Canadian Club 12 year old or Canadian Club Sherry Cask?

[velocci]

hi there, to those who have tried both, which of these two are smoother and taste better, Canadian Club 12 year old or Canadian Club Sherry Cask?

[HighTower]

I haven't had the Sherry cask, but I am a huge fan of the 12yo - not to mention the 20yo, if you can find it!

Scott

[Frodo]

Have only had the CC12 but I really was impressed - especially at it's price point...

[barturtle]

I have had both bottlings, though it's been a while for both, I used to drink them fairly regularly.

I like both bottlings, with the Sherry being fuller of body and sweeter on the palate and the 12yo showing more wooded notes. The Sherry may be a bit too much on the sherried side to be balanced, but is still nice, with the 12yo being a good example of a classic Canadian whiskey.

Considering the price points of these bottles, I wouldn't hesitate to consider buying both to see which one I liked.

[Megawatt]

Consider also that, at least where I live, Sherry Cask is twice the price of the 12Yr. I think Canadian Club Classic is highly underrated among Canadian whiskies. But I've never tried the Sherry Cask, so I can't make a comparison...

[Barkley]

I haven't seen the Sherry Cask version in my local liquor store but I have had the Classic 12 year-old and enjoyed it very much. A very nice every day pour.

[Gillman]

I agree all 'round, both are excellent value for the dollars. The Sherry Cask seems only intermittently available in its home market but every time I think it is permanently out of stock, it re-appears at LCBO. I am not sure if it was ever bottled more than once since the last group were exported to the U.S. and then brought back for sale here (according to the bottle markings), it may all be from the first bottling some years ago. However, this last group tasted a little fuller and less sweet than that first group, so maybe there was more than one bottling.

For those who like that taste, I recommend if you can find it the current Three Grain from Forty Creek, Grimsby, Ontario, the microdistiller which also makes Barrel Select, Pure Canadian Gold and other Canadian whiskies. Three Grain shows quite an evident sherry character, some of its components are aged in sherry made by the associated winery Kittling Ridge. A fine product, good (as is the CC Sherry Cask) after dinner with coffee.

Gary

[mozilla]

I have had both bottlings, though it's been a while for both, I used to drink them fairly regularly.

I like both bottlings, with the Sherry being fuller of body and sweeter on the palate and the 12yo showing more wooded notes. The Sherry may be a bit too much on the sherried side to be balanced, but is still nice, with the 12yo being a good example of a classic Canadian whiskey.

Considering the price points of these bottles, I wouldn't hesitate to consider buying both to see which one I liked.

I agree with Timothy and most of the others here. The Sherry finish is a little more of a shock to the wallet, though it delivers fully on it's claim to a sherry flavor. The 12 yr is as full a bodied Can. Whisky as I have had yet. It even has more body and character than the 15 yr, that shows up here every Christmas.

[Megawatt]

I agree all 'round, both are excellent value for the dollars. The Sherry Cask seems only intermittently available in its home market but every time I think it is permanently out of stock, it re-appears at LCBO. I am not sure if it was ever bottled more than once since the last group were exported to the U.S. and then brought back for sale here (according to the bottle markings), it may all be from the first bottling some years ago. However, this last group tasted a little fuller and less sweet than that first group, so maybe there was more than one bottling.

For those who like that taste, I recommend if you can find it the current Three Grain from Forty Creek, Grimsby, Ontario, the microdistiller which also makes Barrel Select, Pure Canadian Gold and other Canadian whiskies. Three Grain shows quite an evident sherry character, some of its components are aged in sherry made by the associated winery Kittling Ridge. A fine product, good (as is the CC Sherry Cask) after dinner with coffee.

Gary

I wonder how much of a difference would be noticed between the two, considering the CC is finished in Spanish sherry casks while the Forty Creek uses Ontario sherry casks. I always wondered why the CC Sherry Cask is so pricey, but I guess that would be the reason...

Interestingly, Jim Murray gave Canadian Club Reserve (10 years) a very high rating, while the other bottlings received merely average scores. I haven't tried the Reserve so I can't say how much different/better it is than the Classic...

[Gillman]

The Reserve is supposed to contain a higher percentage of low-proof rye spirit than the others. It is good, but I can't detect much difference myself from the standard CC profile.

Ontario-produced sherry probably has a characteristic taste, it comes off very well in the Forty Creek products.

I would think Hiram Walker used Spanish sherry casks for CC Sherry Cask which may explain the heightened price.

It is interesting to compare CC Sherry Cask and Three Grain; I find the latter has a more assertive taste, which I prefer.

Gary

[TBoner]

I picked up a bottle of CC 12 a month or two back, and I enjoy a pour now and then. As many have said, it is quite full-flavored, probably as much as any current 80 proof bourbon. But my favorite application of it is a vatting I did.

I had some uninspiring Gooderham & Worts around. I started with 300mL of that. I added 200mL of CC12, a better-aged and fuller-flavored Corby whiskey. Next, I added 100mL of KC to draw out the fruity component of the Canadians and round the mouthfeel. 100mL of the slightly more malt-heavy Ridgemont Reserve brings out some toasty notes and a touch of maltiness. Finally, 50mL of another Corby-distilled product - Lot 40 - enhances the rye spice and lends a touch of pot-stilled richness. I threw in a teaspoon of cognac, since I figured I was already beyond the realm of blending straights. In essence, I just used a higher percentage of straights to expand on the qualities already present in the whiskey. The cognac - well, if I'm going to practice the blender's art.... I was extremely proud of my vatting - still am, to some extent - until I tasted some Crown Royal last weekend. It had been a while. Damned impressive blending, that. My bottle is still good, but I've come back down to earth a bit.

Anyway, sorry for the threadjack. As for CC Sherry Cask, it's not a favorite of mine, though I can see where it might be useful in some vatting experiments. The sherry is a bit overwhelming IMO.

[Gillman]

It does work well in vatting I find. Because Canadian whisky is mild to begin with (the Forty Creek products apart), the sherry notes of the CC Sherry Cask can be quite noticeable although overall I don't find it has an assertive taste.

I vatted my half bottle CC Sherry Cask with regular CC and some Three Grain and I like the result. The mingling of the different sherry notes is pleasing and the younger whisky adds some zip to it. I might have added some bourbon too, and still may, or straight rye.

Gary

[Megawatt]

What is the process of home vatting? Is there a certain mixing procedure?

[Gillman]

Vatting at home takes its cue from longstanding practice of distilleries which have mingled straight whiskies (cognacs, rums, etc.), and of course blended whiskies, for a long time.

Canadian whisky is a blend of high-proof, fairly neutral spirit albeit aged and some bourbon-like or straight rye-like low-proof (traditional, shall we say) whisky.

So one approach is to take, say Crown Royal, which already has some bourbon in it, and add more to get a richer palate.

In the 1800's and up to Prohibition, blended whiskies used to be priced by how much straight whiskey was in the blend. So using this approach as a template, you can take a Canadian whisky and add increasing amounts of different kinds of bourbon and straight rye to get a palate you may find more to your liking than what the companies sell.

Mixing different bourbons (from different companies) is creating a true vatting, since it is all straight whiskeys. Most distilleries today use their own output to do this and it is almost the same thing IMO since barrels from different locations in a warehouse and different ages can taste different. But some merchants are thought to blend straight whiskies from different sources, so I believe the informed consumer can try his hand at it too.

It is interesting to note that straight bourbon as defined can include a mixture of bourbons from the same State at any rate. The reason is not legislative generosity to the distillers, i.e., to lend them maximum flexibility and try in any way to "trump" the consumer, but is simply a recognition that the palate of all bourbon is sufficiently similar to warrant allowing this to occur. As I say, I don't think it does very often today (some of the merchants apart who buy whiskey in bulk and package it under their own names) but the theory is sound.

Thus, say you have a fairly pungent rye-recipe bourbon, say Jim Beam 8 years old. You might want to try mixing it with a milder bourbon, say Knob Creek, or Maker's Mark. Or take Maker's on its own which is a pleasant but (to my taste) fairly mild bourbon. It might be interesting to create a vatting of 75% Maker's and 25% Beam Black, I think the result would be excellent and speaking of course for myself, that I might prefer it to either on its own. I find Jack Daniel's makes an excellent "seasoning" for some whiskeys, too.

Cocktails is the same thing, in effect, but using a broader range of ingredients.

Gary