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

Forty Creek Double Barrel Reserve

Forty Creek holds a special place in the history of Canadian whisky. Founded in 1992, at a global low point for whisky, the plucky startup had to take on the big Canadian players and the crushing LCBO monopoly without any support from today's craft spirits industry. Being located on the wine producing Niagara Peninsula, the distillery originally focused on grape spirits. Kittling Ridge, as it was exclusively known then, undertook a rebranding and pivoted to whisky, and the rest became history. Forty Creek can rightly claim to be something of a pioneer in small-batch whisky not only in Canada but in the world. 

Today, the distillery is owned by Campari, largely as a North American production facility for global spirits brands. Led by founder John Hall and blender Bill Ashburn, a range of whiskies from everyday to rare releases have come from Forty Creek in recent years earning them the plaudits they well deserve. They produce a number of non-whisky spirits including Kingsgate fortified wines; a super cheap guilty pleasure. 

Forty Creek's whisky lineup steps up nicely from base level Barrel Select to intermediate whiskies like Double Barrel, then up to the high end bottlings like Confederation Oak, Unity, and Victory. At this intermediate level, Double Barrel Reserve takes the standard three grain whiskies (rye, corn, and barley) and gives them a second aging period in ex-Bourbon barrels. These barrels are specifically selected for the taste profile required and John Hall apparently spends time in Kentucky every year picking out barrels just for this whisky.

Appropriately for a distillery in wine country,  blender John Hall refers to those three grains as his 'meritage' when he blends them in these barrels and allows them to spend time picking up subtle oak influences and marrying their grain flavours.  With the differing barrels for each batch of this whisky, there can be some subtle variation in flavour, so if you're interested, the lot number I sampled is 240. Either way the taste profile should be relatively similar year to year. 

Forty Creek Double Barrel Reserve

40% alc./vol.

$40 at LCBO

The nose immediately presents rich and oily with strong oak and dark fruit. I detect prune alongside a subtle caramel and dry baking spices that crescendo with the briefest hit of tinglingly spicy rye. 

The oily viscosity continues on the palate with an initial impression of creaminess and a grainy character. Restrained rye comes across with notes of dill and caraway. There's a nice caramel that doesn't feel like the cheap butterscotch note you can sometimes get. In comes a pronounced vegetal note that reminds me of fresh corn on the cob. It's met with quite tannic oak and warming rye, all quite smooth without any rough edges.

The finish continues to be warming and is long with a few subtleties; bitter citrus, a red apple note, some cinnamon, and caramel. Mainly it's the warming oakiness present on the tail though. 

I'm really a fan of the interplay between cask and grain influences. There are some reviews online which deride this bottle as a one-trick pony of Bourbon-y sweetness, but I'm not finding that at all, at least in this batch. It's flavourful but extremely smooth.

The extra time spent marrying in the Bourbon casks went a long way to providing balance. There's not too much spice, grain, or oak but there are good amounts of each. I'm a fan. At its slightly elevated price, Double Barrel begins to compete with some very good whiskies and, while it's not the most complex bottle at this price point, it's a definite crowd pleaser for its lush creaminess and smoothly integrated flavours. I can't find anything wrong with this dram and would describe it in a word as pleasant. This is a definite daily sipper that will wow novice rye drinkers but still keep experience whisky fans interested. 

Heatseeker Score: 86

Category Score: 86

Characteristic: Creamy

Forty Creek Barrel Select

Forty Creek holds a special place in the history of Canadian whisky. Founded in 1992, at a global low point for whisky, the plucky startup had to take on the big Canadian players and the crushing LCBO monopoly without any support from today's craft spirits industry. Being located on the Niagara Peninsula, the distillery originally focused on grape spirits. Kittling Ridge, as it was exclusively known then, undertook a rebranding and pivoted to whisky, and the rest became history. Forty Creek can rightly claim to be something of a pioneer in small-batch whisky not only in Canada but in the world. 

Today, the distillery is owned by Campari, largely as a North American production facility for global spirits brands. Led by founder John Hall and blender Bill Ashburn, a range of whiskies from everyday to rare releases have come from Forty Creek in recent years earning them the plaudits they well deserve. They produce a number of non-whisky spirits including Kingsgate fortified wines; a fabulously affordable sweet sipper.

Within the whisky community, well-circulated speculation that much of Forty Creek's whisky is created at Windsor's Hiram Walker Distillery persists. Regardless, this isn't something to be ashamed of nor is it a black mark against Forty Creek. With Canadian whisky, the emphasis is so heavily on single-grain aging and then blending; the creative work is certainly done in Niagara even if the distilling is done in Windsor. More power to them if they're sourcing distillate and aging it themselves, much of the best world whisky is sourced from one distillery or another. 

This bottling is the standard, entry-level Forty Creek found all over Canada and abroad. It's a solid baseline Eastern Canadian rye (by which I mean it features a healthy dose of base corn whisky). The corn is blended with rye and also barley for complexity. Most of the whisky in here is aged 6-10 years and sherry cask finished. Pretty good for a sub-$30 whisky, and evidence that rye is still laughably underpriced in the whisky world. This is not a bottle that will blow anyone away but is perfectly solid for the price point and extremely versatile. Nothing wrong with that!

Forty Creek Barrel Select

40% ABV

$27.75 at the LCBO

The nose carries some dusty rye and a healthy dose of vanilla-y American oak. Quite a few subtle fruit and floral notes there as well - one conjures the vineyards that surround this distillery. 

On the palate, the oaky notes are strong. It's a vanilla forward taste, with plenty of toasted barrel influence. The sweetness betrays the double-distilled corn that forms the base here, before the rye comes through late. Not a tonne of rye on the palate, but it's in there, suspended between the corn and some subtle malty notes. Sweetness is the name of the game here.  A viscous sherry sweetness of dark fruit and marzipan comes through in hints, leading into the straightforward finish. 

More vanillin and oak come through on the finish, with a little rye spice. Short and with a touch of bitterness, the finish doesn't verge far from what came on the palate. Pleasant dusty rye lingers a little, with some maple sweetness.

In all, it's a fairly simple, sweet, oaky whisky. It's a little above what you'd expect at the price and is perfectly pleasant for a sip and great as a blender. Certainly one of the finer sub-$30 whiskies out there and from a trailblazing distillery no less. A great alternative to one of the mainstream entry-level ryes, and certainly a more interesting bottle to break out for casual drinks with friends.

Heatseeker Score: 82

Category Score: 88

Characteristic: Sweet and Oaky

Please also enjoy our review of Forty Creek's Double Barrel Reserve here.