnamon, nutmeg, and cedar.

Thoughts: This is pretty tasty. I like it. It's the best one out of the multi-pack. Though, it's not something I'd personally buy. It’s good, it just isn't $130-$165 good. However, it is good enough that I'd have been on board if it were priced at about half that so that it was more in line with the price of Alberta Cask Strength or Wiser’s 18-Year-Old. Of course, if any of you want to buy this for me, I'd happily accept. As it is, I'm happy to have tried it and now I know that not everything WhistlePig releases is subpar, even if everything I’ve tried to this point is way overpriced for sourced Canadian Whisky.

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WhistlePig PiggyBack Rye

Folks, there are no dogs in my home tonight that do ordinarily not live here. That means it is a rare date night with my wife tonight so I am going to jump right into this without much back story. Tonight’s whiskey is another one out of the WhistlePig Rye Whiskey Piglets 3-pack. This time is the WhistlePig PiggyBack 100% Rye. Let’s see how it tastes.

WhistlePig Piggyback

Purchase Info: $26.99 for the WhistlePig Rye Whiskey Piglets multipack of three 50mL bottles at Total Wine, Burnsville, MN. Retail for a full bottle locally is around $50.

Price per Drink (50ml): $9.00

Details: 6 years old. 100% Rye. 48.28% ABV.

Nose: Oh. That's spicy. Loads of cinnamon red hot candies. Underneath that are notes of Cedar and butterscotch.

Mouth: Cinnamon, oak, cedar

Finish: Medium length and quite warm. Lingering notes of cinnamon and a sharp cedar note.

Thoughts: I'm a little disappointed by this one. When I first nosed it, I was really excited to see where the strong cinnamon candy note would lead us. The flavors in the mouth were good. But the finish really knocks this one down for me. There is a sharp grain alcohol note along with the cedar that reminds me of the finish you'd find in a handle of bottom-shelf Canadian Whisky (think Windsor Canadian circa 2000, which was the last time I've had it…and at the time at least, it was very bad). Not to say this tastes like a bottom-shelf Canadian Whisky. But, the finish isn’t doing it for me. Might be for you if you don’t have that bad association, but it isn't for me. I'm rating this just meh.

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WhistlePig 10-Year-Old Small Batch Rye Whiskey

So. Depression. It’s something I’ve been struggling with lately. I’ve been on depression and anxiety meds for close to a decade now. And most days are great. I’m generally a happy person. But every so often something happens and the familiar spiral of nothingness threatens to rise up and overwhelm me. Thankfully I am medicated, and my dosages are pretty well dialed in at this point, so my bouts don’t last too long. Usually, it’s just an afternoon of listlessness and a lack of motivation to do even the littlest thing. Which, if ignored can go further. Because the worst part of these bouts is that I know that I should be doing the things that need to get done, but I can’t quite bring myself to do it. And then I get upset with myself for not doing what needs to be done. I question my self-worth. It’s like “if you can’t even vacuum the giant ball of hair on the floor when you see it there, why are you even here?” It’s…not fun. And it takes time to get through.

Luckily for me, I have a job that allows for self-care. Sometimes my job even forces it upon me whether I want it or not. As was the case on Tuesday of this week. There is a German Shepard that I watch named Doug. I’ve watched him since he was three months old. Usually, he is overwhelmingly excited. As he was on Tuesday. But as I was feeling that spiral of depression and nothingness start to overwhelm me, he intervened. I was laying on the sofa, trying hard to figure out why I couldn’t just vacuum and do the dishes—spoiler alert: it was a depressive episode, I’m a little slow on the uptake when they start—when he just crawled up and laid on top of me. And he didn't take no for an answer. He noticed that his Uncle Eric wasn’t right even before I did. And that kind of love tripped something that allowed me to start to climb out. I still wasn’t motivated to do anything, but I could see the light at the end of the tunnel. The emotions were on their way back. I’m grateful for Doug.

I’m not sharing this for sympathy. But I do think we need to start normalizing mental illness. So I’m letting you know what happened to me this week. Why I didn’t write anything on my regular day. And who knows, maybe it’ll help someone else if they are in a similar spiral.

But you aren’t here for that, you are here because you saw a photo of a tiny bottle of WhistlePig Rye. so let’s get into it. I’ve never purchased anything from WhistlePig before. And to be honest, I probably won’t again as most of their stuff costs more than I want to pay for sourced Canadian Whisky. But as I was wandering through Total Wine last weekend looking for something that I could write about, I saw this little three-pack of miniature bottles for $27. So while $27 for 150 mL of whiskey is very expensive, it was a lot less expensive than the $85 that a 750 of just one of the bottles would have cost. Plus, I like to reward producers for making these sampler packs. I think they are a great way to experience various whiskeys when you are on a budget.

And I’m always on a budget. I mean, I’m frugal. Just look at the tagline at the top of the page. And in my mind being frugal is different than being cheap because it isn’t that I won’t spend money. I just like to make sure that I’m spending it smartly on things that will be good, interesting, or both. And in this case, I get content for three posts for $27 which is probably less than I’d have spent for content for a single post usually.

So, is WhistlePig Rye good? Or interesting? Is it by chance both? Or neither? Let’s find out.

WhistlePig 10-Year Small Batch Rye Whiskey

Purchase Info: $26.99 for the WhistlePig Rye Whiskey Piglets multipack of three 50mL bottles at Total Wine, Burnsville, MN. Retail price locally for a full bottle is $84.99.

Price per Drink (50ml): $9.00

Details: 50% ABV. 10-years-old. Canadian Whiskey, blended and bottled in Vermont.

Nose: Cedar, mint, cherry, and a touch of barbecue smoke.

Mouth: Cedar, mint, cherry, cinnamon, and a hint of dill.

Finish: On the shorter side of medium length and of medium warmth. Spicy with notes of cedar, dill, cherry, and cinnamon.

Thoughts: This is pretty tasty, but I'd never pay the $85 that Total Wine is asking for a bottle. To me, it just isn't $85 good. It was more of a $30 good. It's a fairly unassuming rye whiskey. I'm glad I got to try this in a small bottle. It's not bad, just way too expensive. So final verdict: good, but not interesting.

(and now cue the people who love and covet WhistlePig to leave comments about how I'm just an idiot, and an admittedly crazy one at that, in 3... 2... 1.)

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Did you enjoy this post? If so, maybe you’d like to buy me a cup of coffee in return. Go to ko-fi.com/bourbonguy to support. And thank you, BourbonGuy.com is solely supported via your generosity.

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Sample Roulette: Let's Start Summer With Some Fun

Every so often, I feel the need to dig into my box of goodies and pull out some old samples that I put away back in my whiskey hoarding days. Those of you who were part of the whiskey scene in the early 2010s probably remember the days of the falling age-statements and rising prices. You could get a 10 year old bourbon for $25. And it was good bourbon too. But as supplies of aged whiskey started to run low, prices went up and age-statements went away. And so, because I never knew if the last pour in a bottle was going to be the last pour of something that I’d ever have, I started pouring the first couple of pours from a bottle into a small sample bottle and putting it away so that I could go back to it anytime I wanted.

I did that for 6 years. For every bottle I bought. Eventually I ran out of room. I decided which bottles I really wanted to keep and drank or dumped the rest. Then, I did that again a couple years later. In September of 2020 I put painters tape over the original labels so that I could taste them blind. And shortly after that, I decided that writing about it every once in a while would be fun. And here we are.

These samples were all laid down between 2011 and 2017. The labels were covered up in September of 2020. And they have lived in a box untouched since, except for the occasional adventuresome sip now and then.

Blind Whiskey Sample # 1:

Nose: Caramel, dried grain, black tea, cedar, and dusty oak.

Mouth: Spicier than I'd have expected from the nose. Notes of black tea, cinnamon, butterscotch and oak.

Finish: Warm and on the longer end of medium length. Notes of black tea and cinnamon.

Thoughts: I like this one. Lots of caramel/ butterscotch and tannic black tea notes. If I had to guess, I'd guess this is Canadian.

Reveal: Border Bourbon from 45th Parallel Distillery in New Richmond, WI.

Post-Reveal Thoughts: Welp. I got that one wrong. I haven't had this since shortly after it was released but it is better than I remember. Might have to grab a recent bottling to see how it is today.

Blind Whiskey Sample # 2:

Nose: Strawberry jam and dried fruits.

Mouth: Caramel, strawberry jam, and baking spice.

Finish: Medium in length and warmth. Follows the mouth (caramel, strawberry jam, baking spice) and adds some mint.

Thoughts: After I got over the initial shock on the fruitiness of this one, I like this one too. But wow! was that a shock. I'm going to guess this is a brandy of some sort.

Reveal: Collingwood 21 year old Canadian Rye.

Post-Reveal Thoughts: Wow! Whiffed again. My guesses are so far off as to be laughable. I remember this one being floral, but not nearly this fruity. This is a walk down memory lane for sure.

Blind Whiskey Sample # 3:

Nose: Delicate on the nose. Brown sugar and floral cereal grains.

Mouth: Grain-forward. Notes of cereal grains, Cola, red fruit, and cinnamon.

Finish: Gentle and medium length. Notes of almond, cooked cereal, red fruit and caramel.

Thoughts: I have no idea what this is. It's good but I don't think it is a bourbon...pretty sure it is a whiskey though. With my track record on guesses today, I'm nervous to throw one out, but I'm going to say this is a Willett bourbon along the lines of Noah's Mill.

Reveal: Redbreast 12 year old.

Post-Reveal Thoughts: OK. I give up. This is just not my day for guesses. Noah's Mill is the only grain-forward bourbon that I remember liking so I guessed that but after reveal it is so obviously Redbreast 12. The sherry notes are right there for me to see, I just didn’t connect them with sherry.

But that is part of the fun of doing this blind. Sometimes you guess things correctly and other times you have no idea what you are drinking. Today was the latter. I’m just glad they were all good. Sometimes we get bottom-shelf stuff in these and those are much less fun than tasty Craft, Irish, and Canadian whiskeys.

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