Canadian Club 20 Year Old

This whisky is a "limited" release, which really means that it is produced in batches as it is a pretty regular offering from CC. It's the same recipe as the standard "Canadian Club", but it is just in the barrel for much longer. Batch variation of this one can be significant, but it appears the recent batches seem to be doing pretty well.

Nose: Some nice, sharp rye and dry corn (like fresh cornmeal) comes up with classic rye fruitiness. Oak comes up, along with some pencil shavings, with earthiness much like you might expect a slightly damp, mossy oak stave to smell – though not perhaps the most appealing description it is a great smell. Light fruit – white grape and green plum as well as notes of strawberries. It does smell quite dry overall, and underneath the larger aromas there is a rich toffee backdrop, alongside a caramel pudding creaminess. The whisky reminds me very much of a well-aged dark rum, interestingly enough.88%

Taste:Rich maple and woody flavours start the palate, with some molasses notes leading into a sweeter brown sugar note along with some toasted oak. It is interestingly nutty, and has an almost nutty cookie-dough like feel to it along with a strong orange note like orange liquer. The rye comes through almost right at the end of the palate – overall it’s quite rich and dense. The molasses notes are interestingly strong enough that I wonder if I could be sipping a rum. 92%

Finish:Quite dense, and slowly unfolding, with some interesting flavours that remind me of what cookie dough made with whole wheat flour might taste like. It is still fruity, and feels quite lively because of the light fruitiness. The back of the throat particularly, I find, “feels” this whisky. There are still molasses notes, reminiscent of a good dark rum. There is also oak, light orange peel, and a very light touch of vanilla. It is a bit too dry, for the profile, though, and this detracts from the experience. 87%

Intrigue:Though I am no rum expert, this reminds me of some fine dark rums I have tasted before - with the density, woodiness, and molasses notes. Still has many nods to characteristic CC flavours, but goes a bit deeper and is my favourite of their regular offerings (provided the batch is good!) 93%

Weighting the nose 25%, taste 35%, Finish 15%, and Intrigue 25% the overall grade is 90.

*I have also posted a separate format (with similar content) of this review at whiskywon.wordpress.com/2014/08/…

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