Wiser's Dissertation
What's up, doc?
4 688
Review by @Nozinan
- Nose~
- Taste~
- Finish~
- Balance~
- Overall88
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Dr. Don Livermore (no references to my ultrasound joke like last time…oops) asserts that Canadian whisky’s strength is in its flexibility and versatility. Sadly I only have undergraduate degrees so I can’t comment on that.
What I CAN comment on is the whisky rumoured to have been created as a result of his phD research, and released as part of the “rare cask series”. All the bottle tells me is that it’s rye forward and its rich flavours are due to the quality of the barrels. It's NAS with no mention of chill filtration or colour, and when I last met the good doctor @paddockjudge forbade me to ask such pedestrian questions. It’s bottled at 46.1% which is the rounded up molecular weight of ethanol (46.06844 g/mol), and this fact is not in any way originally mine.
I bought this bottle today and decided I’d better open it before it is relegated to the back of the “to try” line, so that I know if I want to get a second bottle.
This expression is reviewed in my usual manner, covering and allowing it to settle after which I take my nosing and tasting notes. No water in my Canadian whiskies.
Nose:
In the Glencairn, fruity, green apples, light syrup, vanilla. Butterscotch? Very clean. The snifter seems to concentrate the alcohol a bit more, and the syrup and apple are more intense. The bourbon glass emphasises more middle range aromas, and the alcohol and fruit are less intense. A hint of freshly cut granny smith apple peeks through. I really like this nose! 23/25
Taste:
Glencairn - Sweet on the arrival and dry through the development. Caramel, vanilla, not overly complex. Where’s the fruit? Very “Canadian”. The flavour is fruitier, spicier and livelier from the snifter and a little muted in the bourbon glass. 22/25
Finish:
Very astringent, rye spices remain. 21.5/25
Balance:
The nose promises one thing and the taste is something very different. 21.25
Score: 88 /100
I make note that I scored this the same as Last Barrels. I think I like this one better, though one day I may do a H2H2H and include Union 52. If this were bottled at cask strength it would easily be in the 90s. I see things are creeping up (46.1%), which I hope is the next step in a trend towards fuller flavour Canadian spirits.
Interestingly (or not, I’ll let you decide for yourselves), I can’t decide if I prefer this one in a Glencairn or a snifter. I think it’s not really meant for the bourbon glass. I think I’ll give this one to the snifter.
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I don't know if I could handle this one at CS. I find it pretty intense - I love it; but it is a slow sipper for me. It's one I love a dram of, but it overloads my senses....
Barrels were filled in 2004/2005. So it's about 12 years old.
PS, if anyone is interested in reading some great stuff on Canadian whisky, Livermore's thesis is pretty cool (but perhaps that appeals to the scientist in me...)