I am presenting this diary with a title that fibs. I started this series a few weeks ago as a diversion from the main topics of the day to discuss one of the finer things in life: whisky. The main focus was to be on scotch, but this weekend I happen to have gotten a free sampler bottle of Canadian Club Class 12 Year old whisky. This is not a single malt from Scotland, so technically this isn't an official "Single Malt Saturday". But Blended Saturday lacks panache.
Now my experience with Canadian Club was a bartender, specifically, "I'll have a CC and 7, please", as in Canadian Club and 7-Up. Most people mostly likely peg CC as a mixer and never have considered sipping it by itself, as I am doing while typing. Actually, I'm sipping, then typing and the latter activity is getting more difficult...
I jest.
Most bars stock the Canadian Club Premium, which probably is served best as a mixer. This 12 year old version is surprisingly good. Unlike the single malts discussed in the previous two installments of Single Malt Saturday, this is a blend, meaning that more than one type of whisky was used to create the final product. According to Hiram Walker, the distiller behind Canadian Club, the blend is a mixture of rye, barley and corn whiskies, a recipe that has come to define what's considered "Canadian" whisky.
Jim Murray, the noted Whisky Bible author and fan of Canadian whisky, gave this particular blend a 92. For him a 92 is a "brilliant" whisky. He also describes it as improving dramatically over the past few years.
The rye portion of this whisky is what, to me, gives it the great Canadian character. While not quite as dominant as Alberta Premium's all rye whisky (another excellent Canadian whisky, which may just get covered here before long), it provides a nice long flavor. The flavor has a hint of fruit and a touch of perhaps sweet honey in the background. On the first sip, I thought this was meant for mixing as well, but subsequent tastings brought out some of the more subtle flavors.
While Scotland might command much of the worldwide attention for whisky, Canada also has some deserving contenders. The flavors are quite different from Scotch or any American whiskeys, but as Canadian Club Classic demonstrates, they can stand up with any of them in terms of quality.
I personally give this a 3...better than I expected, but not quite as solid as Alberta Premium, which is so far my favorite rye or Canadian whisky. Perhaps a 3.5 star rating if I had more flexibility in my poll system.