Hirsch Canadian (?) Rye

[bluesbassdad]

I ran across three listings for "Hirsch [age] Rye Canad 750" here. {For some reason I can't get the link to work right. After you click on it, and a page comes up, search for "Hirsch" to get to the page I saw.}

Does anyone know anything about this whiskey?

Yours truly,

Dave Morefield

[wadewood]

it is imported by

Preiss Imports

[TNbourbon]

It is bottled by Glenora Distillery (maker of Glen Breton single-malt) on Cape Breton Island, Canada, but I don't think they are the source of the whisky.

http://www.preissimports.com/Spirits/html/selections_190.html

[monte]

I bought a bottle of the 10 year old on a whim a few weeks ago (for $19) and it's pretty good, if you like Canadian whiskey. I find it a little less 'watery' than Forty Creek Barrel Select and a little more interesting. I was hoping for something a little more full flavored though, since it is called rye whiskey, but it's pretty much the same as most other canadian whiskeys IMHO.

-monte-

[chasking]

I tried this whiskey in several different ages at a pre-Whiskyfest event. It tastes different from regular straight rye, but I thought it was pretty good. I'm going to pick up a bottle next time I see it at a store.

[Jake_Parrott]

Both the 10 and 12 year whiskies are very dry and pure-tasting. Not for lovers of the sweeter styles of bourbons.

[Gillman]

I look forward to trying these.

The reason I think rancio is associated more with cognac and armagnac is the casks they are aged in are reused. So, as a person from the California fine brandy community once told me, finally the casks literally fall apart or as he put it also, it is a struggle to keep the bugs out of them. The tannin gets leached out over the years and the casks are susceptible to increased deterioration. With bourbon and straight rye, the casks are new to begin with so the deterioration factor, and rancio effect, are less, but still are detectable in whiskey, sometimes (again in my experience) even as young as 8 years old.

But anytime you get an older whiskey you will get a dry, oaky taste that can tend to a mushroom or "dank wood" taste. I have had old cognacs which show the same taste even though skillful blending tries to rub it out.

I don't admittedly have as much experience with older wines but I can see that old corks will fall apart too. Cork taint therefore likely also is a function of the age of the wine, and therefore cork.

I don't say bourbon cannot be cork-affected but I believe it to be a very rare experience. Less rare is bad corks in the sense of being crumbly, I had a spell of these with some Blanton's recently but when that happens I just replace the cork with another from my stock of corks kept for that purpose. I can always find one to fit any bottle.

If a bourbon tastes not quite right to me as I say, I don't feel I can pinpoint the cause and my solution is to blend it with other straight whiskeys or make cocktails with it.

Gary

[doc_mcCabe]

This stuff just went on sale at Sam's.

[Gillman]

Finally caught up with "Hirsch Selection 12 Years Old Single Cask Canadian Whiskey".

There are various Hirsch Canadian whiskies and this one I understand was bottled by Julian in Lawrenceburg for Preiss Imports.

I was surprised how good this was. It seemed either to be a bourbon-type mash aged in reused wood, or a regular Canadian (i.e., mostly high proof) distillate aged in a reused but particularly good barrel (perhaps a "fresh" ex-bourbon barrel).

Whatever the explanation, this is a real find for its chewy, grainy character. There are few enough single barrel Canadians but few Canadian whiskies in general that have a complexity one can liken to a straight or pot still whisky (Lot 40 and Barrel Select are other examples).

This was a release from some years back and there probably is not a lot left on the shelves.

Gary

[CrispyCritter]

Was this one labeled as "rye" or just as "whiskey?" I have the Hirsch 8yo Canadian Rye, and even though it was bottled at Glenora (Nova Scotia), I've noticed a similarity to Tangle Ridge 10yo from Alberta - and the label has no information on where it was distilled.

[Gillman]

In addition to the name I mentioned, it states on the back label, "Canadian whiskey - Single Cask 12 years old.

There is no indication of where it was distilled. This one was clearly bottled in Lawrenceburg, KY because that is stated on the bottom of the back label. Also, it is 53.1% ABV, I believe the highest one I had before that was the 100 proof CC occasionally available in Canada (and which I've seen more often in duty free).

The Canadian product is almost always highly blended so it is interesting to try these single barrels and small batch products when available.

Gary