Canadian Club Classic 12 Year Old

This whisky, at times, seems to be quite hit and miss. Some people really seem to like it, and some don't seem to care for it much at all. Recently rebranded to try to give more information and attract more connoisseurs, it is part of a growing "middle class" of Canadian whisky - generally small batch, $30-40 whiskies which are not ultra-rare or ultra premium, but are trying to offer something a bit different and more premium than the cheaper priced bottlings of a given brand. Among major brands, Crown Royal Limited Edition, Forty Creek Copper Pot, Wiser's Small Batch, Century Reserve lot 15/25, and Alberta Premium Dark Horse fit this mold - and 2 of these bottlings were introduced in the last 3 years. And you could make a case for others such as Collingwood (as part of the Canadian Mist line), lot no. 40 and pike creek (as part of Corby), and more singular bottlings like Royal Canadian.

Nose: Quite a compact, almost dark aroma. Maple, some cedar, slightly creamy, and even touches of light smoke, cola, some oaky earthiness characteristic of Canadian Club which I just love, a bit of light, fresh banana which, in combination with the creaminess, is a bit like a banana split. Dark rye bread, light orange, and some light toffee are also present and vanilla grows in weight as the whisky sits. 85%

Taste: Fairly sweet, with honey, maple, caramel, oak, rye bread, brown sugar, marmelade, malt and some spices on the finish. The palate is very enjoyable, and is a bit creamy and thick. The sweetness slowly builds until there is a lovely vanilla flourish at the end of the palate which leads into the finish very nicely. 88%

Finish: Slightly drying with some touches of dark rye bread, vanilla, a bit of oak, a touch of nutmeg and very light clove, and some light oaky earthiness (like you might expect from mossy and moist oak), with, unfortunately, a touch of slightly nagging bitterness. 83%

Intrigue: This fits nicely in the Canadian Club range - I quite like the earthiness, spice, and profile of this one. The sweetness is about right here also. 85%

Weighting the nose 25%, taste 35%, Finish 15%, and Intrigue 25% the overall grade is 86.

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

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