There are very few independent Canadian whisky distillers left, but Forty Creek is one of them, and a good one at that. The Forty Creek Distillery is located between Toronto and Niagara Falls, Ontario. It is operated by John Hall who has been a wine producer for over 20 years, and to scratch an itch, he began making whisky in […]
Whisky
Seagrams VO
The Seagram’s brand has a long history in the whisky market. Seagram’s VO is a very common whisky in North America and many bartenders use it on their rails, since it is the whisky included in the “Diageo rail” (Captain Morgan white rum, Tanqueray gin, Smirnoff vodka). It seems every bar I work at uses the same products, Diageo must […]
Premium Canadian Whisky
Most people’s impression of Canadian whisky is that it is a rather uninteresting spirit with little depth. I think the reason for this is that of the four major whisky groups, Canadian whisky is the friendly, easy going one. Not surprisingly, many people see Canadians the same way. There is the casual side to Canadian whisky, with its light flavour, […]
Johnnie Walker Swing
The house of Johnnie Walker has been a mainstay in the scotch market for many years. For good or bad, they have created whisky branding that is easy for the average consumer to identify and define the quality of the spirit in the bottle. Obviously, I’m talking about the Red, Black, Green, Gold and Blue labels. But there is more […]
Distinguishing Between Malt and Blended Whisky
Part I Many people assume that they can tell the difference between two, seemingly different, spirits. But the question is whether they are being a “posers” or a skilled drinker. People who are involved in the scotch world often refer to someone who will only drink single malt whiskies, as “malt snobs”. Some people chose to be a malt snob […]
Whisky Tasting
After the last two posts (Malt vs. Blend and Whisky vs Cognac) I think it would be good to tie up some loose ends and discuss some of the good comments that were posted. The one thing that these two simple research papers show is that tasting spirits, at least whisky and brandy are more difficult than we generally think. […]
Old Unopened Bottles of Whiskey
Ever wonder what the value of that old bottle of whisky you have in the basement is worth? Probably not as much as you hoped, but sometimes they are worth more than you imagined.
Crown Royal
A series of Canadian whisky reviews should start with the royalty of Canadian whisky, Crown Royal, and one of the standards by which all other Canadian whiskies should be judged, only because it has been around for 80 years and is still immensely popular. Almost everyone who drinks whisky has heard, tasted or observed Crown Royal sitting on the back […]
Wiser’s Deluxe Whisky
Wiser’s is the fifth most popular whisky brand in Canada. Wiser Deluxe is also available in most US states and select market around the world. It was originally distilled in 1857 by J.P. Wiser and is aged for 10 years in oak barrels. It is a traditional Canadian blend. It is also the fastest growing Canadian whisky brand, and that […]