Pike Creek 10 - Rum Finish

Windsor, Ontario's Hiram Walker Distillery is perhaps the most dynamic in the world. Covering an enormous area in the heart of the eponymous Walkerville neighbourhood, this massive facility churns out millions of litres of spirit from vodka to gin to liqueur. And of course whisky is the star here, being the home of Wiser's, Canadian Club, and Gibson's Finest among others. But the distillery also produces rum, most prominently the Lamb's brand. And with a one-year minimum aging requirement for Canadian rum, there are plenty of barrels imbued with the flavours of the sugarcane spirit. 

So, when Canada's preeminent brand of cask finished rye needed a new flagship, finishing Pike Creek in rum barrels only made sense. The whisky brand is named after the Windsor suburb where dozens of non-climate-controlled warehouses house the resting spirit, and appeared on shelves in 2012.

Originally, the flagship was finished in Port casks but around 2016, the switch to rum was made and the result has been a highly-praised sipping whisky. The brand puts out a handful of well-aged, rye forward blends that spend time in ex-Bourbon casks before being specially finished. For the 10 year old, which is listed simply as 'Double Barreled,' the liquid goes into the distinctive bottle at 42% and is resultingly a little bigger and richer for it. Up the ladder, the 21 year old Oloroso Sherry cask finish is very highly regarded and a 15 year Niagara wine cask finish will be released in the near future. Personally, I can't wait to get my hands on a bottle.

Pike Creek Double Barreled

42% alc./vol.

$35 at LCBO

If you didn't read the label, it wouldn't take long to figure out rum is involved in this bottling. The nose is quite strongly reminiscent of a personal favourite, Lamb's Spiced. Loads of caramel, vanilla, and molasses lead with a rich plum note providing depth. 

The sweetness of the nose carries through to a creamy palate led by sweet corn. Molasses and brown sugar drive with some cola notes behind. But lest this palate become too much like rum, a tightly integrated, oaky, spicy rye rises up from the background to bring this sipper right back into Canadian whisky territory. 

The hot rye leads the finish alongside bittersweet citrus pith. Some slight tannins add moreishness as the short but flavourful finish fades with a peppery burst of campfire rye spice.

This is a well-balanced sipping whisky that deserves its continued praise. A close analogue is fellow Windsorite Gibson's Finest Bold. The Pike Creek seems to have just a touch more refinement, though that term can be rather nebulous. Both are molasses-sweet whiskies with driving rye and higher bottling strengths. I really like how the rye grows so expressively into the finish of the Pike Creek, though, even moreso than the excellent Gibson's. It's almost too close to call if you had to pick a winner, but thankfully at around $35 for each, you can taste both. 

In all, we have a refined sipper from a brand that can hold its own at any tasting. Confidently a rye and with such balanced rum influence, this Pike Creek is a winner of a cask finished whisky.

Heatseeker Score: 88

Category Score: 91

Characteristic: Sweet and Spicy

Please also enjoy reviews of Pike Creek's sister brands J.P. Wiser's (Triple Barrel Rye) and Lot 40.

Gibson's Finest Bold

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 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. 

Bold, their newest release, is 8 years old and is still sourced from Valleyfield barrels. It was designed especially for mixing with cola, which apparently accounts for a significant amount of rye sales. To that end, the whisky has an amped up flavour profile at 46% which allows it to stand out in an overwhelmingly sweet cola mixed drink. 46% is a notable strength for whisky, as it tends to be the lowest strength for non-chill filtered whiskies (a practice primarily used for higher quality bottles to preserve complexity). So far as I can tell Gibson's doesn't make use of this practice, which is fair as subtleties are usually lost in a sweet mixed drink anyway. 

Still, the higher strength adds mouthfeel and flavour. And though this whisky included a new oak-aged component, it's exaggerated dark colour is surely achieved through liberal use of caramel colour rather than barrel char. As for the liquid itself, it's a blend of light corn base and some rich rye and malted barley flavouring whiskies. 

Like the other Gibson's whiskies, this is a perfectly solid dram. Unlike its younger and older brothers, Bold is targeted at a specific mixed drink, and perhaps sacrifices some balance in order to achieve that profile. It remains, however, an enjoyable and easy sipper in its own right, and at an attractive price point to boot. 

Gibson's Finest Bold

46% alc./vol.

$34 at LCBO (750mL)

The nose begins with suggestions of cola; vanilla, brown sugar, some orange even. A rich molasses and hints of new oak take over with some maple sweetness too.

On the palate, the higher strength is evident in an oaky, intensely rich rye that rises from a spiced rum-like sweetness. The sweet component of this palate is a good echo of the nose; some orange, some sugar, lots of vanilla, and more cola flavour. The rye is not overpoweingly spicy but relentlessly drives forward the sweeter flavours with its rich, peppery, oaky force.

The finish is medium length and straightforward, with warming rye and pronounced bitter citrus.

After writing this, I looked at the reviews on some other blogs and was surprised to see that they were all extremely similar. What I tasted quite closely agrees with multiple other bloggers and even the official description from Gibson's. Rarely do multiple tasters agree on the description and almost never with what the marketing team provide, but this is the rare exception. That, and the fact the taste profile would seem to work well with a cola mix, suggests the blending here is absolutely spot on. In short, this whisky achieves exactly what its creators set out to do. 

Gibson's Finest Bold is a sipper with a luscious, oaky rye heart surrounded by a bottle of Coke. I like to taste this alongside Pike Creek 10 year, which is finished in rum casks. It's a great taste analogue. Whether or not you choose to mix it, it's a big and finely balanced dram at a terrific price. It's not the most complex whisky on the market, and that colour is still quite aggresive, but from the first taste it's evident this is a distinctive, high-quality bottling that would do Mr. Gibson proud.

Heatseeker Score: 86

Category Score: 94              

Characteristic: Sweet and Rich

Please also enjoy our review of Gibson's Finest Rare.

Collingwood

Though we're continuing on the sweet side after our last review of Seagram's VO Gold, this whisky is extremely different in method and result. Collingwood is the result of a distillery branching out in their aging and then again in their finishing process, introducing a process to Canada that seems like it should have been around for a long time. 

In the idyllic resort town of Collingwood, on the shores of Nottawasaga Bay, the Canadian Mist Distillery has long produced simple whisky for export to the US market. Canadian Mist has been a favourite for mixing amongst Americans for decades, but as tastes changed, the distillery decided to venture into more interesting bottlings. They created Collingwood Whisky as a result, but also pioneered their maple finishing process in doing so. 

Collingwood starts with a base of corn and malted barley, like it's sibling Canadian Mist, and is distilled in an unusual (for Canada) method. This base is triple distilled to become very neutral in flavour, then enters a 'doubler.'  The doubler is a common element of bourbon production, and removes some impurities through copper contact. It almost functions as a fourth distillation, which brings this base close to vodka territory for flavour neutrality. Though that may be ideal for the exported Canadian Mist brand, Collingwood needed a big hit of flavour, and finds this in the rye distillate made here. 

Added only sparingly to Canadian Mist, this punchy rye is added liberally to Collingwood and doesn't shy away from the white hot side of that grain. 

Now comes the interesting part; Collingwood's signature is a "mellowing" process using toasted maple staves. It levels out the bright rye with a sweet, round flavour that can only be from Canada. To achieve this, the fully-aged base and rye barrels are emptied together for marrying into stainless steel vats, with toasted (but not charred) maple staves; basically a deconstructed barrel. The staves float atop the blend for a couple months before proofing down with Georgian Bay water and then bottling. 

This standard bottle comes in at just $35 in Ontario, another example of the tremendous value to be found in Canadian whisky. It's now been joined by some limited release editions like the terrific Town Collection Double-Barreled and the rare, very interesting 21 year rye. All of Collingwood's expressions highlight the signature smooth maple finish and this entry-level bottle is a fine example of that. It looks great on a bar but more importantly entices whisky lovers with the prospect of future releases from this suddenly very interesting distillery. 

The Collingwood area is known for its skiing, boating, and golf and has also become a hotbed for cider. After a couple of those, a transition to a dram of this whisky could cap off a perfect day in this corner of paradise. 

^The stylish Canadian market bottle.

Collingwood Canadian Whisky

40% alc./vol.

$35 at LCBO

The nose is carried by rich brown sugar, caramel, green apple, and some earthiness. Maple, of course, follows as does what I can only describe as peanut butter and even a bit of a meaty note. There's florality and just a touch of oak, but no burn nor suggestion of the coming rye spice. Quite nice in all; rich, sweet, and ever so Canadian. 

On the palate, the oak leads alongside the maple, which is entwined throughout. The mouthfeel is thick and lovely. More brown sugar, caramel, and even some saltiness before a quick slap of scalding rye (in the best possible way!). Capsicum, peppercorn, and chili oil take over for just a fleeting moment, but leave big flavour implications. Before you know it, the maple washes back over and soothes the palate, departing in a viscous syrupy wave.

The finish begins with more of that great maple before the remnants of the rye take over, with lingering bitter citrus. The hot embers are still there but it's mostly the bitter pith noticed. 

What an interesting whisky. It brings so much rich maple but also rye heat in abundance. It's not perfect though; this won't be the first review to call the middles a bit thin. Maybe the rye component, in all it's fiery glory, is a little too fleeting. There so much there but it is almost immediately quelled by the maple's return. 

That's not necessarily a bad thing for most people who pick this bottle up; it manages to pack all that heat and still be a very easy sipper. With both the heat and the sweet balanced pretty well, Collingwood should please loads of rye drinkers. This whisky lover salivates at the thought of a higher-strength release that could unleash more complexity. But on its own, this is much more than just a good looking bottle; it's an innovative and very Canadian exploration that should always be on hand as a sipper. There's not a lot better out there for $35 and almost no other whiskies that can genuinely please everyone without compromising for anyone.

Heatseeker Score: 85

Category Score: 91

Characteristic: Maple