Forty Creek Heart of Gold

This is a fantastic review! Super well written. And spot on. An excellent Canadian whisky, though I haven't opened my bottle yet, I remember exactly how it tasted (though how I remember anything from that weekend is beyond me).

Congratulations, @Paddockjudge, on a very nicely written first Connosr review! Well, I am certainly going to have to get me a taste of this Forty Creek Heart of Gold. And hearing Heart of Gold from Neil Young's Harvest album puts me right back in the dorm at college, dropping about 40 years.

@talexander Good luck in NYCity. @Victor I have a bottle that is at your disposal, No. 1933.

For the benefit of connosr members who are not aware of the significance of 1933 - The Eighteenth Amendment (1920 The Volstead Act)establishing National Prohibition was repealed by the Twenty-First Amendment 1933. HAPPY DAYS ARE HERE AGAIN!

This is indeed a very good whisky....probably the most unique of all the special releases I've tried. Thanks for inspiring me to pick up a bottle or three.

so you snatched up 8998! I was looking for a high numbered bottle but my reservation came up too late to get that close to 9000. well-written review - all agreed here. fantastic, unique, intriguing, complex - an excellent whisky. Very much looking forward to Forty Creek Evolution, though I sometimes am a bit hesitant about wine-finishes.

@JasonHambrey - Yes, a very unique, intriguing, complex, and delicious whisky is 'Heart of Gold'.

I am excited for the arrival of 'Evolution' the 2014 limited release and hoping John Hall has nailed another of his signature offerings. Red wine finishes are not common and likely because it is difficult to marry whisky and a red wine...if it can be done successfully, John Hall is one of the few who can pull it off. I've placed my bet by pre-ordering a dozen; that's a wager nearing a thousand dollars.

It would be nice to meet you in September at Whisky Weekend in Grimsby...last year was a great time - won't drop names for fear of leaving out someone - there was a solid group of Connosr members in attendance and a lot of other fantastic people from the whisky community.

Cheers!

I will be there, and yes, I do trust John Hall in this - I've also put some money down.

@JasonHambrey - Fantastic! I look forward to another epic Whisky Weekend in Grimsby.

If 'Evolution' doesn't work, I bet people will blame Campari.

@talexander - Oh yeah, totally agree; however, I am optimistic and eagerly await the release date.

Plan B: my favourite cocktail is red wine and ginger ale on the rocks, my second favourite is whisky and ginger ale on the rocks...win/win.

@talexander, Evolution works and it is a wonderful creation. John Hall has once again hit it out of the park. Campari won't be shouldering any blame for this release.

By the way, what is this "Forty Creek Spike Honey Spiced" listed on the LCBO app? I don't see it on their website. Did you try this?

@talexander, I did try "Forty Creek Spike Honey Spiced". I am of the opinion that there is a market segment that will appreciate this value-priced offering. It would probably be very nice in a hot cup of orange pekoe tea...nuff said.

@paddockjudge It tastes like the bottom part of a cup of tea with honey that wasn't fully mixed. Or, a more seasonal reference, like the inside crust of a honeycake made in a bundt pan

so...@paddockjudge @Nozinan you like Evolution more than Heart of Gold? How did the wine cask finish effect the Forty Creek product relative to the Port Cask? I am eager to get my bottle...but I still have a week to wait.

@JasonHambrey, I like Evolution, it is another unique limited release expression from John Hall and very different from Port Wood and Heart of Gold, yet it is unmistakeably Forty Creek. Port Wood is addictive. John's Private Cask was the pinnacle of Canadian artisanal expressions when it was released. Heart of Gold is one of the most delicious whiskies, ever. Evolution has a lot to live up to.

I finally tried Evolution - unfortunately, was not crazy about it...but that's for a later review.

@talexander - sorry to hear you didn't like it...but I guess that leaves more for the rest of us. Is it the wine influence? I admit it is strong.

@talexander, 'Chameleon Under Cork' might have been an alternative name for this FC expression. I have nosed this three times and scored it 91, 89, and 87. This is not my favourite FC special release to date, but I do find it enjoyable.

I wonder how many creative experiments are in the FC pipeline at one time?

I have also often wondered how many experiments are underway...what made John Hall pull out Heart of Gold last year rather than leaving it another year? It must be quite the process. @nozinan I have been worried about the wine influence dominating too much - but I figured a wine-maker ought to be able to balance that out well. We'll see - I'm picking some up this weekend and then I'll know

@Nozinan, I'd have to sit down with it but yeah for me it's the wine influence - and I'm very iffy on wine influences in most whiskies.

Enjoying a dram of FC Heart of Gold from a bottle that has been opened for more than a year- actually one of three bottles opened last year with two surviving. This is every bit as delicious as when it was opened.

I'm beginning to suspect that HoG is my favourite of the special releases. I must get around to my own review at some point.

Reminiscent of 32 YO Delord Bas-Armagnac 1981. While nosing a pour of this exquisite French brandy I was reminded of the delicious bouquet of Forty Creek Heart of Gold. The similarities are incredible. I am now doing a h2h and I must say, at half the price of Delord, this Forty Creek is a value play.

@paddockjudge

Not many drams have me reflecting the next day. I am still thinking of the dram I had from a freshly opened bottle last night. It cements my view that it is my favourite of the releases. I can now confirm by trying it H2H with Confederation Oak (original). But not today.

Thank you again for beefing up my inventory of this expression that is now a unicorn.