Canadian Club Sherry Cask

One of my earliest reviews on this site was the Canadian Club Sherry Cask. Back then, it had different packaging, which was more distinctive than the other CC bottles. The current branding puts the Sherry Cask in the same bottle shape and label design as the Classic 12 Year Old (which is also labelled Small Batch, so I think the packaging is far too similar). The new 9 Year Old Reserve also has the same label design, but is a taller, thinner bottle.

I thought I would revisit it because a) it is new packaging (any excuse, eh?) and b) there are batch variations. The one I reviewed before was given a 70 - I didn't think much of it. I don't remember the batch number, but it is certainly different from this one - which is batch C12-047. I wonder if "C12" means it is 12 years old (my understanding though was that it was around 10 years old, having spent those last two years in sherry casks that once held Harvey's Bristol Cream - but who knows)?

The colour is a reddish amber. On the nose, pencil shavings, raspberries, pomegranate, with caramel and vanilla as you might find in a bourbon. I sense new white oak barrels being used here. Cardamom with a hint of smoke. More complex than I was expecting, especially with water, which brings out sawdust, rum and more sherry notes.

On the palate, dark stewed fruits, more berries, a hint of spicy rye notes. Extremely smooth and easy to drink, though not as complex as the nose. With water, a little more tannic. Quite rich, sweet and velvety. No sulphur whatsoever.

The finish is dusty, a little dry but with soft spices - the rye is coming out here. What a surprise! I wasn't expecting to enjoy this as much as I do. So clearly the batch variations (and perhaps other changes rather than the packaging?) are different. I believe I also saw on the shelf a bottle of batch C12-048, perhaps I will do a side-by-side...

For some reason this whisky gets bad marks from many critics. They seem to find it unbalanced, "whisky-flavoured sherry". I think this is unfair, since heavily sherry-flavoured Scotches are often favoured by these same critics. Anyway, this whisky sets a high expecation from the elegant bottle, and fortunately it delivers.

The nose is fairly subtle and sweet, with obvious sherry unfluence. I get hints of beeswax and brown sugar. Some spice is evident. Pleasant but not too expressive.

The whisky is light-bodied in the mouth. It has the characteristic tang of Canadian blended whisky but also the spice, orange peel, and chocolate notes of a good sherry cask. There is also something herbal, almost gin-like in there. Most importantly, there are none of the unpleasant, pungent notes that sometimes accompany strong sherry flavour in a whisky.

The finish is rather short and mellow, and again free of funky flavours. Overall I find this whisky to be of very good quality. It is almost too easy to drink, yet it stands apart from its contemporaries and does so at a reasonable cost.

This is a nice change from the usual Canadian Club offering - due to maturation finishing in ex-sherry casks. As you can imagine, this gives it a mahogany tone (with good body), and aromas of sherry and anise. Taste shows, of course, sherry / wine / tannins, oak and a medicinal-alcohol medium finish. Pretty easy to drink, makes for a nice after dinner sip.