Wiser's One Fifty

For my penultimate review in this series, I turn to a recent bottling for the sesquicentennial. To celebrate Canada's 150th Anniversary, Wiser's released this limited edition of 7,827 numbered bottles (one for each week in Canada's history). The label also says "Commemorating the week of August 9 1880", which I presume is when they started distilling.

The colour is a medium amber. Quite spicy on the nose, with the usual suspects: butterscotch, vanilla and toasted oak. Cloves. Buttery croissants. Herbal and grassy. A drop of water reveals pine needles. The spice is a bit overwhelming though, but overall it's nice.

On the palate the spice is a little bit tamer (but only a little), with more butterscotch and vanilla. Quite creamy. Almost cloying though - as I hold it in my mouth, the butterscotch starts to become caramel syrup. A drop of water, however, cuts through the sweetness with a bit of cayenne.

The medium-length finish is rather sweet, with rye spice and a hint of wood. Thank God for the hot spices to contrast with the creamy, almost-syrupy sweetness. But maybe for Canada 150, it was designed that way? Does it pair well with Nanaimo bars??

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