Whisky Neighbour

I felt like trying Irish Whiskey tonight. My friend recently traveled to Ireland and that got me thinking. I picked two for review and ended up liking one and not so much the other! Irish Whisky is known for it’s smoother character. That comes from the tradition most distilleries follow in Ireland of double or Triple Distilling their product. This generally removes more offensive compounds from the distillate, but it also can remove some rewarding flavours too. I think when they take their time with it and age it for 12 or more years in quality oak this can create some of the best whiskeys I’ve had. However, if it’s rushed or the oak is too old the result is a little flat or one dimensional. Looking at Black Bush first. Black Bush is a blended Irish Whiskey. It is made from about 20% grain whisky and 80% malt whisky. In Ireland that means that 20% is an undisclosed blend of grains run through a column distill, while 80% is moved through a pot still. With Black Bush this 80 % is t...

This is a quick review but I recently picked up a bottle of Old Pulteney 12 for a steal and after tasting it again I needed to share a few thoughts with you. This is a great Scotch and certainly one I would recommend everyone try. At least those that like Scotch. If you like the stronger wood notes or higher sweetness of Bourbon, this might not be for you. Still, if you want to know what Scotch tastes like with almost nothing complicating the basic ingredients of barley, oak, and time, then this is a great example. Many reviewers talk a lot about the brine or salt notes overwhelming this drink. I can find those with time, but it does not take over this Scotch for me. I find the nose to be balanced. Gentle sweetness mixed with salt but also some vanilla. The palate is full with enough spice to stay interesting. With time the sweetness opens up a bit, but never becomes overpowering. There is a citrus note in the finish with a bit of smoke. When tasting this alone in a night the brine...

What a lovely way to finish off my Canadian Rye head to head comparisons. Today I pour a dram of Masterson’s 10 year straight rye and Lot 40 12 year Cask Strength. These are two amazing whiskies and if you are looking for a great rye, either is a solid choice. Here are my thoughts from today’s tasting. Masterson’s 10 year is distilled and aged by Alberta Distillers in Calgary, Alberta. I was not able to find out if the rye is unmalted, malted or some percentage of each. I do know it is 100 % rye and that it was aged for 10 years in new American Oak. That is an important detail. It turns out Masterson’s released a 10-year straight rye aged in Hungarian Oak, French Oak, and American Oak. I have only sampled the American Oak, but others who have tried each have agreed the American Oak is the best. Price in my area reflects that too with the Hungarian or French around $110.00 and the American Oak has jumped up to $173.00! The batch I am trying today is PSA3. On the nose this is light...

Rig Hand Releases Bar M Whisky! This was my fist chance to be at a release party and I had a ton of fun. The people at Rig Hand are wonderful and of course they love to talk about their spirits and their first craft whisky.  Bar M is a collaboration between Last Mountain and Rig Hand. Rig Hand distilled and aged their 10-W-40 whisky which is 10% rye, 40% wheat, and 50% barley. Last Mountain distilled and aged their 100% wheat whisky and then Rig Hand blended these to create the first craft whisky in Alberta. The first batch was bottled at cask strength and was sold to collectors for $250.00. While I wish I could have picked that up, it would be a little more than I could handle at this point. So instead, I bought a bottle of their second batch, which was also release on November 11th and bottled at 45%.  This episode is a few of my thoughts on the event and a short interview with Mike Beile from Rig Hand about their whisky. I will follow this up later with tasting...

Today was a great Canadian day. Lots of light snow, powerful sun and no real breeze. If I had younger children we would have run outside to find the nearest hill. Instead, I sat down to pour two great ryes; Crown Royal Northern Harvest Rye and Lot 40 Rye. This review will be lighter on specifics. Both of these have been reviewed by just about everyone. I am coming back to them today to bring them into my rye week or rye month and I have not poured them head to head before. Crown Royal Northern Harvest exploded in the market after Jim Murray named it his best whisky of the year in 2016. I remember getting a bottle before the local market realized they had a gem, and then going back a month later and not being able to find it anywhere. The blend here is 90% rye and I imagine 10% corn, though I could not find anything specific about the last 10%. It has a nice nose, mildly spicy but sweet with pear, or peaches or even pineapple notes. On the palate caramel, vanilla with the fruit con...

Canadian Club Chairman Select 100% Rye has been bringing up some solid scores and positive reviews lately. Earlier this year the Canadian 2017 Whisky Awards gave out a gold medal and the title “Sippin’ Whisky of the Year” to JP Wiser’s Double Still Rye. When I sat down to think of some good Canadian rye to put Head to Head, these two came quickly to mind and I’m very glad I did. I enjoy both of these expressions, but find them fairly unique from each other while still providing interesting rye notes. When I approach Canadian Club 100% Rye I find the nose inviting, but subtle. The grain notes are soft, the wood is hardly there, but there are a few sweet notes. Although it is not very floral, there is a little spice and it is interesting enough to start to think of how it might taste. On the palate I find this smooth with a little sweetness of vanilla. The baking spices are there, but also not overwhelming. With time they can become more interesting but if you only have one dram, you...