Canadian Club

[Gillman]

This is the regular issue, which I hadn't had in a few years, so I decided to try it again.

I happened to have it after an excellent glass of Blanton and rather to my surprise it held its own, very well in fact.

This bottle is quite sweet (I wonder if sherry or something is added), with a spicy/woody, very well-balanced palate. The rye is evident but is wreathed in some very soft wood fiber and I guess alcohol flavours.

A top-quality product. It is as good as John's Private Cask from Forty Creek just issued. They are not the same in palate to be sure, but equal in quality IMO again. Yet the CC is less than half the price, of the Blanton too (here in Ontario).

It would be interesting to do a blind tasting of Canadian whiskies: I'll bet CC would show up at or near the top. It would be interesting too to put CC in as a wild card in a bourbon or straight rye tasting. I wonder if people would pick it out as Canadian.

For this purpose, or any purpose now I think, I'd go with regular CC which is 6 years old I understand or thereabouts. The older CCs have their devotees but to me the regular one is best because the part of it composed of the low-distilled, rye "flavouring" whisky shows its character best that way. More aging tends to diminish and cover with wood the subtle straight or single rye notes (so to speak) in the blend.

Gary

[ebo]

I'm not a big fan of the Canadian flavor profile. I have a bottle of Royal Crown Black that I can't even finish. The one Canadian that I do like, for whatever reason, is the CC 12.

[Gillman]

I didn't like the CR Black, I find the regular CC much better.

I don't know, CC seems better than I remember it from some years past. But this is always hard to say.

Gary

[camduncan]

I was lucky enough to try some CC 30yo last night and was totally blown away by how smooth it was with no where near the wood finish I would have expected. Lots of sugar sweet caramel without the hot finish I'd expect if it had been bourbon. Tasty enough that I'll be looking for one of these next time we travel :grin:

[Gillman]

Good one Cam, I only had it once and it was very fine for sure. Maybe past a certain age the wood through some alchemy recedes and the rye re-asserts; I think this is possible.

Gary

[tmckenzie]

I had some too not too long ago and was surpried to find it much better than the last time I had it. Still not as good as stuff I had from the late 70's.

[Parkersback]

The last standard CC I had was in a bar and was dreck. Hearing your review Gary, I am wondering if it was an issue of having sat out with the plastic spout for so long.

I have no problem with Canadians in general. I have some 10 year old in the cupboard that I like just fine. Great on the rocks, great mixer, great price point.

[Gillman]

The 10 year old is good, and benefits from a higher proportion of rye flavoring whisky (apparently 30%). But I still like this current regular CC better.

Give it a try gents, I wonder if it has been tweaked in recent years..

Gary

[Megawatt]

Actually regular CC is less than a third the cost of Private Cask No. 1, isn't it? It surprises me that you would rate them similarly, even disregarding the cost. But then I haven't tried the newest Forty Creek...

I have in front of me two identical glasses. One contains CC12, the other Gibson's 12. The CC has a darker hue to it, and a more robust nose with more evident rye. Even after switching the glasses around several times it is easy to tell which is which. I don't remember such a thick rye note in Canadian Club Classic; it reminds me of a more mature version of Hiram Walker Special Old. It has a sweeter, fizzier flavour than Gibson's Gold, with notes of wet stone, ginger. Gibson's is more butterscotch and vanilla, with a hint of black licorice in the finish. They are both decent but Canadian Club Classic is more of a standout to me. Plus it is cheaper than the ever-increasing price of Gibson's.

[Gillman]

Yes, it is a third the cost (I must have been thinking of another CC iteration). Yet as good, IMO.

Gary

[cowdery]

I have reason to believe that Beam is buying less whiskey for CC from Pernod's distillery in Walkerville and using more from its own Alberta distillery, so some percentage of CC is not made at CC, if that makes sense. Also, all CC for sale in the USA is bottled in Kentucky. A bottle I have says "Imported and bottled by Canadian Club Import Company, Deerfield, IL USA."

Canadian whisky is typically flavored with wine, including sherry, although what they call 'sherry' is a whiskey blending wine made for that purpose which isn't necessarily the same as sherry you would buy in a store.

[Gillman]

The CC sold in Canada states, "Distilled in Canada", which allows room for Alberta whisky if indeed they are using it. Not sure what CC bottles said 10 years ago. Presumably that distillery out West practices blending at birth, at least for this purpose.

Gary

[camduncan]

I was hoping to grab a bottle last weekend to add some tasting notes, but at the full retail price of $33 a bottle, I decided to wait until it is back on special.

As we only get 3 Canadian Whiskeys in Australia - Canadian Club, Canadian Club 12yo and Crown Royal... I might do a taste comparison too.

[Gillman]

Look forward to that Cam if possible. If you only get one, I'd get regular CC.

Gary

[WhiskyToWhiskey]

I just tried the CC 20 yesterday. Here in Ontario they priced it at $50, the same pricepoint as Alberta Premium 30yo and Wiser's Legacy. The Legacy has been my favourite Canadian Whiskey (i refuse to call all canadian whiskies "rye" like they are called here), but after trying this it may be tied with it. I have not tried the CC 12 for some time thinking of it as more of a "mixer". I might be tempted to give it another try.

[Gillman]

The CC 20 is first-rate, I agree. It's got real barrelly complexity. Reason I liked the regular one though on the last tasting was its distillery character, you can really taste the low-distilled rye element, it's true it's only a small part of the blend (10%?), but on the other hand, there is no new charred barrel flavour to meld with it, so it punches above its weight.

I must say the 12 is the least interesting to me, definitely a mixer by my book. Ditto the 10 albeit it is supposed to have more flavouring whisky in it - or so I once heard - than regular CC (6 years old).

Gary

[Megawatt]

I really like the 12, also the Sherry Cask. Looking forward to trying the 20 year old soon.

[WhiskyToWhiskey]

I haven't had much luck finding a low priced canadian whiskey to enjoy neat. In the past year I had; 40creek barrell select (i find it too sherried), crown royal deluxe (not too impressive), crown royal black (canadian that tries to be a bourbon non complex and unimpressive) and collingwood maple mellowed (tastes too much like candy and overmellowed for my taste)

I decided to take Gary's advice and revisit the CC 6yo (premium). I haven't tried this neat, and last time I had it was 10years ago with ginger ale. Tried the CC 6yo along side the CC 20yo. The 20yo has a nicer texture, less spice and more balanced with how sweet and woody it tastes. I am impressed with the overall profile of the 6yo, and it surprised me just how good it was considering its a common low shelfer mixer to most. The 6yo had less wood influence, mellow, was sweet and slightly citrusy, just the right amount of spice lasting to the finish.

I do like the 20yo a bit better....but the 6yo has characteristics about it that the 20yo can't compare to. 6yo is 1/2 the price of the 20yo, and imo far superior to the other canadian whiskeys I have tried in the same pricepoint.

[Gillman]

Obviously I appreciate that you agree with me (last poster), but I do sincerely find your comments dead on, thanks.

Gary

[Megawatt]

I haven't had much luck finding a low priced canadian whiskey to enjoy neat. In the past year I had; 40creek barrell select (i find it too sherried), crown royal deluxe (not too impressive), crown royal black (canadian that tries to be a bourbon non complex and unimpressive) and collingwood maple mellowed (tastes too much like candy and overmellowed for my taste)

I decided to take Gary's advice and revisit the CC 6yo (premium). I haven't tried this neat, and last time I had it was 10years ago with ginger ale. Tried the CC 6yo along side the CC 20yo. The 20yo has a nicer texture, less spice and more balanced with how sweet and woody it tastes. I am impressed with the overall profile of the 6yo, and it surprised me just how good it was considering its a common low shelfer mixer to most. The 6yo had less wood influence, mellow, was sweet and slightly citrusy, just the right amount of spice lasting to the finish.

I do like the 20yo a bit better....but the 6yo has characteristics about it that the 20yo can't compare to. 6yo is 1/2 the price of the 20yo, and imo far superior to the other canadian whiskeys I have tried in the same pricepoint.

You might also try Danfield's Private Reserve, Gibson's Finest Gold (avoid the Sterling), and Canadian Club Sherry Cask (a few more bucks, but worth it IMO).