Canadian Club Barley Batch

Here's a really interesting expression from stalwart Canadian Club. Rather than releasing something entirely different like their single rye, this 160th anniversary special is a creative twist on their well-known blend. 

Barley Batch involves, as the name suggests, the addition of six-year-old malted barley whisky (apparently from fantastic Alberta Distillers) into their standard 1858 blend. In a sense, this whisky is like an supercharged blended Scotch, with the grain component consisting of the surprisingly boisterous CC 1858. 

The whisky is packaged, at 42%, in a very attractive bottle that feels rather high end, and originally the price point matched. When Barley Batch was released in 2018, it sold for as high as $60 in some provinces, which put it in the range of some very good ryes. I don't know if it was doing strong sales but I suspect people were reticent to pay that much for what is primarily Canadian Club 1858. I personally felt it a bit overpriced then too, though I did find myself buying a couple bottles for gifting. Now though, the price has come down and in Ontario it can be had for as little as $32. At that price, this bottle represents exceptional value and should very much be on your list. 

At the very least, this bottling should be attractive to those exploring Canadian whisky; take a blend we know very well and add new flavours. At its current price point, it slots in exceedingly well against both blended Scotch and Canadian whiskies. As a limited edition, it's unlikely we'll see this bottling on shelves forever, so it's a good pickup for collectors. But I do hope Canadian Club will put out more Barley Batch in the future and build on the idea of subtly tweaking their recipe to invite new flavours to the party.

Canadian Club Barley Batch 

Limited Edition

42% alc./vol.

$32 at LCBO

Lots of fruit on the nose; the stone fruit and spice of 1858 but also apple, mango, and lots of vanilla. 

The palate brings more of the Canadian Club signature dark fruit and rising spice, but there is a pleasant grain-forward note. Spicy rye continues to grow as underneath comes the distinctive taste of Maltesers. Less sweet perhaps, but the combination of malt and a chocolatey note lead me to this description. Throughout there is the typical butterscotch and some sweet fruit, perhaps pineapple.

The finish is perhaps a bit less intriguing than the palate; I'm getting the typical bitter citrus of many cheaper blends but without the beguiling hot rye takeover from the 1858. There's also some sweetness and lots of barley character, which makes the finish more like a young single malt. 

In all, this is a welcome addition to Canadian Club, and one I hope we will see more of. At $50-$60, it would be hard to really love this bottle but in the low $30's, this is terrific. A departure from usual CC but with plenty of reminders, and in a really elevated bottle, this makes all too much sense as a brand extension.

This whisky competes with blended Scotch but you'll be hard-pressed to find a Scottish bottle with this much character anywhere near the price point. It's a shame (for producers, not buyers) that Canadian whisky can't fetch the premiums Scotch does, but now that this is quite affordable whisky, there's no reason not to get this bottle. 

Barley Batch doesn't venture too far into either rye or malt whisky flavours, but it brings balance alongside intrigue for explorers of the category. 

Heatseeker Score: 86

Category Score: 90

Characteristic: Balanced and Fruity

Wayne Gretzky Red Cask

Amidst the vines and pastoral vistas of Niagara-on-the-Lake sits a new distillery that has really made a name for itself. Or rather, has been bestowed a name befitting it's aspirations of greatness. A collaboration between the Great One himself and Niagara wine tycoon Andrew Peller, Wayne Gretzky Distillery shows what a startup can be with massive financial backing. 

The sister to the successful Gretzky wine brand, this distillery quickly became a buzzy tourist attraction with an outdoor rink in the vineyard and year-round outdoor whisky bar. During my time living in Niagara, I could often be found with my skates and a half finished bottle of rye at the bus stop outside the distillery. Now, there is also a brewery as part of the trifecta of alcoholic pleasures to be found onsite. It's truly a fantastic addition to an incredible part of Ontario and we'll worth a visit. 

Though Gretzky himself is involved more in name than in day to day operations, the whiskies take his story into account. The grain, for example, is sourced from near his hometown of Brantford, Ontario. 

The base offering is Red Cask which features malted and unmalted rye as well as corn. The distillates are aged three years in ex-Bourbon casks and finished in red wine casks from Gretzky's wine brand. The aging process is undertaken at the massive Peller facility in Grimsby, visible from the Queen Elizabeth Way when driving into Niagara Region. Other Gretzky whiskies include an Icewine finish and "99 Proof," a gimmicky but really good bottling. They also put out a whisky cream that is, I must say, the best of any I've tried anywhere. 

^The gleaming column still at Wayne Gretzky Distillery

Wayne Gretzky No.99 Red Cask

40% alc./vol.

$40 at The Wine Shop

On the nose, a bright honey sweetness opens. There is a definite heat, reminiscent of young spirit, but not overwhelmingly so. Slight spice and a subtle tart berry note take over, no doubt the wine cask showing its hand. Some dry grain notes and light powdered sugar sweetness follow; the effect is quite strongly reminiscent of Cheerios.  

The palate brings an orderly, if slightly belligerent, procession of caramel, bitter grapefruit, and rye spice. By belligerent, I mean the youthful heat and intensity has not been tamed very much by time spent in oak. That can be a positive or negative depending on your personal tastes. 

After the caramel, there is a wholesale transition to the bitter citrus pith. Next, a sharp whack of spice; a clean, grainy heat I find common in lots of column still rye. The heat is intense but quite welcome, offset by an oily viscosity. Earthy, dark bread and lots of grain tag off with the flaming rye. Tart cranberry flies just under the heat for those who can tease it out.

That spike of rye and a resumption of the bitter note constitute the medium length finish.There is some more berry and tannic oak - more of the wine cask - but even as these fade, a rising smoky note takes over. The finish is actually quite nice and, I'd say, the biggest strength of this bottle.

This is definitely young whisky, more raw than refined. But sometimes that's a good thing; personally I welcome that vivacity in winter sipping. This dram lurches more than slides from the sweet corn portion into the hot rye but there's no dearth of flavour. Definitely an eye-opener and something I'd love in coffee.

So, though it may not be refined, it's definitely interesting. At $40, Red Cask starts to invite some competition from some good Canadian bottles. Niagara neighbour Forty Creek's Double Barrel Select is similarly priced but more polished. However, it doesn't punch nearly as hard with the rye spice, which is what some whisky drinkers look for. Gretzky's higher-end bottlings (which we will be reviewing in the near future) tend to better contain the flavour swings. And though I think more care went into the crafting of this whisky, the flavour profile compares with Liquormen's Ol' Dirty, and not just because of similar celebrity collaborations. The rye in this bottle is more complex and the finish is superior, though the cost is also higher.

Along with the other Gretzky whiskies, this whisky seems priced a little higher than what it ought to be, no doubt because of the celebrity name. I'm sure sales figures are exceptional on strength of brand, but I find this bottle and its siblings to be rare instances of poor value in Canadian whisky.

Still, sometimes you want an assertive whisky, and Red Cask delivers with big caramel and big heat alike. Though precocious, the full-on flavours of this whisky will appeal to those who don't care much for subtlety, and it will do well as a mixer. And of course, it comes from perhaps the best distillery to visit anywhere.

Heatseeker Score: 82

Category Score: 79

Characteristic: Hot

Dillon's Single Cask Rye

The Niagara Peninsula, with its mild microclimate and unique soil, has been a hotbed of fruit and wine production for decades. And where there's wine, distilleries have soon blossomed alongside. Like the nearby Forty Creek Distillery, Dillon's made their name working with local fruit to create high quality liqueurs, aperitifs, gin, bitters, and whatever else they can experiment with. Since its genesis 2012, the growth of the distillery has been impressive and they now earn high praise worldwide. Industrious and focused, Dillon's is consistently among the most innovative distilleries in Canada, and they retain a local feel in all they produce. 

And on this blog, they are certainly kindred spirits with their loving focus on 100% rye whisky. They churn out their Three Grain standard bottling, found throughout the province, but for a true taste of what Dillon's can distill, fans need to act quickly to get one of their single cask bottlings. 

Once a year, usually in early winter, Dillon's will release a cask strength look at their whisky. This review, Cask No. 114, was the exceptional 2019 release. It features a pot-distilled blend of 90% unmalted and 10% malted rye. It's aged in new oak for a little under 4 years and bottled in 200mL glass, ensuring everyone can get a taste without breaking the bank. It's really, really good whisky! I can't wait for the next release.

Dillon's Rye Whisky - Single Cask (#114)

57.2% alc./vol.

200mL bottle for $19.25 at LCBO

Something different for today's tasting, we have a guest review from Lokesh Khismatrao. Lokesh is a friend of mine and fellow graduate of Niagara College's Artisan Distilling programme. The tasting notes are his but the scoring is mine, from my own tasting notes, along the same scoring standard as the other reviews on this blog. 

-Robbie

Nose: Sweet fruity, wood, chocolate, nutmeg, slight smoke note.

Palate: Big, quite rich. First vanilla, allspice, a hint of coriander, and then surprisingly a hit of maple. That was a pleasant surprise. Lots of hot rye underneath and a creamy texture.

Finish: Warm, spicy rye and some maple sweetness linger for a good length, finally into wood spices.

Heatseeker Score: 92

Category Score: 89

Characteristic: Baking spice

Wiser's Apple

Though purists may disagree, you can't talk about Canadian whisky these days without examining one of the biggest trends in the category - the growth of flavoured whiskies and the expansion of rye into a whole new market segment. For over a century, spiced and honeyed whiskies (like Glayva, Southern Comfort, or Fireball) have been popular, as have whisky liqueurs like Sortilège. But in the last decade, ever-versatile Canadian whisky has led the world in bottling flavoured whiskies up and down the market. Crown Royal may be at the forefront of the trend, with a dozen flavours from peach to maple to Texas mesquite. And their most prominent is Regal Apple, which along with the others, has pushed sales growth for the brand even as their flagship bottling has seen declines. 

It's not just Crown Royal though; indeed most of the major brands sell flavoured whiskies now, and some exist only in the subcategory. Revelstoke, Root Out, and Select Club are just three of the many brands doing big business in the States bottling Canadian whisky with unique flavours. And one of the largest and oldest, J.P. Wiser's, have tuned in to the market with their own offerings. 

Founded in 1857, Wiser's can make the claim to be Canada's oldest extant whisky brand, beating out Canadian Club by one year! As with the namesake of the distillery, John Philip Wiser was an American who crossed into what would become Canada to distill whisky. He started in Prescott, Ontario and grew the distillery into a massive produced at home and for export. As Wiser's distillery grew, they became trailblazers in offering whisky for sale by the bottle at a time when whole-cask sales were common. In time, the distillery would be incorporated into Canadian spirits company Corby and, along with Gooderham and Worts, moved production to Windsor. 

When they released their apple flavoured bottling in 2018, they chose to go with natural flavour. Aside from being probably less bad for your body and hangover, the choice of natural flavour elevates this from being a cheap 'gateway shooter' to something more; a whisky drink worthy of consideration and a neat alternative to your usual tipple. Perhaps in summer weather or for a twist on cocktails, this is a bottle worth a look for whisky enthusiasts.

J.P. Wiser's Apple

35% alc./vol.

$30 online at J.P. Wiser Experience 

The nose brings apple juice right off the hop. Even from a distance, the crisp green apple skin note is pronounced. There's also a slight smokiness, providing a counterpoint to the bright fruit. Finally, the sweetness turns toward banana and a fresh corn note.

The banana note from the nose plays a surprisingly large role on the palate, which is led by banoffee pie; an interplay between fruit and butterscotch. Of course the green apple is there too, and there is the slightest suggestion of warming whisky spice. The palate is, as expected, sweet. But it isn't overly so - it manages to mostly avoid becoming cloying. What's more noticeable in its absence is the artificial saccharine flavours of, for example, an apple vodka. It tastes like whisky and apple juice, not whisky and 'apple flavouring green 45B' or whatever else. 

The sweetness rises into the finish with both the green apple and lots of caramel. There is the hint of a crisp edge as well as lingering brown sugar and more sweetness. There's virtually no heat to speak of, surely a result of the 35% bottling strength. 

Well, it's apple whisky. So, unsurprisingly it tastes like apple juice. No one looking for a spicy dram on a winter night should grab a bottle, but as a sweet spirit this is really nice. It doesn't taste artificial and is by far the best apple whisky I've tried, of the probably four or five such examples in my experience. 

The cocktail potential is plainly evident but even as a sipper, this bottle manages to present the apple in an integrated, genuine way. I'm definitely feeling the sweetness on my tongue after sipping, but I wouldn't call it cloying or saccharine. As far as flavoured whisky goes, this one was crafted with a rare restraint and authenticity. In my flavoured whisky experience, however limited, this would be my recommendation. 

As a whisky drinker, I'd love to try this at 40% and see if the heat and grain come through any more. But if I were looking to sip something sweet, this is a good bet at a great price.

 

Heatseeker Score: -

Category Score: 89

Characteristic: Fruit forward