Schenley OFC
A Bunch Of Canucks - Part V
0 288
Review by @talexander
- Nose21
- Taste23
- Finish22
- Balance22
- Overall88
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- Brand: Schenley
- ABV: 40%
This one comes from Schenley Distilleries in Lethbridge AB. I couldn't find a lot of information on this distillery, nor this whisky (mind you, I didn't look that hard - but it's not even mentioned on www.canadianwhisky.org). The bottle I have is older, it is very old-fashioned looking; the labelling on the newer bottles is a little more modern. Schenley also has a whisky called "Golden Wedding", which I have not tried.
The colour is very light pale gold - very light for a Canadian whisky. The nose has a corn sweetness to it (with some rye notes in the background), but is quite delicate and understated. A light mango as well. This cannot have spent much time in oak. As expected, water brings out more rye.
The palate is more complex than the nose - very light and fruity, perhaps the fruitiest Canadian whisky I've had, with green apples, lemon, grapefruit. A bit more rye spirit comes to the foreground. Again, very little oak. Water brings out more grapefruit, and really highlights the spirit - it changes the whisky quite a bit, improving it (when it was already very nice to begin with).
The finish is also fairly understated, with melon and pears, believe it or not. This is a real surprise! I bought it on a whim at LCBO Summerhill last year; its old-fashioned label really stood out, and it was just sitting there all by its lonesome. But it is one of the lightest, fruitiest and most easily drinkable whiskies I've had. Very nice!
I've done a little more research - this whisky has an interesting background: - like the E.H. Taylor bourbon distilled at Rock Hill Farm in Kentucky, OFC meant "Old Fine Copper" (referring to the copper pot stills). After prohibition, Lewis Rosenstiel's Schenley company bought the Rock Hill Farm distillery, and moved the OFC brand to Canada, to the Schenley distillery in Valleyfield, Quebec, where the brand continued to thrive. - The Schenley distillery no longer exists - this is now made at the Black Velvet distillery in Lethbridge. Strangely, the label says "Schenley Distilleries, Inc., Lethbridge". Hmmmmm.... - Oh, and what does OFC mean now? "Old Fine Canadian", of course!