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I'm working on a story for WHISKY about Forty Creek Canadian Whisky. They have two expressions, Barrel Select and Three Grain. Both are blends of corn, rye and malt whiskey, and both are sold at 80 proof. The primary expression, Barrel Select, is finished in sherry casks after blending.

I have characterized the Barrel Select as exhibiting caramel, vanilla and a little dark fruit. The Three Grain shows those flavors, but you can also taste white dog underneath, especially the flavorful young rye whisky. Neither product reveals much char. The Barrel Select has a little bite while the Three Grain is candy-sweet.

What do you think?

I normally don't do tasting reviews but I rose to the challenge last night over my half-empty bottle of Forty Creek and here are my impressions.

You're completely right about the vanilla and caramel. The vanilla is more prominent in the nose together with slight fruit which I think is coming from the sherry casks. The caramel presents itself more in the finish.

The nose is very heavy and somewhat dull. The body is heavy as well; it has an annoyingly "syrupy" mouthfeel that makes me wonder if it is artificially thickened. The flavour is one dimensional; not in a bad way, it's very clean and smooth, but it lacks personality. The alcohol is completely masked, but there is a distinctive medicinal grain alcohol "edge"... it's hidden, but reveals itself as in a bad game of hide and seek.

The finish is very smooth and that's where the caramel comes in. It's not a burnt caramel, but it's there.

There's nothing bad you can say about this whiskey. In fact, for a Canadian style, it's probably the best I've tasted. But you can't compare it to scotch or bourbon.

What do I think? When I first tasted it, I was somewhat disappointed (I had higher hopes). But I've come to see it's merits and I will probably buy it again. It's a fine whiskey to serve someone who finds bourbon and scotch too powerful.

Thanks, Dave. I assume this is the Barrel Select expression?

Yes, Barrel Select (recent expression)

I haven't tried the Barrel Select, Chuck, but we have a bottle of the Three Grain in our collection. It's there to give a different (upper North American) perspective to the basic bourbon mashbill. The Canadian section currently also contains Alberta Springs, Gooderham & Worts, Pendleton, and Old Bush Pilot.

As you well know, when it comes to tasting notes I wouldn't know a dark fruit from caramel floweriness. I'm usually pretty good at recognizing styles, though, and I can certainly identify the distinctive flavor common to most Canadian whisky. Forty Creek's 3-Grain tastes like Canadian whisky, not like bourbon. I may be wrong but I think it's the product of marrying three (more or less) single-grain whiskies, rather than of a fermented three-grain mash.

It's okay, but I'm not sure just what niche it fills... other Canadians are certainly more "Canadian"-tasting, and ALL bourbons are more "bourbon".

I find myself in full agreement with this assessment.

Last night I blended 50/50 Forty Creek with a green tea liqueur-tinged blend of American rye whiskey and rye-recipe bourbons. It was outstanding. The drink had a deep nuttiness (no jokes here, please!), accented with wintergreen-like effects, very rich and smooth yet with straight whiskey depth and tangs. The lighter Forty Creek whiskies lifted and "displayed" (to use a Scottish blending term) the straight whiskies. I make this for neat sipping. For a rocks drink give me a full-on straight whiskey but my blend is darn good, take it from me.

Gary

On Gary's recommendation, I mixed a snifter with a 50/50 blend of Barrel Select and one of my regular pours, Jim Beam Black. Gary you're perfectly right and I like your term "elevated".

The resulting blend was fantastic. [music starts here] I'm a believer!

I can't wait to tell John Hall that we've decided his whisky is best used as a mixer with bourbon.

Chuck, you might have better results posting your question on the website: http://www.iprefercanadianwhiskytobourbon.ca

Chuck, I would put it to him that his whisky is good but some people feel it would benefit from a little stiffening from medium-aged straight whiskey, preferably rye. He would get a more full-bodied, flavorful expression that way. Or putting it another way, perhaps it is opportune to market some of his whiskies as single whiskies. Maybe his rye on its own would disclose the bigger character many whisky fans look for. Of course, he may not be pitching to that audience, but I don't know.

Gary

John Hall is a great guy! I had the pleasure of meeting with him when he introduced the whisky to our market. Ex-microbiologist I believe. I don't think the goal of Forty Creek is to appeal to people like us. He wants to pull the Crown drinkers off their brand. While compared to Weller 107, Forty Creek has little substance, compared to Crown Royal or Canadian Club, it has a far richer taste profile.

When I tasted Forty Creek Barrel Select, I thought it tasted just like melted Butter Pecan ice cream. Loads of vanilla, cream, buttery oak and slight nuttiness.

My .02

Everybody does retail store appearances and other kinds of tastings but I think they really work for Forty Creek because just about anybody who drinks whiskey, of any kind, who takes a little sip of Forty Creek is likely to think "Hey, that's pretty good," and at about $20, it's no big deal to buy a bottle right then and there. He says he gets a lot of people who say "I only drink such-and-such," then they try a sip of Forty Creek and say, "that would be a nice change-of-pace."

Whatever works.

Watch for my Forty Creek story in an upcoming issue of WHISKY Magazine.

I was able to try the Barrel Select at a tasting recently. The nose and flavor were both very different and interesting. At < $25 a bottle I brought one home. Once I was able to leisurely sip from a larger glass, I found the sweet caramel much stronger and a bit overwhelming. I would agree that this would make an excellent starter whisky.

So here is the question. Why is it so darned sweet and caramely? (Is that a word?) I think it may be a bit too thick and syrupy for my taste. Is there something in the very unusual process behind this whisky that would account for this? Or is something getting added?

Barrel Select is definitely something completely different and interesting. If this product is scarce as you get further from Canada, I'd be happy to bring a bottle to the Gazebo.

Mike

The whiskey is finished for a couple of months in used sherry casks. In fact the casks are from a vintage sherry made at the Forty Creek winery.

I know I am repeating a mantra here, but I urge people who have enough supply to consider vatting Barrel Select. If you add some straight rye to it (almost any kind, a younger sample is fine) and some regular Canadian whisky (again almost any kind will work, e.g., Canadian Club), you will get a rich drink of character. I add Lot 40 and sometimes 3 Grain (the younger, sharper stablemate to Barrel Select) to the aforesaid vattings. Canadian rye whisky benefits by blending and Forty Creek products (which are themselves blends of single grain whiskies) no less than the others. Try it in the glass, you will be surprised how good a drink can result.

If you don't like it (unlikely) it will make a great Manhattan.

Gary