Wiser's Seasoned Oak
Northern Border 2018 Preview SOT part IV
2 1185
Review by @cricklewood
On May 5th I was at Spirit of Toronto with @Nozinan and @Paddockjudge, we attended the Wiser's Masterclass that was given by Dr. Don Livermore. We were presented with the 6 new expressions that would be released by the distillery in 2018.
Ok so this was one of two whiskys that we're an unexpected addition to our tasting, this is going to be an LCBO exclusive that will be released for father's day (much like Dissertation was last year).This is an 19 year old whisky that was aged in barrels made from staves that were traditionally air dried for 48 months. I seem to remember that there might be a proportion of European oak in there too and that these barrels we're toasted and not charred...I could be wrong.
Nose: Oak, vanilla, candied apples, a little allspice. It's in many ways a traditional Canadian whisky on the nose, it does have a touch of warm bread and fennel.
Palate: A pleasant hint of burnt wood, lots of maple, orange blossom water, the oak is complex like opening an old cigar humidor, great spice integration.
It's the first time I get actual maple syrup in a Canadian whisky, I know many people use that as a tasting note but I never quite get that complex sweetness and underlying minerality of maple syrup in most Canadian whiskys, this one though...round, warm and solidly crafted, the oak wasn't out of hand, I would like to try this in a blind line-up with other American and Canadian whiskys.
They are also displaying the actual age on the label (from what I can see on the Wiser's website) which is refreshing since most of the other rare cask series did not...perhaps this is to help in selling it at the price point they are looking for (70$ I believe)
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@cricklewood For me, Maple is a common note of Canadian whisky that I usually dislike but I come to realize that there is an higher quality of maple note than can be good. Of course that better, and more natural, maple note can only be found in higher quality whisky. I think that it is in Pike 10 yo that I encounter that better note for the first time. By the way you are describing that maple note, it seems you had the good one (the bad one can be quite chemical) which was to be expected from a product of this quality.