J.P. Wiser’s Alumni Series Lanny McDonald 9 Year Old

Last up for the inaugural 2018-2019 edition of the NHL Alumni Series whiskies from J.P. Wiser’s is Lanny McDonald – he of the great bushy red handle-bar mustache! Fans of the 1980s-era Calgary Flames will remember Lanny well. A ring-wing forward, he was always a fan favourite (including during his earlier stint with the Toronto Maple Leafs in the 1970s).
The composition of this whisky is interesting – it is mainly corn, followed by pot-distilled wheat (a significant amount), and a touch of column-distilled rye. Aged in a combination of standard refill Canadian whisky barrels for the corn and rye distillates, and virgin oak casks for the wheat.
The relatively heavy use of wheat in this whisky is a nod to Lanny McDonald’s youth, having grown up on a farm in Alberta. Apparently, it was also his personal preference among the whiskies he sampled for consideration in this blend. The whisky is 9 years old, which reflects his retired jersey number. Bottled at the industry standard 40% ABV.
As before, this series is a joint effort where 50% of the profits are provided to the NHL Alumni Association, to support former players in need (i.e., those who didn’t receive the large contracts of the star players). Each bottle retails for a very reasonable ~$45 CAD in most jurisdictions.
I first picked this whisky up in a shop in Calgary, Alberta – as the initial Alumni edition release had a limited geographic distribution to start (reflecting the home province of the dominant team in each player’s career). But the Lanny McDonald whisky is now readily available in Ontario at the LCBO as well, like all the newer releases.
Let’s see how this bottling compares to the rest of the NHL Alumni series whiskies, and other similar wheat-heavy whiskies, in my Meta-Critic Whisky Database:
J.P. Wiser’s Alumni Series Darryl Sitter 10yo: 8.31 ± 0.11 on 3 reviews ($$)
J.P. Wiser’s Alumni Series Guy Lafleur 10yo: 8.49 ± 0.09 on 5 reviews ($$)
J.P. Wiser’s Alumni Series Lanny MacDonald 9yo: 8.46 ± 0.22 on 5 reviews ($$)
J.P. Wiser’s Alumni Series Larry Robinson 6yo: 8.52 ± 0.49 on 3 reviews ($$)
J.P. Wiser’s Alumni Series Paul Coffey 7yo: 8.11 ± 0.11 on 2 reviews ($$)
J.P. Wiser’s Alumni Series Wendel Clark 11yo: 9.01 ± 0.09 on 5 reviews ($$)
Gooderham & Worts Four Grain: 8.59 ± 0.28 on 13 reviews ($$)
Gooderham & Worts 17yo Little Trinity Three Grain (2017): 8.69 ± 0.31 on 13 reviews ($$$$)
Gooderham & Worts Eleven Souls Four Grain (2018): 8.85 ± 0.33 on 11 reviews ($$$$)
Gooderham & Worts 19yo 49 Wellington (2019): 8.85 ± 0.40 on 3 reviews ($$$$)
Masterson’s Straight Wheat 12yo: 8.59 ± 0.27 on 9 reviews ($$$$)
Let’s see what I find in the glass for this Lanny McDonald namesake whisky:
Nose: Very sweet, with caramel and vanilla (from the barrel char). Corn syrup and maple syrup. Dried apricots. Black licorice (anise). Toasted coconut. Slightly rancid nuts. Shredded wheat. Condensed milk. Bit of acetone.
Palate: Lots of sweet anise, a big hit upfront. Caramel and vanilla. Bubblegum. Cream of wheat. Then dry rye spices, cinnamon and nutmeg especially. Tobacco. Saccharine-like sweetness on the swallow. No real heat, very easy to drink.
Finish: Maple sweetness lingers the longest. Caramel too. Some oaky bitterness comes up at the end (coconut and tobacco again) – but not too bad, and reasonably balanced with the sweet anise throughout.
A sweet whisky overall, but also with a lot of character, in a dry and dusty style. Very easy to drink, and with a different flavour profile than typical – with those strong nutty, tobacco and anise flavours (presumably from the wheat).
Wheat whiskies are hard to do well, in my experience. I haven’t been a fan of most Canadian wheat-heavy whiskeys, but I rather like this one. It is “softer” than a wheated bourbon (likely due to pot still), but also brings in some of the same oaky elements (likely thanks to the virgin oak casks). If you are in the mood for black licorice, this would fit the bill nicely!
There aren’t many reviews of this whisky – check out Chip the RumHowler, Jason of In Search of Elegance, or the Toronto Whisky Society. I find the Meta-Critic average score to be reasonable overall, although I would personally go a point or so higher for this one (i.e., ~8.6). Still widely available at the LCBO in Ontario, and various outlets in Alberta.