Rare Perfection 14 Year Canadian Whisky

To date, there have been four people that have changed my mind about the quality of a whiskey. The first will never read this because he’s inexplicably averse to distiller. So fuck you big guy. I’m still better at FIFA than you no matter what the record shows. The second was my wiser but far less well endowed friend. The beauty of continually referring to him in that way is that he is undoubtedly reading this right now and is unable to respond, for fear of being labeled as the allegedly less well endowed friend of mine. It’s like taking the batteries out of the other controller before a round of smash brothers, and I’m not sorry. The third was the tasting guide at Willett. She was a prophet. And the fourth was evankatz. Is he the googleable Evan Katz? Or is this another Michael Bolton thing? Perhaps we’ll never know. Summary in case you’re tired of reading: is this truly “Rare Perfection?” No. It’s rare to me, because it tackles some flavor profiles that I’ve never tried before (which TBH is why I didn’t know what to do with it). This whisky deserves stylies for trying something new. It’s very bold. But it’s far from perfection when it comes to enjoyability. It took some gambles here, and to understand what I mean, let’s do a choose your own adventure story. If you want to envision yourself in a post apocolyptic factory, read the next paragraph. If you’d prefer sitting around the campfire in your backyard, skip ahead to the ———. Close your eyes and imagine you’re in a dirty, abandoned warehouse. I’ve been playing a lot of The Division lately, so let’s go with that. There’s a pile of bodies in the corner. There’s flames on something that shouldn’t be flammable. On a nearby counter, you see a flask. You take a sip, because... apocalypse... and this is what you taste. The nose smells like pure rubber. It smells like something not fit for consumption. I could see this being a shoe-polish or some sort of cleaner. The body delivers on that nose. It’s intense. I don’t like it. Finish shows off mild peppermint. By far the most enjoyable part of the drink. ——————— So now go back to a time with good friends around a campfire. There’s a guy with a guitar that you don’t know, but he was a childhood friend of your girlfriend so you’re going to put up with it. He’s playing something that vaguely sounds like Jack Johnson. Your buddy brings you over a s’more. The nose smells like burnt coals. There’s a hint of caramel and sugar, but mostly burntness. Body tastes like a toasted marshmallow. I’ve never experienced anything quite like that in a whisky. There’s a heavy dose of chocolate afterwards. Some coconut too. Finish is cinnamon and gingerbread. I am genuinely enjoying this drink. So wtf happened here? I think this whisky is absurdly bold in flavor. I also think both of my tastings were fair. It reminds me of how the fluoride treatment tastes better when the dental hygienist tells you the flavor ahead of time. Coming into this drink blind, this tastes kinda funky. And I came into this worse than blind—I came into this as a bourbon supremacist who had very strong feelings about Canadian Whisky in general, further jaded by the fact that this wasn’t the bourbon I thought it was. If you come into this with the idea that it could taste of a dessert or something sweet, it hits you in a completely different way. And that is one of the things that is so amazing about whisky. I asked for help understanding this, and a big cheers to evankatz for talking me through it. I’m actually moderately sad that I’ve already offered the remainder of this bottle to a friend, because I think there’s more to find here. But I’m happy that I’ll be able to share a genuinely opinionated whisky, and perhaps help steer the new owner in both directions. Conclusion: This is bold. It takes risks. Not everyone will like it. It’s unique. There’s some interesting stuff here. I will never buy another one at MSRP. IMO it’s too expensive for what it offers, and even with this new flavor profile, there’s not enough value. This should be the poster child for guided tastings, because I understand how this could be a divisive whisky. If you love it, I understand. If you hate if, I understand. My original rating was 0.25 stars. I am going back to my old review to edit the rating out of fairness to the drink, but I will keep the words. For science? I now do encourage everyone who’s curious to try but not buy, if possible. Thanks again to evankatz for encouraging this much-needed re-taste!

Rating: 10/23 N: Formaldehyde mixed with orange pith, small amounts of rancid hazelnuts, and just a general oiliness like a single grain scotch. Not an inspiring nose. P: There's a sweet layer of light caramel, but then the bitterness takes over, delivering that single grain profile of bland bitterness with oil and heat. There's a bit of clean water in here as well. I taste the bitter alcohol for sure, though there are hints of sweetness. Maybe a hint of rancidity. The oiliness isn't especially nutty, but there might be a hint of that there too. A little bit of ginger and white pepper, but mostly just spicy burn. F: Burning with unpleasantly bitter oil and hints of white pepper. Bland and not tasty. - Conclusion - This is far from perfection and it's far from rare. I can find this approximate flavor profile in just about any mediocre single grain scotch aged in the high number of teens of years. That high age statement comparison is unfortunately not a compliment so much as it is a statement about the low quality of single grain scotch. A low quality that this shares. I got a bit of funky rum (think Smith & Cross) at one moment, but it was still surrounded by that single grain burn. This just isn't very pleasant. Obtainium 13 Light Whiskey (13/23) has less of a corn scent to it, but it's also less bitter and has a little bit of a fruity vibrancy to it. Sure, the Obtainium burns more, but it's very high proof. This tastes older, but in the sense of spending too long in the barrel. The Obtainium is still not great, but it has cleaner flavors with more complexity and sweetness. It sure does burn, but it's clearly better than this. I'd be very surprised to give this a 12. I'm thinking an 11 is the high end of what I could give this. The Sexton (9/23) has a muddier flavor with more fruitiness and sweetness, but also just a more intense bitterness that is really hard to get past. It's like the difference between licking charred wood and licking ash. I'm not really sure if this is better, but I think that considering how the comparisons are focusing on the is point on how actively bad the drams are, this is probably at least as good as The Sexton. It's either a 9 or a 10 and I'm thinking a 9. Ouch. Some "perfection". Actually, considering the real graininess that The Sexton has, I can imagine giving this an 8. This is actually a bad whiskey. This has enough vanilla decadence though that I think an 8 is unreasonable. Coming back to this, I'm getting a lot more vanilla. It lacks the bold grain and fruit of Signatory's Caledonian 29 (1987) (12/23), but it doesn't burn as much and has some nice vanilla that largely escaped me last time. I overall prefer the Caledonian for its greater nuance, but it's not a massive preference. I think that my earlier 9 was too severe. Pulling out my Compass Box Hedonism (12/23), this is certainly less thin, but there's none of that apricot hint to this and the hedonism is certainly easier to sip. There's more vanilla and coconut here though. Honestly, I'm liking this better side by side right now, which is a real surprise. Maybe I gave the Hedonism too high of a score. There is a hint of something sort of yeasty in the Hedonism that I'm liking though. It's almost like a few drops of Stranahan's Blue Peak snuck their way in. The more I try these two side by side, the less enamored I am with this one. Still, I can't deny that it's better than I thought previously. I'm going with a 10 or 11. It's a tough call, but I'm ending on a 10 here. Thanks @Milliardo for the sample. I'd been very curious about this one and I'm glad to now know how it really is.

EDIT: originally scored 0.25 stars. I have changed my mind, and the newer review states why. This year for the holidays I’m going to try a brand new whiskey every day in December. #lifegoals Dec. 8: Okay. I officially feel duped. Both by shelf placement and direct conversations had with my bourbon dealer, I was led to believe this was bourbon. This whole time on my shelf, I thought this was bourbon. Before doing this review, the only Rare Perfection in this app was tagged as a bourbon. Might’ve been. ‘Tis a different looking bottle. To quote the fair and beautiful Lady Galadriel: they were all of them deceived. On the back, plain as day, to my great horror, is the phrase: “Canadian Whiskey.” How does this shit keep finding ways to my shelf. My hope is that this goes the route of Crown Royal’s super-duper-totes-not-a-bourbon bourbon. Nose is terrifying. Burnt rubber. Sugar. Eraser shavings. Body is interesting. I understand where the disgusting nose comes from, but there’s other stuff in there too which is genuinely good. Caramel. Honey. But hot damn that burnt stuff. Still not good. Finish is peppermint. I don’t mind that. I do mind that every exhale makes me relive that eraser shavings flavor. My kid just told me my breath right now smells like farts. Not great. This may be the biggest bust of 2019. Even for Canadian Whisky. This product line needs to be eviscerated online so that it can’t inflict its grossness on anyone else. I wouldn’t buy this whisky again for $10, much less $140. It’s basically undrinkable. I will be pouring out this glass and storing this bottle until one of my friends wants to take it off my hands for free. ‘Tis the season. I don’t know if I actually have 23 more new whiskeys lined up, so if you’re reading this and there’s something readily available out there you’d like me to enjoy/suffer through this holiday season, leave it in the comments.

Whiskey Consensus rated this whiskey 9.1 and I really wanted to try it. I found it for $150 and really pondered about pulling the trigger. It's kind of a unique story. Bourbon from Kentucky aged in Canada making it a Canadian whiskey. Except for Crown Royal Norther Harvest Rye, I don't have any Canadian juice. I do have the Willet 4 year rye, mmmmm. But that price tag and mixed reviews I read on distiller, I was on the fence. HUGE thanks to @Milliardo for hooking me up with samples of the 14 and 15. I tasted 14 and 15 back to back. To make sure my taste buds weren't playing games with me, I tried it again a week later with another buddy. My rating and review of this was the same. Let's dive in. As always, in a GC and let it to rest for minimum of 15 minutes. N(2): I've never nosed anything like this. It punched me in the face, in not a good way. The proof wasn't off putting. I got this weird burned plastic smell. Imagine burning a plastic spork. It was dominant. Then got this wet wood musk. Definitely not pleasing for me. After sniffing it a while, I was finally able to get under those aromas to pull out vanilla and sweet honey comb. P(3.25): Damn you plastic spork, I got that on my tongue too. But you also get this rich sweet cream. Butter. Vanilla. Some rye-ish type of spices on the tip and sides of the tongue. I also get a hint of citrus. Either a sweet lemon or a sour orange. If it wasn't for the spork, I would rate this at 4.25. F(3.75): The wet wood funk came in on the finish. Strong vanilla. Toasted almonds. Sour vanilla pudding. Caramel/Butterscotch sweetness. Medium length on the finish Overall: I wouldn't buy this bottle at $150. I really wanted to like it but I could not overcome the plastic. It is a beautiful bottle, it's unique, but the juice didn't deliver for me. I would buy it at the $50 price point though.

Tasted the Rare Perfection 14yr Lot 04 at the Preservation Distillery, along with what seemed like the full lineup of Preservation offerings (incl. a few different batches of Very Old St. Nick). This bottle was the stand out, for sure. Lots of oak, traditional bourbon flavor, and a bit of funkiness. Really unique. Really dang good!

This was surprisingly wonderful. Lots of citrus along with coconut and chocolate on the nose. The palate brings some butter and cream and then some oak on the mid palate. The finish is gentle and pleasant. Wouldn't buy a bottle due to the price, but enjoyed the pour very much.