Canadian Masterpiece

[doubleblank]

This is directed mostly at Gary as our in-house canadian expert......I recently picked up a "Candian Masterpiece" by Lord Calvert on ebay. 4/5 Quart, 80 proof and bottled in 1958 per tax stamp. The bottle is pristine, decanter style, in the original satin lined case. Color is similar to current canadians I've had......perhaps a little darker. The back label refers to five distilleries owned by Calvert...New Westminster on the pacific, Beaupre on the St. Lawrence, Amherstburg, Waterloo and the "rich and full bodied from Ville La Salle" at Montreal.

Are any of these still operating? The label implies the master blended selects whiskies from each of these distilleries to creat the "Masterpiece". Any experience with this bottling?

Randy

[Gillman]

Fascinating, Randy, thanks. The New Westminister distillery may have been what was later called (but I am not sure) Potter's, which no longer operates but whose whiskey is still bottled, e.g. Century 21 year old Canadian whisky is Potter whisky. The Waterloo (Ontario) and Lasalle (Montreal, Quebec) distilleries were Seagram installations, now both closed. Lasalle production was relocated to Gimli, Manitoba, where e.g. Crown Royal is now put together. Amherstville is in Nova Scotia and there is no more distilling in that town. Beaupre too would be long closed. So this sounds like a vatting of whiskies from various Seagram-owned properties of the day. I am sure it is good, it should have a rich, caramel palate underpinned by a noticeable spearmint rye character. Try it and tell us what you think! By the way I recall that name (Canadian Masterpiece) and believe modern (or maybe it was other) colourful art festooned the labels, was that so?

Gary

[Gillman]

Postscript: Potter's is, in fact, in Kelowna, B.C. (well in the interior, west of the Alberta/B.C. border) and the B.C. distillery mentioned by Randy was in New Westminister, which is far from there (on the coast, I believe). So all the distilleries mentioned on that 1950's bottle are long-closed. Also, Amherstville is in Ontario, not Nova Scotia, in old Loyalist country but again, no distillery there now.

Gary

[doubleblank]

Thanks for the update on the distilleries......I had assumed they were long closed. Here is a picture.

Randy

[wadewood]

Postscript: Potter's is, in fact, in Kelowna, B.C. (well in the interior, west of the Alberta/B.C. border)

I was in Kelowna on business trip earlier this year. Is Potter's still open and distilling? I searched prior to trip and found no information on distilleries operating in this area.

[Gillman]

Wade, in Jackson's new book, Whiskey, it states that Potter's has not distilled for some time but is still bottling whisky from older stocks and also, Potter's isbuying whisky in bulk to age on its premises, so there must be some kind of warehouse/bottling operation at least, there, possibly under a different name. They are putting out Century Reserve 21 and the others in in that line so maybe a label check will give further information.

Gary

[barturtle]

Both LaSalle and Waterloo have been razed(waterloo after a fire damaged the closed distillery)...I hate to see a distillery go.

Timothy

[Blackkeno]

After having heard about this bottling for years, I too picked one up on ebay. I'll posting notes when I open it.

[Gillman]

Is this the one that states on the back label that it is half composed of bourbon? It was either this one or Order of Merit. (Both of these have not been offered here for many years). More proof that adding more bourbon than usual to Canadian was always considered part of good blending practice here.

Gary

[Blackkeno]

CM didn't mentions bourbon, so perhaps it was OoM.

[highlife]

We never did get a taste report on the Canadian Masterpiece. I was given a bottle, 1961 vintage, by my father-in-law recently. I'm saving it for it's 50th birthday party.

What should I expect when I crack it open?

[Vange]

Crown Royal recently released the Crown Royal Extra Rare. The price seems 150ish and they claim it's from the Waterloo distillery.

From Wiki.

"This special blend of Crown Royal is made from the last batch of whiskey distilled at the Waterloo distillery."

Anyone have any experinece with this? I recently had 2 Manhattans made with Crown Royal and they were excellent!!

[Gillman]

XR got good reports on the other board, with deep sweetness and a good finish noted.

For an excellent Manhattan, try combining 50% CR (any kind) 50% bourbon (any one).

I think Masterpiece was in fact half bourbon. One of the luxury Canadian whiskies of the time advertised that on the back label. If it wasn't Masterpiece, it was another brand of the era we have discussed here.

Gary

[Vange]

I didnt do any research and I can probably find the answer, but I will cheat and ask here. What is so special about the Waterloo distillery? Is there a mystique like Michter's? Is this CRXR going to be something very special?

[cowdery]

The Waterloo Distillery is where Seagram's began and, thus, at least depending on who you talk to, where Canadian whisky as we know it began.

[Vange]

Chuck, thank you!

I found that it closed in the early 90s and yet after all this time they are finally bottling the whisky that remained there? Was this planned? Is there a finite amount? I assume it's finite considering the distillery has been closed for so long already.

[cowdery]

Like the American distillers, the Canadians have been scouring their warehouses looking for opportunities for profitable ultra-premium issues. As for why it took so long, I can say that Diageo has taken some time to absorb its own creation merger as well as subsequent acquisitions, and has only begun to re-focus on its North American whiskey properties in the last two years or so. That may account for the timing as much as anything.

[HighTower]

Crown Royal recently released the Crown Royal Extra Rare. The price seems 150ish and they claim it's from the Waterloo distillery.

From Wiki.

"This special blend of Crown Royal is made from the last batch of whiskey distilled at the Waterloo distillery."

Anyone have any experinece with this? I recently had 2 Manhattans made with Crown Royal and they were excellent!!

I am a huge fan of Crown Royal, and when I stumbled across the XR on ebay when it was released, I just had to have one! I wasn't planning on drinking it, but the plastic seal was slightly damaged, so I ripped it off:grin:

I haven't sampled it yet, just admired the smell. More than a few times:grin:

If the time comes, I will report on just how good it made me feel!

Scott

[TBoner]

Is this the one that states on the back label that it is half composed of bourbon? It was either this one or Order of Merit. (Both of these have not been offered here for many years). More proof that adding more bourbon than usual to Canadian was always considered part of good blending practice here.

Gary

Wish I would've read this before last night.

I stumbled on 8-10 bottles of 8-yr age statement Order of Merit. I didn't buy, and didn't know to look for the "half bourbon" statement. I do know that I want a bottle. The tax strip says 1977, my birth year, and the bottle is very nice: obviously designed to compete with Crown Royal. However, at $29.95, I didn't pull the trigger. I didn't even look all that closely. I figured I'd gather some info here first. Lo and behold, a thread from less than a year ago...

BTW, I'm not sure about that 1977 date. I mean, it's clearly printed on the strip, but there's a UPC on the label. Were they in use then? And, if not, then is the 1977 possibly a distillation date?

Any info is appreciated.

[Gillman]

Tim, does in fact the statement I mentioned (about tipping in a barrel of boubon to one of aged Canadian whisky to make the brand in question) appear on the back labels of the Order of Merits you saw?

Gary

[TBoner]

Gary,

Not sure. I didn't know to look, as I said, so I'll have to go back and check. If so, would you say it's a worthy buy?

[Gillman]

Absolutely. It would be interesting to compare it to, say, CR and and good bourbon, blended 50/50.

Gary

[TBoner]

Gary,

I went back and checked on those Order of Merit bottles (finally!). The age statement was 12, not 8. However, the back of the bottle said that the blender mingles "only the finest Canadian whiskies" before bottling. No mention of bourbon, and what seems to be a specific exclusion of non-Canadian product. That said, the date on teh strip stamps (1977) and the 12-yr age statement lead me to think I may well buy some anyway, eventually. But at $30...well, there's a long list of things I'll get first.

[Gillman]

Thanks, Tim, that is not the one, then. It might have been called Order of Merit, which was a Schenley product. I know I saw a bottle at one time time with the statement of adding a barrel of bourbon to an equal amount of Canadian whisky, but can no longer recall where. The bottling I have in mind is mid-60's I believe.

Gary

[ACDetroit]

Sorry for the late post on this I wanted to find the bottle first. I was given a bottle of this by my grandmother when my grand father passed. The tax stamp is also 1958 and it is much darker than any Canadian Whiskey I've seen.

No comment on the back of a mix 50/50 though!

Cheers!

Tony