BEARFACE 7 Year Triple Oak

I haven’t written a review in quite a while, and what better way to make my return than to review something I rarely do: A Canadian whisky. It’s a 7-year old triple oak, which consists of ex-bourbon, French red wine, and virgin Hungarian oak. That last one may be a first for me. Anyway, what we’ve got here is an aged Canadian single grain. Let’s check it out. Nose: Heavy on the vanilla frosting, toffee, honey, caramel, and butterscotch. A sweet affair to be certain. Toasted almond and walnut. Some fig, date, and assorted grapes. Cranberry. Pear and apricot with a slight lemon zest and some floral notes. Sugar cookie. Cinnamon, brown sugar, and oak. Palate: Heavy on the caramel and brown sugar. Cranberry, date, fig, and plum. Some jam and prickly raspberry. Malt, toffee, vanilla, honey, and butterscotch. Zesty orange citrus. Cereal grain. Almond and walnut. Some dark chocolate and cocoa powder. Some rye spice, black pepper, and oak. Maple almond butter. Sugar cookie. There is some youthful dusty corn and ethanol betraying the relatively young age. But it is tucked away behind more prominent flavors. Finish: More of the maple almond better. Cranberry, fig, date, plum, and strawberry jam. Caramel, butterscotch, and almond butter. Heavy on the almond and walnut. Cinnamon Apple Jacks. Black pepper, rye spice, cinnamon, and oak. Moderate length finish. This whisky comes a pleasant surprise. It’s the oldest Canadian whisky I’ve had to date. And it’s the most adventurous in terms of cask selection. Not to mention, the unique “elemental-aging” process that Bearface employs. You could call this the Canadian Jefferson’s Ocean Aged at Sea. Except that this was aged in a storage locker thrown somewhere into the Canadian wilderness. Same thing, right? I jest. Overall, solid whisky. I like the effort put into the experiment, and I’m pleasantly surprised with product. It’s not difficult to exceed expectations when I quite literally had none, but this will be on my radar now as well as anything else coming out of Bearface. Solid value at $36. Boosting it a quarter star for that alone. 3.75/5.

First thing first, I was never a fan of Canadian whiskey because of my bad Experience with low-shelf Canadian Club or Crown, so I was beginning with some prejudices.. Oh boy I was pleasantly surprise by this one. Nose : First nosing I felt of lot of the toasted oak-iness of this bottle, with mix of caramel, vanilla. There was also hints of dried fruits , cherry and maybe some blackcurrants. I nosed it later after 30 minutes at air and began to smell more and more of the wine influence, kinda like a Cabernet Sauvignon (currants, cherries) Palate : The palate has a oily/creamy feeling to it, like if there was a coating the inside of your mouth (very pleasant). I feel a lot of tannins, currants which is similar to my second nosing with a balance of the oak and sweetness mixed to it. Also feeling subtle hints of cinnamon and dark chocolate(am I crazy for this one) Finish : Mostly a medium lenght finish with the same tannins , oak-y notes and now some spices (rye like) Personally , I didn't find the oak notes to be overbearing for my palate , but I could see why some people would dislike them Would probably recommend to one of my friend once we return to a normal life. . Excellent product for the price (39$ CDN)

Nose: Raspberry cotton candy, icing sugar, malty chocolate-oak, sweet berries in oatmeal, sweet and chalky corn, sweet roasted nuts, old cabinet, caramel, floral honey, treacle, brown sugar, hint of maple-sugar oatmeal, red grapefruit and blood orange, yeasty bread, plain panettone, dough, wine tannins and black currant, spicy oak, baking spices (cloves, nutmeg, cinnamon), hint of sweet tea, a hint of star anise, pizza crust in a cardboard box, blackberry marmalade, green apple, sweet honeyed oak, raisins, baked apple, curing pork and barrel smoke, candle wax, sweet pine forest Palate: Christmas cake spices, dried fruit (prunes, fresh raisins), black walnut, roasted chestnuts, ripe green apple and pear, bitter green paprika and oakiness, dried cranberries, light caramel syrup, sweet toasted oak sugars, mulled cider, peppermint tea, sweet/iced tea Finish: Chestnuts and black walnut, mint tea with an orange slice, sugar candies, remnants of chilli pepper, baked apples, sweet red wine grapiness, brown sugar with some older caramel, dried cranberries and raisins

Quelques jours après l’ouverture de la bouteille: Un arôme étonnant de pot pourri, puis de maïs crémeux, des notes très florales donc rejoignant un bois épicé proéminent. L’alcool et le bois sont d’ailleurs peut-être un peu trop présents pour moi. La texture huileuse est plaisante, mais le profil de saveurs revient rapidement sur la chandelle parfumée, les épices piquantes, puis une acidité vineuse qui sort de nulle part en fin de bouche. Bref, pour l’instant, une créature unique difficile à apprivoiser pour moi. 3.25/5 Un an après l’ouverture de la bouteille: Vraiment mieux intégré comme profil de saveurs! Le miel floral est généreux et long en bouche, avec les épices du chêne hongrois (muscade, clou de girofle, cardamome) pour donner de la complexité à la finale. Très agréable tout d’un coup. C’est fou ce qu’un an d’aération dans la bouteille lui a fait! 3.75/5

7 years 42.5% vol. Bourbon + French wine + Hungerian oak casks Nose: welcoming, sweet, soft. Caramel, sweet corn, maple (bourbon nose). Neither overwhelming or intense. Taste: sweet, liquorish consistency, thick, some spiciness pinching your tongue, light kick. Way too sweet for me. Finish: mouthful sweetness Very interesting, it's sweet but not in a bourbon type of way. Great to pour for someone new to whiskey, who prefer cocktails. It's 42.5% ABV, they need to add a bit more for deeper perception Great digestive in my opinion. No sugar needed in Old Fashioned Affordable price. Too sweet for my taste, but I'm glad that Canada has such a cool company as Bearface, they are modern and experimental... sometimes there's no need to invent a new wheel, but I'm curious to try other stuff from them. Doub I'll by it again

This whisky left me pleasantly surprised! I recommend leaving your pour to sit for about 15 minutes before nosing and tasting. The more time given, the more rewarding. Each unique characteristic from the three barrels used during the aging process will reveal itself - corn from the ex-bourbon barrel (heavily influenced by the grain of choice as well), tannins from the ex-wine barrel, and spices from the virgin Hungarian Oak. This is great value for a unique, dynamic experience - a major step forward for Canadian whisky! NOSE: Sweet corn, oak, barley, caramel, caramelized apples, vanilla PALATE: Sweet corn, caramel, tannins, dry red wine, black peppercorn FINISH: Tannins, dry red wine, ground black pepper, oak Rating: 84/100 Grade: B Good - not a "must", but a nice-to-have.