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Canadian Club Sherry Cask

CC Sherry Cask Revisited

0 687

@talexanderReview by @talexander

27th Oct 2013

0

  • Nose
    22
  • Taste
    21
  • Finish
    22
  • Balance
    22
  • Overall
    87

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Distribution of ratings for this: brand user

One of my earliest reviews on this site was the Canadian Club Sherry Cask. Back then, it had different packaging, which was more distinctive than the other CC bottles. The current branding puts the Sherry Cask in the same bottle shape and label design as the Classic 12 Year Old (which is also labelled Small Batch, so I think the packaging is far too similar). The new 9 Year Old Reserve also has the same label design, but is a taller, thinner bottle.

I thought I would revisit it because a) it is new packaging (any excuse, eh?) and b) there are batch variations. The one I reviewed before was given a 70 - I didn't think much of it. I don't remember the batch number, but it is certainly different from this one - which is batch C12-047. I wonder if "C12" means it is 12 years old (my understanding though was that it was around 10 years old, having spent those last two years in sherry casks that once held Harvey's Bristol Cream - but who knows)?

The colour is a reddish amber. On the nose, pencil shavings, raspberries, pomegranate, with caramel and vanilla as you might find in a bourbon. I sense new white oak barrels being used here. Cardamom with a hint of smoke. More complex than I was expecting, especially with water, which brings out sawdust, rum and more sherry notes.

On the palate, dark stewed fruits, more berries, a hint of spicy rye notes. Extremely smooth and easy to drink, though not as complex as the nose. With water, a little more tannic. Quite rich, sweet and velvety. No sulphur whatsoever.

The finish is dusty, a little dry but with soft spices - the rye is coming out here. What a surprise! I wasn't expecting to enjoy this as much as I do. So clearly the batch variations (and perhaps other changes rather than the packaging?) are different. I believe I also saw on the shelf a bottle of batch C12-048, perhaps I will do a side-by-side...

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6 comments

@paddockjudge
paddockjudge commented

Revisted reviews are my favourites as they convey a deeper understanding of the particular expression; however, sometimes they may create confusion - in this case it makes me want to run out and buy a new brown glass flask style bottle and compare it with the L10 or L12 CS-020 batches in the traditional CC style clear bottle. Great review! I wonder if the new oak is from the sherry casks?

10 years ago 0

@talexander
talexander commented

By new white oak, I meant that I guess that new unused barrels were used in the first maturation (whereas the secondary maturation would have been in used sherry casks). I don't know what kind of oak casks Harvey's Bristol Cream Sherry is matured in...

10 years ago 0

@CanadianNinja
CanadianNinja commented

So, just to be clear talexander, is the bottle you reviewed this time the style that is shown in the picture? I've been eyeing this one on the shelves for months and your review has definitely sparked some interest.

10 years ago 0

@talexander
talexander commented

No, the bottle in the picture (which is out of date from www.connosr.com) is NOT the bottle i reviewed this time around. It is a different batch and with new packaging. I don't know of other online resources to give you more information. The Canadian Club website is terrible - it will tell you the history of the distillery and the brand but nothing about their whiskies (they should fire their agency, which I think I've mentioned before)

10 years ago 0

@JasonHambrey
JasonHambrey commented

Interesting. I reviewed the same batch, but I found it ok, but really not that great (I gave it a 76 - a review is here on connosr). I was hoping it was a bad batch, but, perhaps, it was better than usual? Certainly let us know if you tried batch 48.

I also thought it was 6 years in white oak (which might make sense because then it would just be a blend similar to the standard CC which is finished) before 2 years in sherry...but in my scribble notes I can't remember where I got that figure from.

9 years ago 0

@talexander
talexander commented

I don't know, I've only tried a couple of bottles - I don't think I've tried batch 48...

9 years ago 0

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