Forty Creek Copper Pot Reserve

I came home from work today and stuck my hand in the mailbox to get the mail and there was a package for me. Intriguing. Wrapped in brown paper with my name and address but with no postage.

I brought it into my home and my wife's first question was - is it a bomb? After all, I've been heavily engaged in political activity the past year.

It wasn't a bomb... it was whisky. a 4 pack of very familiar looking sample bottles. A big thank you to @Nelom for refilling the bottles I had given him with stuff I don't have and returning them to me.

Unlike many of my samples, I will try to try and possibly review them quickly (who knows, maybe more coming tonight...they are small pours).

I tried Forty Creek Copper Pot Reserve at Whisky Weekend a couple of years ago during a tasting with John Hall (the best question was by @paddockjudge), and while I thought it pleasant, like many Canadian standard offerings I didn't think I'd ever like it enough to drink a whole bottle of it.

let's take a closer look:

This bottle was opened June 2016, no word on gas preservation so likely not, and the sample was poured in August. I reviewed it in my usual manner (as per my custom, no water added for Canadians).

I note it is very dark for a NAS whisky and suspect a little filtration and colour.

Nose - Weak. Hint of fruit, apple, some caramel. 20/25

Taste - Very sweet but not syrupy. Thin mouthfeel. Seems to become richer after a few sips. Brown sugar, caramel, mildly spicy. 21/25

Finish - Very short. Dry, astringent, a little sour. 20/25

Blance - the nose and palate work well together and it is quite pleasant if not complex. 22/25

Total Score 83/100

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This is something I would accept if offered, as an easy sipper requiring minimal attention. I would guess that if this were ramped up to 50% or better, cask strength, it would have stunning power.

We can only dream...

Smooth creamy spicy arrival followed by rye spiced middle sweet grain and brown sugary short fast finish.

This whisky is an offering from Forty Creek with a bit bigger flavour in mind - and they even put it in the bottle at 43%. A stock of carefully selected aged single grain rye, malt, and corn whiskies is blended together and then re-barreled for some time to marry before being bottled.

Nose: Much bolder than the barrel select; the signature forty creek toasted oak comes forth, and port-like fruit, ginger, cinnamon, vanilla, raisins...fairly complex - even with a touch of mint! Develops caramel as the glass airs. I also get traces of chocolate and a bit of earthiness, and even a few wisps of smoke. 88%

Taste: A smooth citrus entry with some good nice oakiness (lots of toasted oak!), then spicy rye which builds up, followed by a vanilla fade, followed by warming dry rye once again. As you can likely tell, I like the "plot line" of this one. There's still lots of fruit reminiscent of port wine. Also, I find, the whisky seems to change as you drink it, as if you are drinking a different one every time. Toasted oak, cloves, honey, and a bit of nuttiness also feature as well. There's some good underlying sweetness throughout as well - not too much - but the right amount. Pretty nice mouthfeel as well...quite brilliant. 92%

Finish: A long dry lingering spicy rye finish, with some nuttiness and a touch of grape juice. Eventually the spice dies down to vanilla, particularly if one drinks some water after. After some time there is even some black olive coming through...which to me is a manifestation and development of some of the earthiness found in the nose. I found even that the finish improved the water I drank after the whisky....87%

Intrigue: This is my favourite budget whisky, and I would stock it even if it came in at a more hefty price. I find it wonderfully complex, interesting, and tasty. It still holds well to the house style at Forty Creek - but it is bigger and bolder which works really well.90%

I am a big fan of this whisky. If you haven't had it, try it when you get the chance!

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/…

So I was thinking that the Copper Pot Reserve was very similar to Buffalo Trace Bourbon. I have a very shallow cabinet and this is the closest that I have to relate to. The Copper Pot reserve is: Nose: Vanilla (matured in ex bourbon casks), toffee, rye spice and a bit of pepper Palate: Very mellow with a pinch of Rye Spice. The taste is as above with a hit of vanilla, rye and a sweet caramel/toffee note. Not complex but very nice indeed. Finish: Relatively short and again not complex but in a H2H with Buffalo trace wins out IMHO. This dram is very "smooth" and enjoyable The Copper Pot Reserve at $27. in my neck of the woods is a huge bargain compared to Buffalo Trace @ $40. and Lot 40 @ $45. Try it and I am sure you will like it especially if you enjoy a Rye hit. My wife who is a Gibsons fan has switched over to Forty Creek Copper Pot Reserve. She takes her medicine with water and ice and says that this Canadian "rye" has more flavour and a touch more punch,

Here goes my first review. We start with Forty Creek Copper Pot Reserve. Why? Probably because this is one of the better Canadian Whiskey's I've sampled tasted thus far.

Growing up, I was mostly surrounded by the usual Canadian Staples - Crown Royal, Canadian Club, Gibson's and so on. None of these really caught on with me and I wasn't much of a whiskey drinker. In the last few months though, I've suddenly discovered there's a whole other world with the whiskey's, scotches and bourbons. Sure, they've always been there but I'd never really bothered to venture over to the Spirits sections. An impromptu tasting with my wife's uncle opened my eyes.

So a good number of Drams later (of which I'll review some of them going forward), I circle back to the Canadian whiskeys and picked up A Wiser's 18 (not opened yet) and the Forty Creek Copper Pot Reserve I've purchased now.

The Copper Pot reserve is medium to dark amber in color and presents strong toffee or caramel. It's right up front. Behind the scenes, there is something medicinal smelling about the drink, something that seems to be lurking there in the background in a few of the Canadian Whiskey's I've tried. Here though, its neither overpowering or unpleasant. Faint to me but present nonetheless is a smell that reminds me of leather, like that of brand new shoes.

The taste is somewhat spicy but not in an artificial way (unlike the Wiser's Spiced Whiskey that's out there which tastes like chemicals). Initially, there's almost a slight fruity taste - orange peels. This gives way to the toffee and there's something sweet and syrupy here too. It's got a bit of bite on the back end and though smooth, it's not smooth in the way of the Glenfiddich 15 Year old I tried at the tasting table of the LCBO when picking this up. Overall there's a big, bold taste going here.

The finish is pleasant. There's some woody overtones here and also some sweetness without to much sizzle on the tongue. It fades out after a minute or so and doesn't leave a bad taste in the mouth, which I have found some other Whiskeys have done. This one also doesn't dry out your mouth. It pretty much leaves it as it found it. :)

I am pleasantly surprised by this drink. There's more going on here than you'd expect from a Canadian Whiskey and I'd buy it again.

This new whisky is quite similar to their standard Barrel Select bottle, but at a higher strength with little to no sherry influence. The result is a whisky which displays firm aromas of dark spice, toasted walnut and pecan, toffee, cocoa, and vanilla. In the mouth it starts with honey and then builds with lots of spice and toasted nut flavours. It finishes with warm and lingering nut and caramel flavours. Overall it is a very good whisky which challenges more than your average Canadian. Very well-balanced and enjoyable; a great value.

Here I am, back after a long absence, and with a few Canadian whiskys to review.

I have just started a new contract in Ontario and it allowed me to buy a few bottles not available in Québec, namely the Forty Creek Barrel Select, the Alberta Premium and the brand new Forty Creek Copper Pot Reserve. I would have loved to say this is the first review on the web of this new whisky, but Quebecwhisky beat me to the punch by a few days.

Drunk neat, though it could handle a few drops of water.

Deep amber, nearly red colour. I did not expect this, based on the barrel select.

Nose: Bit of burned sugar, vanilla and some spices and wine in the background.

Taste: It comes in cool and starts slightly sweet, but nowhere close to the full blown maple syrup of some other Canadians. As it warms, we get a full blown wine, fruit and nut explosion! Sherry anyone? There is a slight metallic taste as well. It actually reminds me both of Aberlour A'bunadh and Armagnac. Very nice.

Finish: The fruit and wine dominate again, but depart rapidly, leaving behind a metallic and nutty dryness.

Balance: The sourness of wine and fruits, balanced with the sweetness of a Canadian whisky: this is a winner. This is definitely something different, very pleasant and at 28$, the quality/price ratio is off the chart! Frankly, it blows away the the two other Forty Creek I own.

Will I buy it again? Whenever I drive to Ontario, I'll make sure to pick up a bot... case or two. This will remain in my cabinet for as long as I can get supplies.