Other Whisk(e)ys

Crown Royal Black

/ / Other Whisk(e)ys, Review /

Crown Royal Black Blended Canadian Whisky
45% ABV/90 Proof
$30 to $35
Widely available across the U.S.

What the Distillery Says:
“Robust, full bodied blended Canadian whisky.”

What Richard Says:
Nose: Warmth, mild oak, and a little burnt sugar. Very bourbon like.
Palate: Surprising sweetness on the palate like brown sugar. There’s something else that reminds me of something sweet and chewy. It could be raisins but that doesn’t seem quite right.
Finish: The finish starts off warm, moves toward a medicinal note that I’m not a fan of and then finishes with a charred oak flavor.
Comments: Crown basically positions this as the big brother of their standard offering. Kicked up a notch if you will. I really think that’s a needed notch. There’s a lot more going on here and I like it a lot more than standard Crown. I’d actually choose to drink this. That said, I’m not a big fan of Crown so if you are, you might not like this different approach. It’s kind of like Crown for bourbon drinkers.
Rating: Average

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New Releases: March ’11

/ / Bourbon, Other Whisk(e)ys

I’m a little late with the post this month but there are some interesting things coming down the pipe that will hopefully take your attention off of my tardiness.

Buffalo Trace 2011 Experimental
Timeframe: February 2011
Price: $46.35/375ml
ABV: TBD
So the story goes with this year’s experimental release comes from several barrel of stock Buffalo Trace acquired with the Old Charter brand back in 1998. They were poking around in those barrels and came across three groups they thought were worth bottling: 7 barrels from 1989, 8 barrels from 1991, and 8 barrels from 1993.

Heaven Hill Trybox Series
Timeframe: May 2011
Price: $24.99
ABV: 62.5%
This is the first two in a new series Heaven Hill is launching. This is the stuff coming right off the still, unaged. One will be a bourbon new make and the other a rye new make.

Four Roses 2011 Limited Edition Single Barrel
Timeframe: May 2011
Price: TBD
ABV: TBD
This year’s release will use the OBSQ recipe for those Four Roses geeks out there. That translates into a mashbill of 60% corn, 35% rye, 5% barley and a more floral yeast strain. 3,600 bottles will be available. Get yours while you can.

Woodinville Headlong White Dog Whiskey
Timeframe: Now
Price: TBD
ABV: 40%
These guys are a new distillery in Washington that opened last year. Headlong is their first whiskey product and is 80 proof white dog. The folks at Woodinville are also aging whiskey and hopefully some of that will be available by the end of this year but we’ll have to wait a see. Another really cool offering is a “Age Your Own” whiskey kit where you can buy white dog and a miniature barrel and do the aging on your own. The guys over at Woodinville sent me a sample bottle of Headlong so I’ll have a review soon.

Big Bottom Whiskey
Timeframe: Now
Price: Port Cask – $35, 3 Year Old – $28
ABV: 45.5%
Big Bottom is a new independent bottler out of Oregon. They are coming to the market with two whiskeys, a 3 Year Old 36% rye Bourbon and a 2 Year Old Bourbon finished in Port Cask that held 10 Year Old Tawny Port. As of right now you can only get this in Oregon or from K&L Wine but I traded emails with Ted Pappas, the head honcho over at Big Bottom and there is a good chance of it coming to Georgia and Tennessee in the near future. I’ll keep you posted.

That’s it for March. It was an interesting month. Most the stuff is not something you would consider mainstream. Stay tuned for that Headlong review. I should have it up by the end of next week.

New Releases: March ’11 Read More »

Canadian Club Reserve

/ / Cocktails, Other Whisk(e)ys, Review /

Canadian Club Reserve Aged 10 Years
40% ABV/80 Proof
$16.99
Widely available

What the Distillery Says:
Our CC Reserve is for those who appreciate the deeper oak notes that come with maturity of 10 long years in our white oak barrels. It is a whisky of exceptional character and richness.

Color: Bronze gold
Aroma: Toffee and toasted, creamy and complex
Body: Full and firm
Taste: English toffee, rich, mellow oak with soft nutmeg and clove
Finish: Warm and lingering dry finish
Awards: Gold, 2007 and 2006 San Francisco World Spirits Competition

What Richard Says:
Nose: I get a little dried grain but I really have to work at it. It’s very subdued and hard to get much off of the the nose on this one.
Palate: Overall it’s VERY mellow. I’m finding a slightly bitter note with a some apples.
Finish: A short, dry, and slightly spicy finish.
Comments: This is a big step forward from standard Canadian Club. All the unpleasant notes are gone and it leaves a very mild whisky. It’s almost too mild for straight drinking because the flavor components can be very shy. It’s very drinkable, I just tend to like a little more flavor in my whisky because I’m more of a straight drinker. This is probably best in your favorite cocktail. Conveniently enough, we were provided with a couple of tasty cocktail suggestions. 😉
Rating: Average

We want to thank Ms Murphy with SHIFT Communications for sending us a bottle to review. She was also kind enough to provide us with a couple of serving suggestions.

Canadian Club Sour
Fill rocks glass with ice
Add 1.5 parts Canadian Club Reserve 10 Year
Juice of half lemon
Teaspoon of sugar
Garnish with a Maraschino cherry or lemon wedge

CC Reserve Manhattan
1 part Canadian Club Reserve 10 Year
1/3 part Sweet Vermouth
Dash Angostura bitters
Maraschino Cherry

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Collingwood Canadian Whisky

/ / Other Whisk(e)ys, Review /

Collingwood Toasted Maplewood Mellowed Hand-Crafted Blended Canadian Whisky
40% ABV/80 Proof
$26.99

What the Distillery Says:
Aged in white oak barrels & finished with toasted maplewood mellowing, some call Collingwood the smoothest whisky ever made. We invite you to judge for yourself.

Aroma: graham cracker sweetness with delicate notes of vanilla, caramel and butterscotch underpinned by a rich floral (rose petal) and fruit character.
Taste: creamy with a prickly vibrancy that fades into a delicate marzipan dusted grain notes. Faint hints of maple syrup drift about. Nice complexity.
Finish: warm, sweet and long with a lingering floral and light malt whisky character.

What Richard Says:
Nose: Malty like a porter or scotch ale with a slightly sweetness reminiscent of cherry lifesavers.
Palate: Cherry, vanilla, and dark fruits. All in very large quantities.
Finish: Smooth and mellow. Jack Daniels with a spicy rye kick at the very end.
Comments: This is an interesting bottle for sure. It’s made by Canadian Mist in their Collingwood Distillery (hence the name) but it’s not just Canadian Mist that’s been mellowed. It’s a new direction for sure. They take the finished mature whisky and then put it in vats with toasted (not charred) maple staves to further mellow the whisky. It’s incredibly smooth. The smoothness is similar to Jack Daniels (both are Brown-Forman products) but with more flavor. I actually don’t have a good “whiskey memory” in that I can’t taste something and say it reminds me of a dram I had a year or some ago. For that kind of comparison I need the two side by side. However, this particular dram really reminds me of Mitcher’s American Blended Whiskey. It has a lot of the same flavors. My wife loves it and the Mitcher’s is one of her personal favorites. I’m not sure this is my cup of tea and I probably wouldn’t buy it for myself but it definitely stands out among Canadians.
Rating: Stands Out

Thank you to the folks at Brown-Forman for providing us with a bottle for review.

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March Review Schedule

/ / Irish Whiskey, Other Whisk(e)ys, Review, Richard's Blog, Scottish Whisky

March is the month of St. Patrick’s Day so we’re doing Irish whiskey as our theme this month. We will kick it off with Jameson 12 Year Old Special Reserve tomorrow and finish the month out with Jameson Gold, Jameson 18 Year, and Redbreast 15 Year. I’ve also got reviews samples from Collingwood Canadian Whisky, Dalmore, Templeton, Isle of Jura, Balblair and others so it should be a busy month. Stay tuned!

Richard

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