Moderator: Squire
cowdery wrote:The base whiskey in Canadian blends is technically whiskey, not neutral spirit, though it is nearly neutral or, one might say, just barely whiskey. American blends use GNS. Canadian blends do not.
tmckenzie wrote:I am still studying all of the variations of rye that I can get my hands on to compare to ours. I had a friend that was going into ontario for the weekend, pick up a bottle of alberta premium. Now, to hear Jim Murray talk it is liquid gold. It is tasty with a really good rye flavor, but it is a touch light for my taste. Has anyone else hear tried it?
jaygats wrote:Currently drinking alberta premium 25yr. If you ever have the chance to grab one of these, you must! This is the best bottles I've had under 50$ (30$ in Ontario). Really sweet cocoa with a hint of... honey?Lacks character at entry, granted (compared to the better bourbons I've had) but there's a slight bite followed by a seemingly never ending finish. Really enjoying this one. There's a flash of that candied apple that I loved in the PVW 23 too. Sorry I couldn't give a more detailed review, it's my first one!
cowdery wrote:Blended whiskey (AKA whiskey--a blend) is a mixture which contains straight whiskey or a blend of straight whiskeys at not less than 20 percent on a proof gallon basis, excluding alcohol derived from added harmless coloring, flavoring or blending materials, and, separately, or in combination, whiskey or neutral spirits.
Since the final product will typically be 80 proof, more than 20% of the contents will be straight whiskey. Some blends are as much as 40% straight whiskey. The rest of the volume may be neutral spirits and usually is.
Canadian blends, like Scottish blends, start with a base of nearly neutral whiskey. It is grain spirit distilled out at just below 90 percent alcohol, so it is not considered neutral (95% is considered neutral). It is then aged for at least three years in used barrels, typically first refill bourbon barrels. That is blended with multiple flavoring whiskeys, single malts in the case of Scotland. Canada doesn't sell any of its "straight" whiskey, it's only used for flavoring.
The only additive scotch allows is spirit caramel, which supposedly is only for color and is neutral in flavor, but everyone knows it also adds a little sweetness and caramel flavor. American and Canadian blends can use pretty much anything they want as coloring and flavoring, but they aren't using some kind of flavor house 'whiskey essence.' They may add a little of this and that.
Canadian whiskey may contain up to 9% bourbon, brandy, rum, scotch, or any other spirit.
In the USA, they use neutral spirits which they may "age" for three months or so in used wood. As a practical matter, the Canadian and Scottish base whiskeys aren't much more flavorful than the American neutral spirits, but they are technically whiskey. In all three cases (American, Canadian, Scottish) most of the flavor comes from the low proof, well-aged flavorings whiskeys that are the lower part of the volume.
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