Collingwood 21yr Rye

[Frodo]

I got got a virtual copy of Cdn whisky news (Davin's newsletter) and he stated it should be available at the LCBO in December...

[tanstaafl2]

Took the Collingwood cologne out for a spin yesterday. If you remove the big plastic pop top it looks more like a normal bottle along the lines of the Jim Beam Signature craft line and thus a bit less like cologne!

This was a bit more woody than expected. Not overwhelming but w=more than I had expected. That made have had more to do with my expectations than reality given it is a 21yo whiskey aged in well scharred new barrels by all accounts.

Depite that (and perhaps for some people because of that) that was a bit different from WP and the others while still being a very interesting drink. It has a subtle mild sweetness but I did not get a strong sense of maple from it. Indeed if I had not known it was finished with maplew0od staves I probably would not be able to tell. But it also had tons of rye fruitiness and spice even after 21 years.

Perhpas not for everyone but at the price locally of around $60 it seemed well worth trying.

[Conquistador]

Thanks for the tasting notes, tanstaafl2. I was on the fence about this one, but your review is nudging me towards picking up a bottle.

[tanstaafl2]

Wow, some serious typos in that one. That Collingwood must have been stronger than I thought despite the low proof!

Took the Collingwood cologne out for a spin yesterday. If you remove the big plastic pop top it looks more like a normal bottle along the lines of the Jim Beam Signature craft line and thus a bit less like cologne!

This was a bit more woody than expected. Not overwhelming but w=more than I had expected. That made have had more to do with my expectations than reality given it is a 21yo whiskey aged in well scharred new barrels by all accounts.

Depite that (and perhaps for some people because of that) that was a bit different from WP and the others while still being a very interesting drink. It has a subtle mild sweetness but I did not get a strong sense of maple from it. Indeed if I had not known it was finished with maplew0od staves I probably would not be able to tell. But it also had tons of rye fruitiness and spice even after 21 years.

Perhpas not for everyone but at the price locally of around $60 it seemed well worth trying.

[BigRich]

Took the Collingwood cologne out for a spin yesterday. If you remove the big plastic pop top it looks more like a normal bottle along the lines of the Jim Beam Signature craft line and thus a bit less like cologne!

This was a bit more woody than expected. Not overwhelming but w=more than I had expected. That made have had more to do with my expectations than reality given it is a 21yo whiskey aged in well scharred new barrels by all accounts.

Depite that (and perhaps for some people because of that) that was a bit different from WP and the others while still being a very interesting drink. It has a subtle mild sweetness but I did not get a strong sense of maple from it. Indeed if I had not known it was finished with maplew0od staves I probably would not be able to tell. But it also had tons of rye fruitiness and spice even after 21 years.

Perhpas not for everyone but at the price locally of around $60 it seemed well worth trying.

Ha! When I picked up a bottle over the weekend the guy next to me in line made the same comment about the bottle.

[smokinjoe]

Going back to this tonight, after a couple of months off after the initial buy and tasting. And, I, am, loving it. There's a bit of a light mintiness on the nose that is reminiscent of LDI ryes, as well as a touch of green apple...and then...the rye explosion! Rye, like rye bread, rye.... Just dreamy. I can't recall a rye whiskey that had such a deep, stick-your-nose-in-the-loaf rye bread quality to it. Really wonderful...makes me want to chew on it as much as drink it...and, pass the pastrami, please.... Maybe, just a good night, but this is making a serious run for a place in my top couple of ryes in my Personal Rye Hierarchy.

[flahute]

Going back to this tonight, after a couple of months off after the initial buy and tasting. And, I, am, loving it. There's a bit of a light mintiness on the nose that is reminiscent of LDI ryes, as well as a touch of green apple...and then...the rye explosion! Rye, like rye bread, rye.... Just dreamy. I can't recall a rye whiskey that had such a deep, stick-your-nose-in-the-loaf rye bread quality to it. Really wonderful...makes me want to chew on it as much as drink it...and, pass the pastrami, please.... Maybe, just a good night, but this is making a serious run for a place in my top couple of ryes in my Personal Rye Hierarchy.

Joe, what else is in that hierarchy of yours? I've been considering this bottle as an alternative to the much higher priced Jefferson's 21 yr rye which likely comes from similar Canadian stock.

[portwood]

Joe, what else is in that hierarchy of yours? I've been considering this bottle as an alternative to the much higher priced Jefferson's 21 yr rye which likely comes from similar Canadian stock.

Careful, just because they were both distilled in Canada doesn't necessarily make them "similar".

Jefferson's is probably Alberta Distillers (owned by Beam), whereas Collingwood is from Canadian Mist distillery (owned by Brown-Forman).

100% rye is uncharacteristic for Canadian "rye", though Collingwood is reportedly from 100% malted rye. Alberta Distillers' rye is 100% unmalted rye.

[flahute]

Careful, just because they were both distilled in Canada doesn't necessarily make them "similar".

Jefferson's is probably Alberta Distillers (owned by Beam), whereas Collingwood is from Canadian Mist distillery (owned by Brown-Forman).

100% rye is uncharacteristic for Canadian "rye", though Collingwood is reportedly from 100% malted rye. Alberta Distillers' rye is 100% unmalted rye.

Excellent points. Thanks for the correction and clarification.

[tanstaafl2]

Careful, just because they were both distilled in Canada doesn't necessarily make them "similar".

Jefferson's is probably Alberta Distillers (owned by Suntory), whereas Collingwood is from Canadian Mist distillery (owned by Brown-Forman).

100% rye is uncharacteristic for Canadian "rye", though Collingwood is reportedly from 100% malted rye. Alberta Distillers' rye is 100% unmalted rye.

Fixed it for you! :cool:

[portwood]

Fixed it for you! :cool:

[tanstaafl2]

IIRC, the takeover isn't yet complete, so, technically not Suntory yet.:grin:

[smokinjoe]

Joe, what else is in that hierarchy of yours? I've been considering this bottle as an alternative to the much higher priced Jefferson's 21 yr rye which likely comes from similar Canadian stock.

[Gillman]

Just got this in at Toronto LCBO and it's in the glass now. What Joe says. Excellent product and well-priced by today's standards. You can definitely taste the real rye - flavouring whisky or whisky distilled at low proof - taste, similar to Lot 40 or Masterson's, but softened out by long storage. The toasted maplewood technique works because what it does IMO is add the warm woody notes a new charred barrel would add to straight rye - not exactly of course but an emulation is in play here. Whereas say Lot 40, aged in reused or new uncharred wood, presents the white doggy taste perhaps a little too assertively. So here you get it matured out which is what new charred barrels do, over time, to rye new make.

The Colly 21 is quite smooth so I wonder if some regular Collingwood is worked in but anyways it all works.

A toast to Canada - fine effort, well-priced. IMHO this exceeds anything Forty Creek ever did, worthy as that marque is, by a fair margin.

[portwood]

Just got this in at Toronto LCBO and it's in the glass now. What Joe says. Excellent product and well-priced by today's standards. You can definitely taste the real rye - flavouring whisky or whisky distilled at low proof - taste, similar to Lot 40 or Masterson's, but softened out by long storage.

...

IMHO this exceeds anything Forty Creek ever did, worthy as that marque is, by a fair margin.

Despite swearing off any more Canadian whisky, and hating the perfume bottle, you may have convinced me to take a shot at this one. But before I buy one there is a good chance Summerhill will put it out for sampling, so I will try to taste it before opening my wallet to more northern whisky.

[Gillman]

Understand fully but I guarantee you will enjoy it greatly. Looking at different online reviews, one said (not Davin) that it was aged in "new barrels", meaning perhaps new uncharred barrels, which Canadian distillers seem to favour for flavouring whisky or in part, e.g. Legacy used some new uncharred barrel wood. And so the toasted maplewood treatment makes sense to me in this regard, it would round and smooth out by wood treatment a fairly assertive taste because new barrels, or reused barrels, will not "convert" the white dog taste in exactly the same way new charred barrel aging will. A parallel here perhaps is the use by distillers of various wood treatments to improve very young whisky, except at the other end of the aging spectrum. I'd like to have tasted this without the maplewood effect though, it is possible the very long storage albeit (one presumes) in wood that isn't new charred did do an almost complete maturation similar to what you'd get (more or less) after 6-8 years in new charred wood.

Another factor is, in his remarks on his site, Davin says the whisky from 50 barrels of 100% rye malt whisky was "blended" and placed in a vat with the maplewood to marry. So, the question is, what does blended mean? Did they add some regular 21 year old Collingwood to it? I'd have thought 50 barrels with partial evaporation wouldn't be enough for the run they've done, so maybe they did that and if so, that would modify further the strong taste of Canadian flavouring rye (and it can be strong, Lot 40 shows this, as Masterson's does in a more American-type context, as did the first bottling of Dark Horse although I found the later bottles not as assertive). Some of 40 Creek's products showed the taste too (that steely rye taste) although for them I always get a predominant grain whisky taste.

A fairly technical discussion I know but you have to drill down to really understand how these products work.

Gary

Edited March 20, 2014 by Gillman

[squire]

I would say you spudded in right well there Gary.

[Gillman]

Thankee Squire, not an easy subject, for anyone. But a coda:

I bought a second bottle today due to the extra-special quality. I happened to choose one in its presentation carton. The carton states it is unblended: "an unblended rye whisky - so you may enjoy the heart of Collingwood at its best". Therefore, I must have read what Davin stated wrongly, or perhaps he doesn't have it exactly right (I incline to the former).

This does appear to be 100% flavouring whisky, however, long matured in reused barrels (the carton seems to state that too) with a final flourish of Canuck maple wood.

Another factor in the well-tempered palate - this is relative - is I believe Canadians don't bother with maximum 125 proof entry, flavouring whisky or any other kind.

One of the outstanding whiskies I've had in recent years, an eye-opener.

Gary

Edited March 20, 2014 by Gillman

[Megawatt]

I picked up a bottle of this the other day. Only one glass so far. I find the aroma wonderful but something in the flavor is throwing me off, something a little musty or funky. Will have to give it further tasting on the weekend. In any event it is certainly a full-flavoured rye. I also appreciate how Collingwood didn't pimp up the presentation; they used the same bottle and plastic screw cap as the regular Collingwood (similar to how Alberta Premium presented their 25- and 30-year-old stuff). This is reflected in the price.

[Gillman]

The funk you are noticing is the congeneric taste of true rye whiskey, the flavours that come from distillation at a low proof. Every straight rye or bourbon has similar flavours, the residuum of the white dog taste.

CC 20 is a good example of an excellent quality but traditional Canadian rye blend where that taste is ironed out in the blending (basically by using relatively little flavouring whiskey in the mix, IMO).

It is exactly what denotes this as a great rye.

Gary

[Gillman]

(Needless to add perhaps, no one is obliged to like this or any whiskey: I am simply offering my explanations as to the nature of the palate for what it is worth).

The best analogy to the palate of this drink IMO is to a well-aged malt. Like a malt, it is made from all-malted grains, rye not barley in this case. Like a malt, it is long-aged in reused barrels. And like an old malt, finally, it maintains a balance of "distillery character" (as the late Michael Jackson termed it) and barrel wood effect.

Gary

[Megawatt]

The funk you are noticing is the congeneric taste of true rye whiskey, the flavours that come from distillation at a low proof. Every straight rye or bourbon has similar flavours, the residuum of the white dog taste.

CC 20 is a good example of an excellent quality but traditional Canadian rye blend where that taste is ironed out in the blending (basically by using relatively little flavouring whiskey in the mix, IMO).

It is exactly what denotes this as a great rye.

Gary

Interesting. I believe I noticed a similar flavor in Alberta Premium 30, though not in the standard or 25-year varieties. I would best describe it as "overripe fruit" flavor. Unfortunately I find it somewhat off-putting. However the nose is wonderful as is the initial flavor.

[Gillman]

The term overripe fruit is or in the past was used often to describe the palate of straight whiskey. I recall rotten peaches being one term used, which is not how I would put it, but I get what was meant.

Gary

[T Comp]

It has been a great discussion with the bonus of excellent tasting notes. Thanks gentleman...as my closets, shelves, cabinets and basement shout out, Oh No...another! :cool:.

[Gillman]

Thad you have to get this one. It is like Lot 40 if aged another 10 years, IMO.

Gary