What do you know about Canadian whisky? Until a few years ago, I knew absolutely nothing, but I’ve come to realise there’s quite a lot to discover on the other side of the water. Canadian whisky is often blended by nature, where different distillates (for example corn-based grain whisky and spicier rye) are combined to create a balanced end product. The style is generally softer and more approachable than, say, Scotch whisky, but there are Canadian whiskies that are both robust and smoky.
One detail my friend Cecilia Hjortzberg mentioned in our podcast Malt Med Mummelbyxor recently is the so-called “9.09% rule”. This means that up to 9.09% of the contents may consist of other spirits or flavourings (e.g. other whisky or wine) without having to be declared. The idea is to give the blender more freedom to adjust the flavour profile, but it also means that in practice there are two types of Canadian whisky – one for the European market that can be sold as whisky here and does not contain other spirits or flavourings, and one that is sold in Canada and other markets. So we’re potentially missing out on things that could be quite good, folks!
Today I’ve tried two bottlings, both of which qualify as whisky under EU legislation. Let’s get into it.
Lot No. 40 Dark Oak 100% Rye Whisky, 48%
Info: A Canadian rye whisky from Hiram Walker & Sons, under the Lot No. 40 label. The base is 100% rye whisky, distilled in a pot still. Dark Oak is an extension of the standard release, where the whisky is finished in heavily charred new oak casks.
Nose: Loads of sweet-and-sour apple, then apple cider vinegar. Sweet in a slightly artificial way, like those blue and pink fizzy bottle sweets. Dark syrup, dill and sage. Very interesting nose. With time it becomes sweeter, more vanilla-driven, but also more bready with notes of caraway and sourdough.
Palate: Nutty. Roasted almonds, some walnuts, white pepper. Candied almonds and orange peel, almost like preserved orange peel. Very good.
Finish: The oak lingers. Clove and something reminiscent of nutty meringue, like the meringue on a Budapest roll.
Crown Royal Northern Harvest Rye, 45%
Info: A Canadian rye-forward blended whisky from Crown Royal, owned by Diageo. Northern Harvest Rye is largely built on rye whisky, but is still a blend in the Canadian tradition. It was launched as a spicier, more characterful variant within the range. It gained significant attention when Jim Murray’s Whisky Bible named it “World Whisky of the Year” in 2016, which led to a surge in interest in both the product and the category – something I suspect is not talked about quite as loudly these days, given Jim Murray’s somewhat tarnished reputation.
Nose: Very sweet, restrained and floral. Lots of elderflower, almost like elderflower cordial. A bit of lemon and tart pear. Quite a “spring-like” nose.
Palate: Pink peppercorn and a dry mouthfeel. Plenty of spice – nutmeg and something green that’s closest to sweet parsley. A slight metallic note. Quite interesting.
Finish: Very short. A little vanilla lingers, but not much more.
Summary
So, what do I think? For me, Crown Royal comes across as a rather restrained spring or summer whisky that I’d need to spend some time with to really break down, but the short finish unfortunately drags down the overall impression.
I like that Lot No. 40 Dark Oak is quite bombastic without losing its shape. It’s not messy at all – there’s balance there – so it’s big without going off in different directions. I also think it would work very well in cocktails, but honestly, it’s very good to drink on its own.
