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 

The Wild North

For perhaps the first time, this blog gets to blaze a trail as the first to review a new release. Which is great, but also means your humble correspondent must do all the digging on his own. No matter, there's a glass of whisky to help with that. 

That whisky, it turns out, is a bottle that's recently hit Québec shelves called The Wild North. Suffused with lumberjack iconography and an attractive bottle, this prominently-labelled rye carries an age statement of 5 years. The description on the back states that the liquid is actually a blend of 5 and 7 year whiskies. An educated guess is that the whiskies are corn - probably from Valleyfield Distillery - and rye. The label mentions these whiskies are aged onsite in "our own cellars."

Determining where exactly these cellars are requires a little digging and, as is usual with whisky, more educated guesstimations. If I find out more information, I'll be sure to update the review, but for now, let's trace back the origins of The Wild North through its distributor to its producer. According to the SAQ website, Wild North is produced by Mondia Alliance, which actually doesn't exist as a brand anymore. That's because, as part of a merger, it is now called Station 22.  Who, it turns out, are behind some well known labels including Spicebox spiced whiskies and the iconic Sortilège whisky liqueurs. 

Right then. We can assume Wild North is aged alongside the component whiskies in those blended products. Where exactly is it distilled and in which barrels is it aged? I have a pretty good guess based on taste but I'll have to get back to you on that. 

Either way, this whisky was released in Québec's SAQ a couple weeks ago, in mid-August. So as possibly the first Ontarian get his hands on this bottle, I'm keen to pour myself a dram or two and see what comes out.

The Wild North Rye 5 Years Old

43% alc./vol.

$39 at SAQ

The nose brings fruit and sweetness quite prominently. Actually, this reminds a lot of another Montréal product, Seagram's VO Gold. There's a citrus-y florality and linalool (Fruit Loops), with the overall sweet profile of corn whisky distillate. There's also a musty note that comes through early on. 

The palate brings much of the sweetness with a pronounced citrus character. Some butterscotch continues the dessert whisky taste until it's met by a rising, warm rye. Throughout, a full mouthfeel is the result of the elevated bottling strength. That 43% also gives a warming heft which nicely offsets the light citrus notes.

The finish is where the rye component really comes into its own. The whisky turns warming here, with white pepper and bitter grapefruit pith. There is some drying and oak, and the effect is sort of like Tabasco sauce. But it all wraps up on lingering maple.

Well, I was intrigued by the lumberjack branding and the reasonable midrange price point (as well as the forbidden fruit of a bottle you can't get in Ontario). And I wasn't disappointed, with a solid rye that runs to sweet and then spicy. It initially follows VO Gold, but takes the turn toward spice into the finish, and brings the warming 43% body. 

A solid all-rounder, let's say, and a whisky that should do quite well with consumers and mixologists. Simplistic but enjoyable, the sweet moves easily into the spicy and on a wintry Montréal day, one dram could quickly move into a lengthy session. I'm glad I find myself with a bottle of this and would certainly keep one on hand as a crowdpleasing warmer.

Heatseeker Score: 85

Category Score: 88

Characteristic: Sweet and Warming