High River Canadian Whisky

Back on December 23rd my wife and I were in Windsor at my brother in laws house for a Festivus party. If you are unfamiliar with Festivus, look it up and also, shame on you! One of the party guests, a nice Canadian who lived in Australia and was home for the holidays, brought a bottle of this blended Canadian whisky. He popped the cork and before the night was done the bottle was empty, but before that happened I poured myself a couple of samples to bring home with me to review. This NAS whisky is exclusive to the Canadian market. Bottled at 40% ABV, chill filtered and probably has colorant added making it a shiny copper color. The bottle notes that this was from recipe# 9108, whatever that means. The nose is very light and inoffensive. Typical Canadian style. Pronounced butterscotch, toffee and vanilla. Light fruits, oranges, tangerines, plums and subtle cherry. Distant mint or pine notes. Light oak and toasted marshmallow. There is a grain alcohol note, but it’s smooth and well integrated. Not much else, this is a simple and seemingly young whisky. Once again this is a typical Canadian profile on the palate. Strong butterscotch, maple syrup, brown sugar. Vanilla, oranges and a (very) mild pepper. A slight grain harshness, but like the nose it’s not really that off putting. A light bodied mouthfeel, creamy and dry. The finish is medium short with butterscotch and grain alcohol, but mostly butterscotch. This is an incredibly smooth and easy drinking whisky, but it’s very simplistic. It’s an all day/night sipper. One you could pour a hearty dram and drink it without really realizing how much you’ve had. Then another. And another. It’s fine neat or on the rocks, but I’m not sure how it would perform in a cocktail. If this wasn’t a Canadian exclusive I would absolutely buy a bottle to keep around for friends or when I’m having a party. I believe it goes for around $30-35, not a great price for a middle of the road Canadian, but I’d still buy it. 3.25 Cheers

Nose: Cinnamon (red hot candies), other baking spices (a small touch of clove, some ginger, nutmeg), table syrup, a touch of maple syrup, some dill, rye spice, sweet corn and corn husks, stone fruit (apricots, nectarines, peaches, some light plum), vanilla, sweet oak, orange pith, conglomerate of caramel, toffee, and brown sugar, red apple skins, candy apples, rye bread, spearmint and peppermint, some pine needles and candied orange, hay, dark chocolate, dried fruits (figs, dates, raisins), carrot cake, molasses, chocolate covered raisins Palate: Dates and carrot cake with cloves and nutmeg, white pepper spice, raisins and a touch of fig, relatively unrefined molasses, peppermint, candied orange peel, brandy chocolates, cinnamon, fresh corn and rye, table syrup, maple, sweet nectarines Finish: Sweet oak, mixed mint, dates, cinnamon spiciness, raisins

Vanilla and ethanol on the nose, reminds me of a young rum. Sweet, fruity and a bit watery on the palate. Definitely smoother than the smell would seem to indicate. There is a bit of warm spice and brown sugar on the finish. Again, if i was tasting this completely blind, I might think I was drinking a gold rum. As everyone else has mentioned, this stuff is very easy drinking. This would be perfect for a weekend camping trip.

One of my FAVES !! Splendid with one cube !! The RYE spice is so prevalent ..if you like that ...then this one is for you !!

Very easy going and delightful. Subtle notes of sweet maple, faint vanilla, a bit of caramel. Not strong at all.

Faint vanilla nose. Smooth. Needs no ice. Spicy on the tongue. Delightful. Only $35 in Ontario.