Lot No. 40

Well, Canada Day may have come and gone, but I think now’s as good a time as ever to post what I can honestly call my favourite Canadian whisky to date. Here we have Corby’s Lot No. 40. Produced at Hiram Walker distillery, this one’s made from 100% rye. 10% of it is malted, the rest unmalted. Usually I prefer American rye, but I bought this based on both the advice of trusted friends as well as the overwhelmingly positive that this gets online.

Nose: Not as sharp as I’d expected. Rye grass, eucalyptus, caramel, aloe, dill, earth, cereal, and banana bread.

Palate: Rather spicy and tannic, in a good way. Caramel, wood polish, cloves, apple, cinnamon, dill, orange soda, and lemon meringue pie.

Finish: A singed, semi-bitter set of flavours carry us through the rather short finish. Woodspice, birch, orange soda, unflavoured popcorn, pie crust, meat pie, rye, sour dough bread, and meringue. A very special set of flavours here.

Thoughts: Very unlike any rye I’ve had before. This bottle has been open for 6 months and I’m only now starting to really get into it. I like how “anti-sweet” it is, and the dill, meringue, popcorn, and orange soda add to the character. I expected this to be a simple, sharp, rye-forward whisky, but that’s not the case. Instead it oozes character and style. However I do find that the finish, despite being interesting, is quite short. And even with a high abv by Canadian standards (yes… 43% is high for us), I’d still love to try this as a stronger whisky. But it certainly is distinctive and engaging; definitely one I can get behind. And at $40 CAD, this is bang for buck stuff. Highly recommended.