Canadian Club Classic 12 Year Old

A friend of mine was given this as a present, and found he didn't like the finish much (too 'gin-like' he said), and so offered me a taste. I thought 'why not' and so here we are.

I've read around the traps that the CC Classic 12 year old is a mixture of rye, rye malt, corn. and barley malt spirits, so I'm expecting a decent amount of spice and sweetness. Still, my experiences with the basic Canadian Club haven't filled me with much hope. It does come in a pretty bottle though!

The nose is creamy, buttery caramel, a hint of cinnamon, and just the barest nudge of iodine which feels a little out of place, but somehow quite pleasant.

The taste is light and full of spice - sweet cinnamon, pepper, even a hint of chinese five spice! This is laid thickly over hints of toffee, iodine and oak. Genuinely fun!

The finish is moderately long, and starts with sweet cinnamon and pepper over milk chocolate and oak. It does have a gin-like, almost metallic iodine note in the finish, but I didn't mind it, as the iodine runs through the whole dram, and by the time I got to the finish, I found the metallic edge intriguing more than intrusive.

I can see why people might not enjoy this one, and it certainly isn't a world beater, but I didn't mind it! Much better than the base level CC (which I don't have much time for). Worth a look given it is so cheap, around $40 Australian, which is in the same price bracket as Johnnie Walker Red, (which is pretty average).

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