We recently reviewed Canadian Club's ubiquitous flagship, 1858, and found it surprisingly characterful. Now it's time to move up to the popular 12 year old expression from the iconic brand. Canadian Club Classic, as the more mature bottling is known, gets about twice the aging time of its younger sibling, using ex-Bourbon barrels.
Canadian Club itself hardly needs an introduction as one of Canada's oldest and most prolific whisky brands. Its history goes back to 1858 when Detroit, Michigan grocer Hiram Walker began to distill whisky. With Prohibition looming in the State, Walker moved his operation across the river - and across the border - into Canada. Today the distillery that bears his name is a landmark on the Windsor skyline and forms the heart of the Walkerville neighbourhood which spring up around it.
The location of Hiram Walker Distillery right on the river made it a convenient spot for rum runners transporting alcohol into the US, but even before the onset of universal Prohibition, Walker's whisky had gained a reputation for its smoothness and became popular at private clubs throughout North America. In a bid to stifle the popularity of the imported whisky, the US government demanded Walker label his 'Club Whisky' as Canadian, but the move backfired and sent Canadian whisky's popularity into the stratosphere. To this day, Canadian whisky remains astronomically popular in the United States.
Canadian Club has obtained Royal Warrants from Queen Victoria through to Elizabeth and the whisky continues to be made in Windsor, though the distillery has changed hands at the corporate level.
CC's 12 year bottling is particularly popular in Japan, and the Canadian version is a logical upward extension for the brand. The blend of rye (malted and unmalted), corn, and malted barley is (unusually, in Canada) aged together, rather than with each grain individually. In the end, twelve years in oak have bestowed a whisky that is elegantly mellow and quite pleasant.
^ the slightly redesigned current packaging
Canadian Club Classic
40% alc./vol.
$31.45 at LCBO (750mL)
Lots of caramel on the nose along with charred oak. Nutty and then a vanilla, cola profile. Some smoke on the back end and a buttery note, the combination is almost like bacon frying. But generally a gentle nose typical of sweeter Canadian blends.
The palate begins with sweet maple and buttery creaminess set against a hint of hot rye. There is a pleasant malt flavour and lots of brown sugar. Some yeasty notes and a rich pumpernickel flavour come through subtly. The rye spice is white hot but very restrained, so that you get more of a suggestion of its flavour without the burst of heat. The palate is fairly simple but nicely balanced and quite creamy.
The rye spice builds into the finish where it flashes with capsicum heat, though tempered by plenty of butterscotch. Slight bitterness but it's the hot rye note which lingers for a short while.
That last burst of rye enlivens what is a most gentle, elegant, pleasant dram. What bold grain flavour the whisky may have lost from aging the different distillates together, it makes up for in thorough integration and balance. Classic 12 also has a nice malt note, from the high barley content, which is not often found in Canadian blends.
It's not overly complex nor particularly bold in flavour profile, but I enjoy this as a truly pleasant sipper. It's ever so gentle, elegant, polite - a soft pillow rather than a lightning bolt, with just enough verve in it from the moment of spice on the finish. It's mild-mannered but offers up plenty of refinement thanks to its age. It's also worth noting, in spite of its age, this bottle is super affordable. A friendly whisky perfect for sharing with friends (or some happy sipping on your own).
Heatseeker Score: 87
Category Score: 89
Characteristic: Sweet
Please enjoy our other Canadian Club reviews; 1858 and Chairman's Select.
J to tha R O C
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