Pike Creek 10 Years Old

This sister whisky to lot no. 40 is 10 years old, finished in vintage port casks, made in Windsor at the Hiram Walker distillery.

Nose: Very fruity, contrasted with the dry rye dancing around in the background. Vanilla, red wine, fruitcake and dried fruit – prunes in particular. It smells sweet with all the vanilla and oak. Of all the finished rye whiskies I’ve tasted, this one combines the rye with the port in a wonderful way – even better than the forty creek portwood in my opinion. At some sniffs, the rye appears to dominate. At others, it’s the fruitiness from the port. There are berry-like notes of a style that are reminiscent of some rums. 90%

Taste: Light sweet, smooth entry dominated with vanilla completed with red wine in the forefront of your mouth and simultaneously rye in the back of your mouth – as if you are drinking 2 spirits at once. Concludes with a lingering and warm exit where dry rye begins to dominate with some bitterness. I love the evolving nature of this whiskey – you might think it light bodied at the beginning before it turns up the heat into a complex mixture of flavours. Not one to bore you! Some whiskies take your mouth on a bit of a joyride – this is one of them. 92%

Finish: Although I really like the exit from the mouth, the finish is the weakest part of this whisky in my opinion. It is at first dominated by fruit and rye together, before the rye starts to dominate with some bitterness and spice. The spice I like, but the bitterness is not great as it is constructed here. A tinge of refreshing pith at the end though as well which is nice, and the finish does linger nicely. 80%

Intrigue: I really like this one...has to be one of my favorite Canadians out there. The brilliant combination of the port and rye as it is blended here is fabulous. Although often described as inferior to its sibling Lot no. 40, I often prefer Pike Creek (though Lot no. 40 is an excellent dram too! which I prefer largely is situation dependent). Fruit and spice, side by side, in a brilliant manner. Fabulous. 95%

Weighting the nose 25%, taste 35%, Finish 15%, and Intrigue 25% the overall grade is 91.

*I realized I would never have time to upload all my Canadian whisky reviews to connosr properly, so I've been importing the tasting notes in bulk to expand the whisky base on connosr. For more info on the whisky (with similar tasting notes), see my post at whiskywon.wordpress.com/2013/09/…