Whisky Focus - Canadian Club 20 Year Old Review

Review of Canadian Club 20 Year Old by Murray Cohen.

Canadian Club 20 Year Old is a new limited edition release in Ontario which has not yet hit the LCBO website but is just now available in some of their outlets. This whisky, like all Canadian Club products, is "barrel blended" which means that batches of un-aged spirit are blended together before being put into white oak barrels. The grain recipe is apparently the same as the standard Canadian Club, only it is aged 20 rather than 6 years.

Each bottle is individually numbered, but it doesn’t say how many bottles there are or from what batch. This reviewed bottle was number 303965. Like all Canadian Club whiskies, it is distilled at the Hiram Walker Distillery in Windsor, Ontario.

To some degree, Canadian Club differentiates itself from other Canadian whiskies with its "barrel blending" process. The individual spirits are vatted together shortly after they are distilled then put to age for 6, 8, 10, or 12 years in the Canadian Club warehouses in Pike Creek, just north of Windsor, Ontario. However, every now and then, when the time comes to dump the barrels, a few are set aside in the warehouse where they continue to mature.

This 20 year old is bottled at 40% ABV, the brand indicates that rye, rye malt and barley malt are the grains that give Canadian Club its unique flavour. Each Canadian Club variant including the CC 20 has its own unique recipe which highlights different grain and flavour profiles. These days the Walker distillery in Windsor and the Canadian Club whisky brand which was founded in 1858 are part of the Beam Suntory portfolio and it is its No. 4-selling alcoholic product, behind Jim Beam bourbon whiskey, Sauza tequila and DeKuyper cordials.


Murray Cohen's Canadian Club 20 Year Old Tasting Notes:

Colour:  Dark amber.

Nose:  A wave of roasted chestnuts and stewed rhubarb gently rolls onto the olfactory shores with echoes of peanut brittle, toffee and chocolate malted milk. The faint aroma of Fall leaves that have departed their home trees shifting on the ground is not lost.

Taste: Smooth and creamy with a memorable mouth feel and long legs. An initial rum and raisin sweetness gives way to quite an assortment of spices and a nut melange. The whisky is not harsh at all but rather evokes a sense of polished maturity.

Finish: Long, an oaky backdrop shines as the spice mellows briefly uncovering an impressive earthy tone. The rye influence kicks back in, demanding a bold finish.

Comment: The Canadian Club 20 Limited Edition is clearly an impressive whisky that flaunts its stuff with a particularly confident profile. The nose itself is outstanding while the palate and finish complete the deal. The drinkers of old would certainly relish this one. Another winner from C.C.

Score 93/100

You can find the available from LCBO stores in Canada and from specialist whisky retailers such as Master of Malt
 

• UK Shops
   
• USA Shops
   
• European Shops
  

Whisky Focus