Who is going to WHISKY WEEKEND at Forty Creek

@Nozinan - what is with the 'Thumbs Down' on all the Forty Creek threads lately?

@YakLord

I don't know. Maybe there is someone on Connosr who has some strong feelings about artisan Canadian Whisky.

See you there Saturday !!. How about posting your arrival so that other connosr members know who/what to look for.

@paddockjudge See you tomorrow!

Anyone going on Sunday?

Bumped into talexander and paddock at this event. Nice to meet you guys!

So how was it? Did anyone sample this year's release?

@Nozinan I loved the Heart of Gold - one of my favourite expressions! More rye-focused, spice on the finish, quite different from other releases.

@talexander - Absolutely stunning! I cannot believe he has done it again. This whisky has everything. I wish I could buy all 9,000 bottles. @talexander - Thank you for organizing an incredible finale to a world class event! You are an ambassador for friendship, as are all the great 'whisky buddies' that contributed to this event!

@Nozinan - you must attend next year. The special reserve releases are nothing short of masterful and the atmosphere is magical...the five most recent annual releases are very enjoyable have me wondering why I would pursue other genres of whisk(e)y.

@StevieC - you have to try this one brother!

@mrgargus - it was indeed a pleasure to meet you - have you any comments on the recent release?

@TheConscience - sorry I missed you. did this new release measure up for you?

@Victor - Happy Days are Here Again! Knowing that you enjoyed FC Port Wood and John's Private 'Stash', I anticipate that you will undoubtedly derive a great degree of satisfaction from this 2013 Limited Special Release. Suspecting as much, I have put aside bottle number 1933 for you: Repeal of Prohibition. You've gotta love that.

For our Canadian friends in Asia - I will hold a few bottles for you until you return home. The Maple Leaf Forever.

Johanne McInnis and Mark Gillespie; thanks for a great whisky experience!

Davin de Kergommeaux - as always, an amazing resource! Wish you could have finished off the 'Salute to Canadian Exellence" with us - featuring four Forty Creek Special Releases and three Alberta 'Wild Roses'.

'Tim N' in Edmonton, thanks for pitching in and helping us to have a truly "Canadian" Experience!

Thank you again John Hall and the incredible team at Forty Creek. I felt like a V.I.P. the entire day.

I'm pumped for next year!

@paddockjudge Heart of Gold is fantastic. Certainly my new favourite from among the Forty Creek range (surpassing even the Confederation Oak reserve, which is quite an achievement!).

@TheConscience - is it improbably better than Confederation Oak? While I wasn't able to make it this year (maybe next year!), I did pick up a bottle at the LCBO yesterday (haven't opened it yet). Am I the only one who gets a bit of a chuckle out of the name? All I can think about when I see 'Heart of Gold' is The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy...

@YakLord

Is that so? I'll have to buy a bottle and store it next to my A'Bunadh batch 42...

@YakLord At least in the tasting line up it surpassed Confederation Oak. We sampled the individual rye, corn, and barley whisky along with barrel select, copper pot, double barrel, confederation oak, and heart of gold. Heart of Oak was easily my favourite of the line up (next CO and the straight rye). I like the pronounced rye, so its now vaunted position in my cabinet might continue to hold over confederation oak.

I have a bottle of each, and I will have to compare them over time. For now, though, I prefer the new release over the still-fantastic Confederation Oak (however improbable).

@TheConscience - It is brilliant! I'm torn between 2011 release John's Private Cask No.1 and this year's Heart of Gold...that's not such a bad thing for FC to have two incredibly delicious, no, three incredibly delicious releases in three consecutive years - can't discount the 2012 Port Wood.

@mrgargus - nice to have met you! Have you tried the Heart of Gold? Any comments?

I only had a small sample from the tasting bar. I haven't opened the reserved bottle I purchased. I may go back and grab another HOG for a proper sampling. That said, from the sample I did try, I liked the HOG but felt the influence of the barrel was pretty heavy. I could taste the Rye influence there but there was something very dry and 'oakey' about HOG and I found this, not the Rye was more to the front in both smell and taste. This is not necessarily a bad thing as it was very enjoyable just the same but it was unexpected for me as it's unlike any of the other in the FC line I've tried. As a side note, I've had a Confederation Oak sitting around here for quite awhile unopened so I finally got to satisfy my curiosity about it by trying a sample of that at the tasting bar. I actually preferred this to the HOG but it was close.

@paddock - I wish I would have had more time to sample some of the line with you and Tom and talk about the whiskey but I had to get back home for some afternoon stuff on the homefront. Maybe next year then? :)

Confederation Oak, John's Private Cask, Heart of Gold, Port Wood - all excellent, all different yet still unmistakably Forty Creek.

I caved. I've not bought a bottle of anything in a long time. Something about an overflowing cabinet. But this discussion convinced me and I actually went well out of my way to one of the few Toronto LCBOs and bought one HOG. Definitely for drinking some time, maybe after I've tried a few more standard ryes. Ralfy recently reviewed a couple and he mentioned about the specific unmistakeable taste of rye but to be honest when I once tried Alberta Premium I didn't notice much difference from other blends.

I would be much quicker to open it if I were in the company of someone who'd really enjoy it. Perhaps when that epic trade happens...

@mrgargus @paddockjudge - yes, definitely next year!

Hi all First let me say that both my wife and I enjoy Copper Pot Reserve. We like the heavier taste and rye notes that are not present in many of our more affordable Canadian drams. I see that HoG is now available in Manitoba. My question, is HoG significantly beter than Copper Pot Reserve? The Copper Pot is $30.50 here including tax while the HoG is $79 incl tax. I realize that there is a law of diminishing returns. I am not reluctant to part with that sum of money for a relatively good scotch whisky but really don't want tp pay over 2.5 times the price of a bargain Canadian for something marginally better. I am not cheap but prefer to be called a "value shopper" My pockets are not as deep as many others who frequent this forum. Anybody have any thoughts on the relative prices of Forty Creek? Confederation Oak is slightly more than HoG even though bottled at 40% ABV. Even Copper Pot Reserve is botttled at 43%. Jonesz

@Jonesz - The Copper Pot is a heck of a bargain and a very fine whisky.

I am extremely fond of the FC H of Gold, but we are not all wired the same way. My advice to you is to obtain a sample somewhere before you plunk down your hard earned cash. I drove 900 kms to taste the new release and I liked it enough to buy a one year supply.

It is nice to have whisky buddies that you can trade samples with.

@paddockjudge Thanx for the input. In retrospect I should maybe have started a new thread, it just seemed that there were quite a number of fans of Forty Creek that were posting here. Sorry to take away from the original intent of the thread, Later Jonesz

@Jonesz - your correspondence is absolutely relative to the thread. We can always continue this on a review page or here is perfectly fine.

Check your messages

@Nozinan - perhaps this might become a tasting flight...I suppose we won't know until afterwards if it was vertical or horizontal.

It is almost exactly one month to the kickoff of this year's WHISKY WEEKEND at Forty Creek in Grimsby Ontario. I'm excited to be going for the first time this year and would love to meet some FC fans. So who's going?

@Nozinan I'm not going to make it this year - my brother is getting married that weekend

@talexander

How inconsiderate of him.....

I will be going on Saturday the 27th, but only to pick up my reserved bottles and have John Hall sign them.

Need to go to the early signing time - (10-12). Have to get back to Elmira to man the bar at Elmira Theatre Company. Last weekend for the show "The 39 Steps" (more info here: www.elmiratheatre.com).

I stock Forty Creek Copper Pot Reserve in the bar, along with some local craft beers.

Be happy to buy a drink for any connosr members that drop by for the show! I'll be the one running the cash at the bar.

6 days to go... The countdown begins...

If I didn't have a wicked cold I'd have been preparing by sampling some FC expressions, some bourbons, ryes, etc.. in the run up. I hope to prepare myself a little before I go.

How are other people preparing for the weekend?

And is anyone else going to be at the Saturday 1 pm tasting?