Gibson's Finest Rare (12 year)

Gibson's Finest is one of those Canadian labels you see everywhere, whether out or at someone's home. And for good reason; they were the first to really focus specifically on longer aging for their blends and made it the centrepiece of the Gibson's brand. Some great TV commercials, especially during CFL broadcasts, have made the "taste, fully aged" slogan a memorable one. With the distinctive and attractive bottle designs, Gibson's products lend a masculine feel to a whisky bar.

In fact, Gibson's history goes back to the 1850s when Irish spirits merchant John Gibson opened his own distillery in Pennsylvania. Like many of the distillers who's names now grace Canadian whisky history, Mr. Gibson's fortunes were shattered by the onset of Prohibition in the United States. Rather than move his operations to Canada, like many of his contemporaries, he was forced to shut down entirely. 

By 1945, the Gibson's Finest brand had been purchased by American spirits conglomerate Schenley Industries. At the time they were constructing the Valleyfield Distillery in Quebec, and later began producing whisky with the Gibson's name from there. That distillery grew, eventually becoming one of North America's largest, home to the Seagram's VO label (check out our review of VO Gold here).

Eventually, the brand was bought by Scotch giant William Grant and Sons and production of most bottles moved to the Hiram Walker Distillery in Windsor, North America's largest.

The Gibson's lineup focuses on a graduated scale of aged whiskies, from the young Sterling, up to Bold at 8 years (please enjoy our earlier review), Rare at 12, and 18 year old Venerable.

The Gibson's Finest Rare we enjoy today was distilled at Valleyfield though when production moved to Windsor, the casks followed, meaning blending was done there. The casks in question are ex-Bourbon and new white oak, so there's lots of potential for influence from the wood. In a year or so (2021) we should start seeing the new Hiram Walker distillate hit shelves, so it will be interesting to compare. 

For now, this is the rich and refined flagship of the Gibson's portfolio and upholds their reputation for reasonably priced whisky imbued with quality.

And, one thing to point out; I personally love the bottle design especially for the Mickey size (375mL). Instead of the usual, tired hip flask designs, Gibson's produced a bottle that is classy, ergonomic, pours well, and generally looks good when it comes out at a party or anywhere. So well done them for thoughtful design!

Gibson's Finest Rare

40% alc./vol.

$38 at LCBO (750mL)

The nose leaps between fruity and spicy, led by orange and rye, alongside butterscotch. After a few moments, the rye spice opens into a dusty, oaky warmth and some rich stewed prune. 

The palate is led by sweet, light corn and a potent rye with black pepper, orange zest, and toasted oak. Some baking spices - clove for sure - and vanilla are met by an increasing bitter citrus. Throughout, a medium intensity rye glow brings some oaky heat, and it spikes again late.

There's a surprising sour note that comes in too, adding some acidity that is set off very nicely against the full creamy mouthfeel. A late butterscotch note and some icing sugar sweetness lead into the short but warming finish.

The citrus returns here in the form of sweet orange and also bitter grapefruit. There's a nice tannic oak warmth and some medium rye spice. The echo of rye lingers a while longer with some bitterness and peppery heat. 

Not a bad dram at all with a lovely mouthfeel. If I'm looking to critique, which I am, I'd say this whisky is balanced but lacks some of the refinement you might look for in whisky this old. The mellowing influence of twelve years in oak seems to be pretty limited. 

That's not to say Rare doesn't pack a lot of flavour in; this is big whisky. Gibson's whiskies are known for bold flavours and this is no exception, but perhaps there's a bit more youthfulness than you'd expect from a whisky that so proudly trumpets it's extended aging. In the younger Bold bottling, the same peppery, brisk rye meets it match in that whisky's sweetness. Here, the rye maybe overpowers some of the subtle fruit flavours. Still, Rare is a flavourful all-rounder, even if lacking some elegance.

Though a little brash, Rare's creamy mouthfeel and moreish acidity make it an enjoyable sipper. That sour note, in particular, is a really nice signature element. It works so well set against the creamy sweetness, and makes this easy to drink. And as for the brashness, not every whisky needs to be gentle and elegant. I for one enjoy aggressive ryes.

I'm looking forward to seeing how the profile changes as 12 year distillate from Windsor starts to fill bottles. In the meantime, though, this is a broadly enjoyable whisky that presents well. It doesn't have the quiet refinement of Canadian Club's 12 year old bottling, but it does pack more flavour and nicely integrated rye. Overall it's a well-rounded sipper with a serious hit of heat and flavour. You can never really go wrong breaking out a bottle of Gibson's Finest and that's as true as ever after 12 years. 

Heatseeker Score: 86

Category Score: 87

Characteristic: Fruity

Please also enjoy our review of Gibson's Finest Bold (8 year old).

Canadian Club Classic (12 Year)

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.

Canadian Club 1858

Canadian Club needs no introduction as one of Canada's best known exports and a staple of bars across the country. Alongside Crown Royal, 'CC' is a wildly popular brand based around a value blend. It's history goes back to the 1850s in Detroit, Michigan. Hiram Walker, a grocer, began distilling but was forced out when the state, along with many others, enacted Prohibition. Not wishing to see his burgeoning enterprise thwarted, Mr. Walker moved his distillery across the river - and across the border. 

He founded Windsor's Walkerville neighbourhood and opened what would eventually become one of the world's largest distilleries. It's location just across the river from the United States meant it was a perfect place for rum runners to smuggle barrels into Michigan, and onto the rest of the country.

His whisky eventually became known as 'Club Whisky' due to its popularity in gentlemen's clubs across North America. Distillers in the States grew angry at the lost market share and convinced the government to force Mr. Walker to label his whisky as 'Canadian,' in hopes American customers would reject it. The move backfired, however, and both Canadian Club's new name and Canada's whisky style became the symbol of smooth, enjoyable whisky for millions of fans. Interestingly, and in spite of its Royally-named rival, Canadian Club remains the only whisky from outside the UK to have been granted Royal Warrants, having enjoyed them from Queen Victoria onward to Queen Elizabeth.

The world-famous flagship bottling is known as '1858' though most simply know it as Canadian Club. A recent redesign cleaned up the label and highlights the '1858' name, but this will always be what comes when you call for a CC at the bar.

However you order it, this whisky consists of a blend of malted and unmalted rye, malted barley, and corn, aged for about six years in multiuse American oak barrels, some of which can be many decades old. The cask influence is not going to be particularly strong on this whisky, but the added couple years in oak compensates for that.

The Canadian Club brand is now enjoyed in over 150 countries and has always been a Canadian staple. Its popular in Australia and Japan (extremely so, apparently), and has enjoyed a big boost in the States due to its prevalence on TV's Mad Men. It's one of those whiskies that forms the bedrock of the Canadian category as an affordable, smooth blend with the requisite hint of rye spice. It will work in any whisky cocktail and is perfectly enjoyable as an easy sipper too - a solid bet at bars anywhere in the world.

Canadian Club 1858
40% alc./vol.
$25-$29 widely available across Canada

The nose opens sweet with linalool (like Froot Loops) and lots of florality, not unlike a light, citrusy gin. There's some peppery oak, dark fruit, and butterscotch. I get some marmalade and a whisper of rye spice. 

The palate brings a typically sweet butterscotch opening but things get interesting afterward. When recording tasting notes, I found myself drawing an upward trendline and that's exactly how I'd describe the experience once sipped. Everything builds upward toward a rising, brisk rye finish. Along the way, orange zest, caramel, tobacco, bitter citrus rind, and a fleeting fresh forest-y note. Then the rye hits with brief, scorching flash of habanero heat before settling only a little into the finish.

The medium length of the finish brings more bitter notes, some caramel, and tongue-tingling heat from the rye. 

For a basic, massively-produced whisky, this is surprisingly complex and bold. Actually looking back, I suspect the recipe may have been tweaked somewhat in recent years to amp up some of the clean oak and rye spice. Whether or not that's true, this is terrific whisky. 

You could call it smooth if you wanted to, as a compliment, but you wouldn't use smooth to insult this whisky. What do I mean by that? In the enthusiast community, smooth often means simplistic and overly sweet; easy to drink because it doesn't challenge the palate. It's more often a term of derision than anything, and one that might be leveled at CC's shelfmates (Crown, Black Velvet, Canadian Mist, VO) rightly or wrongly. But Canadian Club isn't too simplistic or sweet. It actually provides a sipping experience that is more intriguing than you'd expect for a ubiquitous entry-level bottle. 

Let's not overstate It; this doesn't pack the bargain basement punch of Alberta Springs nor the complexity of decades-old bottlings - and of course it doesn't. But it is a very enjoyable whisky that offers substantially more intrigue than you'd expect. For that reason, it's a bottle I'll always keep on hand, just like every bar in the country.

Heatseeker Score: 84

Category Score: 88

Characteristic: Floral

Please also enjoy our reviews of Canadian Club 100% Rye and Classic 12 Year.

Stalk and Barrel 100% Rye

Despite its name, Vaughan, Ontario's Still Waters Distillery has been making waves since they first fired their still in 2009. Run by the 'two Barry's;' Barry Stein and Barry Bernstein, this distillery forged the trail toward craft brewing in Ontario through dogged determination. As one of the first craft distillers in the province, they ran headlong into the web of outdated regulations surrounding distilling and alcohol sales. And while far too many of those regulations continue to hamper Ontario distillers, the tireless work of the Still Waters team blazed a path that is slowly getting clearer. 

The distillery is now also home to a large contract distilling operation for some well known vodka and gin brands, and proprietary 'Purtrak' software they've developed is employed by numerous other Canadian distilleries. 

In terms of their whiskies, though, they're already a decade into doing special things. Their single malt has won loads of plaudits and their cask strength ryes the same. Initially, these high end single cask releases were augmented by two classic Canadian blends, but they helpfully added this single rye at a lower strength and price point. A recent switch to a less weighty bottle design helped the distillery bring prices into the range where you could casually pick up a bottle for everyday sipping. And this whisky brings quite a bit to the table when compared to its shelf mates at under $40. 

It's still bottled at an elevated 46% which notably allows for the use of non-chill filtration. This is a less invasive filtration method in terms of preserving subtle flavour complexities.  There's also no added colour, so what you see us what you get, and the flavour isn't unduly diminished. The liquid itself is a mix of malted and unmalted rye aged for a little over three years in ex-bourbon barrels. 

Stalk and Barrel 100% Rye

46% alc./vol.

$36 at the distillery

The nose on this whisky - incredible! Waves of new oak and hard, dry rye spice wash over deep, jammy red wine. Dried apple rings, green grass, freshly dried hay, they're all here. There's some maple hiding underneath alongside honey, prunes, sultanas, and oatcakes. There's also underlying bitterness and sliced almond. The oak influence is massive and pulls you into the glass yet brilliantly balanced with the spice and deep sweetness. Wow, if you could bottle the scent it would be a great perfume. I simply want to keep sniffing this but my mouth is watering.

The palate doesn't have the same complexity, but is pleasingly tannic. The bourbon influence from the cask presents first with a sweet, corn profile. There's lots of oak alongside, though it's held in nice balance, without overpowering the grain. Throughout, a pronounced citrus bitterness grows and persists into the finish.

The higher bottling strength yields a rich, oily mouthfeel and there is a fulsome warming character even though this isn't a particularly spicy dram. What spice there is comes from a youthful, slightly alcoholic heat. Though that heat isn't too overpowering, it does momentarily drown out some of the grain character and subtlety. As the heat subsides, there's some dry straw and also mint, not unlike Lot 40. Lovely grainy rye and spices - caraway and clove - round out the palate. 

The finish is very clean and 'foresty.' Lots of mint and resinous, earthy pine. There's a bit of spice at the start as well as the bitterness, but what lingers for some time is the very clean, green spearmint profile, alongside the grainy rye. This is quite pleasing; the oaky warming sensation on the palate has been replaced by a profoundly fresh cooling sensation on the finish. I feel as though I've just had some mouthwash and everything is light and clean. 

Quite a nice dram at this price. The nose carries such tremendous complexity that the palate can't entirely match (though it is quite good in its own right), but all is redeemed by the wonderful warm-cool progression.

I'm very excited by the thought of trying this whisky, and it's cask-aged siblings, as they age some more. The intriguing green, almost alpine freshness through the finish is delightful; a departure from expectation. At its sub-$40 price, this is a very, very smart buy. If nothing else, it's a great after-dinner mint, but when tasting this whisky you'll feel you're drinking something in a higher price range. It's easy to see why this distillery has garnered so much praise in its first decade.

Heatseeker Score: 87

Category Score: 92

Characteristic: Fresh

Lot 40

No fulsome Canadian spirits discussion would be complete without lengthy attention paid to Canada's largest distillery, by far; Windsor's Hiram Walker Distillery. More than just whisky, this truly massive distillery churns out millions upon millions of products every month ranging from brown to clear to all kinds of coloured liqueurs. There are not many bottle shops on earth that don't sell something which passed through a still, warehouse, or bottling line in this corner of Southwest Ontario. 

As a Canadian distillery, though, the public focus is invariably on the whisky they make here, and they make a lot of it too. The vast J.P. Wiser portfolio, Canadian Club, and numerous other brands are produced at Hiram Walker. But of all these, few have consistently garnered such admiration as Lot 40. 

The 2012 resurrection of this niche 1990s label was greeted with jubilation by nostalgic whisky fans. When the brand first launched, the market wasn't there for bold ryes, but thankfully Lot 40 is perfect for today's adventurous palate. 

Made from 90% unmalted and 10% malted rye, the comparisons to world-beater Crown Royal Northern Harvest are inevitable and frequent. Also inevitable and frequent are the awards lavished on this whisky and it's transcendent cask strength brethren. In fact, Lot 40 claims the title as Canada's most awarded whisky brand over the past decade.

The standard Lot 40 carries no age statement but is reputed to be at least seven years old in large part, and is bottled at 43%. Much of the blend comes from a relatively small pot still tucked in a corner of the towering stillhouse. It's then aged in virgin American oak. In the bottle it's spicy, woody, and massively flavourful; a highlight in Master Blender Dr. Don Livermore's portfolio. If this bottle is perceived as the global standardbearer for Canada's whisky renaissance, that status is richly deserved. Oh, and the best part, it's not even $40 a bottle.

Lot No. 40 100% Pot Still Rye

43% ABV

$39.95 at the LCBO

Oak immediately hits the nose, but not with the signature vanilla of American oak. Sour cherry, dark plum, and lots of tobacco come forward alongside a restrained rye spice. There's no astringency or ethanol burn at all. 

The nose closely begets the palate, which is further testament to the blending skill evinced by this whisky. Brown sugar leads to a distinctive rye bread flavour, with caraway and dill. The dill takes on a sour note, complementing a slowly growing restrained spice. Nutmeg and a touch of capsicum with more bready, slightly sour notes. 

There's still no burn here, but a slight heat builds leading into more fresh, dry oak and just the slightest hot Tabasco sauce before a lingering, distinctive cool mint refreshes the tongue.

This is not a typical rye whisky in any way. The juvenile heat and typical flavour profile of a young rye are replaced with full, complex, and surprising notes blended to perfection. There is skill on display at every step of the process.

Dr. Livermore suggests Hiram Walker's focus has squarely turned to the rye grain these days and new, smaller pot stills are being added. This is the leading edge of a trend seeing distilleries large and small renew the focus on rye in this country. Lot 40 is simply a preview of what we can expect as craft distillers and large ones alike put aside lots of pot rye and age it longer.  

Wrapped up in its stylish bottle and sold for far less than it could be, this whisky deserves its massive award haul and its role as the flagbearer for a new generation of Canadian whisky. Lot 40 is quite possibly the best whisky anywhere at this price point and is a true global ambassador for rye.

Heatseeker Score: 90

Category Score: 95

Characteristic: Complex

Where the magic happens; the Lot 40 pot still at Windsor's Hiram Walker Distillery.

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.

Last Straw Rye - Batch 1

I'm really pleased that the first review on this blog should be from a distillery who've gone to great distances to pay forward their success in the industry. Last Straw, aside from producing a variety of intense, unique spirits, have allowed startups to create spirits using their facility and under their licence as they navigate the arduous process of acquiring their own stills. 

They also have a fascinating spirits programme of their own, working often with local farmers and the nearby Lake Wilcox craft brewery. The rye was their first whisky release, after three years in oak. The public were invited to a launch event at the distillery, which operates out of an unassuming industrial unit not far from fellow whisky pioneers Still Waters.

They weren't always in Vaughan, though. From the sound of it, it was a town planner with a vendetta who quashed their already-constructed farm distillery just outside the village of Erin. After sinking tens of thousands into that operation, the distillery had to pack up and relocate. In Vaughan, they found an enthusiastic council and wasted no time on their second attempt. 

After three years, at the launch party for their rye whisky, I was lucky to obtain a bottle signed by distiller Don Dimonte. Like it's quirky sprouted corn sibling, this single rye has won lots of praise. And it's well deserved, as this is a classic rye-forward whisky.

 In contrast to some whiskies (here but also in Scotland and elsewhere), this whisky is only distilled to 62.5%. That means a lot of the congeners that can add complexity are preserved, unlike the 'cleaner' whiskies that are distilled as high as 95%. After only three years in oak, even with a powerful new barrel, it would be quite possible to see those congeners come through as off-flavours in need of more aging to mellow out. That's not the case here though, as the rye is sharp and focused throughout. Those congeners will only serve to add to the flavour profile of this whisky as it ages further.

Interestingly, Last Straw label their whiskies with the American designation 'straight.' In the States, this designation stipulates certain grain quantities, still and cask strengths, and the use of new charred oak barrels. The term doesn't have any recognised definition in Canada, but it's been embraced anyway by Last Straw. To that end, the liquid spends it's time in #3 char virgin American oak. Regardless of label, this rye is superbly true to style and a fantastic option for someone exploring the spicy side of rye.

Last Straw Straight Ontario Rye

Batch 1 (2019)

43% ABV

$75 at www.laststrawdistillery.com

Clove, nutmeg, and grassy notes on the nose. With less of the sweet hints you sometimes get, this rye also brings hot spice right from the outset. 

That spice follows through to lead the palate with a fresh oakiness and sweet-hot cinnamon. Underneath, earthy flavours reveal themselves. I get some fennel late on the palate; perhaps its the interplay between the peppery heat and vegetal undertones. The middle is richer than many whiskies at this age with its herbaceous character. The complexity of the lower-strength distillation is revealed here.

The finish lightens somewhat with citrus, more peppery spice, and lingering maple and caramel. Really a nice way to round this one off.

This is a great rye after only three years and holds huge promise for the future. I can't wait to see what becomes of the vegetal undertones that lie beneath the hot rye. Today it's a terrific, warming dram  and a solid showpiece from a distillery doing a great deal behind the scenes of our fledgling industry. Ontario needs more distilleries like Last Straw!

Heatseeker Score: 88

Category Score: 86

For an explanation of the scoring system, please see the Reviews page.