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Pike Creek 10 Years Old

Average score from 2 reviews and 4 ratings 86

Pike Creek 10 Years Old

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@JasonHambrey
Pike Creek 10 Years Old

This sister whisky to lot no. 40 is 10 years old, finished in vintage port casks, made in Windsor at the Hiram Walker distillery.

Nose: Very fruity, contrasted with the dry rye dancing around in the background. Vanilla, red wine, fruitcake and dried fruit – prunes in particular. It smells sweet with all the vanilla and oak. Of all the finished rye whiskies I’ve tasted, this one combines the rye with the port in a wonderful way – even better than the forty creek portwood in my opinion. At some sniffs, the rye appears to dominate. At others, it’s the fruitiness from the port. There are berry-like notes of a style that are reminiscent of some rums. 90%

Taste: Light sweet, smooth entry dominated with vanilla completed with red wine in the forefront of your mouth and simultaneously rye in the back of your mouth – as if you are drinking 2 spirits at once. Concludes with a lingering and warm exit where dry rye begins to dominate with some bitterness. I love the evolving nature of this whiskey – you might think it light bodied at the beginning before it turns up the heat into a complex mixture of flavours. Not one to bore you! Some whiskies take your mouth on a bit of a joyride – this is one of them. 92%

Finish: Although I really like the exit from the mouth, the finish is the weakest part of this whisky in my opinion. It is at first dominated by fruit and rye together, before the rye starts to dominate with some bitterness and spice. The spice I like, but the bitterness is not great as it is constructed here. A tinge of refreshing pith at the end though as well which is nice, and the finish does linger nicely. 80%

Intrigue: I really like this one...has to be one of my favorite Canadians out there. The brilliant combination of the port and rye as it is blended here is fabulous. Although often described as inferior to its sibling Lot no. 40, I often prefer Pike Creek (though Lot no. 40 is an excellent dram too! which I prefer largely is situation dependent). Fruit and spice, side by side, in a brilliant manner. Fabulous. 95%

Weighting the nose 25%, taste 35%, Finish 15%, and Intrigue 25% the overall grade is 91.

*I realized I would never have time to upload all my Canadian whisky reviews to connosr properly, so I've been importing the tasting notes in bulk to expand the whisky base on connosr. For more info on the whisky (with similar tasting notes), see my post at whiskywon.wordpress.com/2013/09/…

@talexander

Pike Creek is a new-ish product, having come out only a couple of years ago, from Corby Distilleries. While John Hall and Forty Creek gets all the awards, attention and ink, Corby has quietly been releasing great whiskies such as Lot No. 40, as well as the full range of excellent Wiser's products such as 18 Year Old, Legacy and Red Letter. Pike Creek is 10 years old, and double matured, having been finished in port barrels. As is usual with Canadian whisky, no information is given as to where the port barrels come from, how long it is in those port barrels, nor the mashbill or anything else. Sigh.

The colour is blood orange. The nose is quite sweet and fruity - marzipan, overripe bananas, mangoes, with spicy rye in the background. Lots of oak, sprinkled with mild chilli powder and dried herbs - plus the usual suspects such as caramel, maple and vanilla. Definitely some tannins from the port casks. Yummy but lacking dimension - I know my notes above indicate some complexity, but it all sort of melds together, in a pleasant but somehow indistinctive way. Water seems to do little to either the nose or palate.

The palate features many more oak notes, with caramel, vanilla and dates at the forefront. Toasted almonds and Christmas cake, with some orange and candied peel. Quite sweet, if that is your thing, but also a little dry, which is welcome. Very tasty.

The finish lingers nicely with creme brûlée, mouth-drying oak and cinnamon. A lovely finish, the highlight of this whisky. Definitely a quality dram, and would go well with a rich dessert around the holiday season. This particular 10 year old won Best Canadian Whisky at the 2013 World Whisky Awards - however, Americans will have to settle for a slightly different, no-age-statement variation of this (which will be younger than what remains within our borders for our consumption).

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