Light amber in colour. Slightly darker than the 21 year European oak finish. Have been looking forward to tasting this whisky since I tried it at the Victoria Whisky Festival and finally procured a bottle. Nose: Sweet with a typical Canadian whisky aroma. Some maple, vanilla, and honey. Some almond/marzipan hiding in there as well. Palate: Initially incredibly rich but not too sweet, and very full flavoured. Some dried fruits, especially raisins, coming through and some leatheriness. A slight astringency here. Then comes some cinnamon and baking spice notes and some delicious tannins and tingling on the sides of the tongue. Finish: Long and lingering. Definitely dark chocolate presenting itself as well as more baking spices. Overall a very delicious whisky to perserverate over given the abundance of flavour and exceptional value if you can find a bottle. On a side note I just had a sip of the 21 year European oak finish next to this one and not surprisingly the Oloroso cask is much sweeter and richer while the European oak cask is much spicier. Both excellent offerings. If one had to choose I would say buy a bottle of both!
About this bottle
Pike Creek 21 Year Oloroso Cask Finish continues Dr. Don Livermore’s mastery of barrel finishes. This time the doctor has prescribed a finishing in Spanish oloroso sherry casks after its initial 21 years of maturation. 4,481 bottles were made for Canada and the United States. This 2019 Pike Creek expression falls under the Corby Craft Rare Range Series
How it tastes
Measured across 14 flavor axes. Tap a note to find other bottles that lead with it.
Reviews
Showing the most detailed of 10 parsed reviews.
The master blender responsible for this whisky describes it as dessert in a bottle and one of his top 6 whiskies he’s blended. The nose is sweet and caramel with a hint of sherry. This isn’t the whisky’s strength though. The palette is incredibly smooth and all 21 years show up. Beautiful, sweet and a mix of delicate corn and sherry. On the finish there is spice and hints of European wood. This whisky is super sessionable. A great drinking whisky at the ideal proof. About 4400 bottles in the limited run. My favourite Canadian and one of my favourite whiskies period. To be safe I bought two more bottles for backups. Highly recommended.
Nose McIntosh Toffee, sweet Honey and caramel, vanilla, nutmeg and clove. Cinnamon raisin oatmeal comes to mind after exploring further. Palate A hesitant beginning inches its way around the mouth gradually spreading the flavor sensation like a match being lit. Full flavor, rich and sweet, balanced, however, by a subtle pepper spiciness Finish Medium to long and sweet, but black pepper notes continue through to the end, balancing out the inherent sweetness. No need for dessert if you're having this after dinner, and you will leave very satisfied!
Decent but not as good as European oak finish Nose: Vanilla, Raisins, Oranges, Cinnamon, Maple Syrup, Nutmeg, Marshmallows, Walnuts, Almonds Palate: Raisins, Vanilla, Tobacco, Nutella, Peaches, Salted Caramel, Anise, Baking Rye Spices Finish: Vanilla, Raisins, Almond Cookies, Dark Chocolate
Old leather library books meets wine gummies on the nose followed by a smooth and very rich palate remnant of rum raisin ice cream. The finish is tannic in nature and not overly long but certainly satisfying.
When a bottle says 21 years old and the price is less than $80 it’s worth the gamble. Two thumbs up from me and I’m going back for another bottle.
4 more reviews were collected for this bottle. The longest ones are shown first.
Tastes like this
Closest flavor profiles across the whole catalog.
