Tag Archives: blend

J.P. Wiser’s Alumni Series Yvan Cournoyer 12 Year Old

Following on in my reviews of the “Captains series” – the third release of the J.P. Wiser’s NHL Alumni series of whiskies – today I am looking at the whisky named after Yvan Cournoyer of the Montreal Canadiens. This series is actually the second batch of the 2019-2020 edition, which includes fellow Captains Dave Keon (Toronto Maple Leafs) and Mark Messier (Edmonton Oilers).

Collectively, the NHL Alumni whiskies are something of the sleeper hit of the Canadian whisky scene in the last couple of years. While they don’t garner a lot of reviewer attention, all the individual whiskies are limited editions that feature age statements and more distilling and barreling details than typically found in Canadian whisky. As before, the profits from the series are shared evenly with NHL Alumni Association, to help support former players in need. This batch all currently retail for ~$45 CAD in most jurisdictions.

At this time (July 2020), all of the second batch 2019-2020 edition whiskies are available from J.P. Wiser’s website (for delivery in Ontario only).

Let’s check out the composition of this Yvan Cournoyer whisky:

Grains: a blend of corn, rye, and malted barley
Age: 12 years old
ABV: 40%
Distillation: single column distilled rye, column and then pot-distilled rye (i.e., Lot 40), double distilled corn, and column distilled malt.
Oak: a mix of used Canadian barrels, ex-Bourbon and Virgin Oak casks

Yvan “The Roadrunner” Cournoyer was a right-winger and Captain of the Montreal Canadiens from 1975-78. But his peak years were 1971-73, and he was famous for his role in the 1972 Summit Series – scoring three goals, and providing the crucial assist for Paul Henderson’s series-ending winning goal. And that is one of the nods here – apparently the mix for this whisky was “inspired” by the 1972 recipe for Carleton Tower, an old Hiram Walker blend. It is aged for 12 years in honour of Cournoyer’s retired Canadiens jersey number. This was the whisky that I was most curious to try when the new edition was released, with its inclusion of Lot 40 rye.

Here is how it compares to other Wiser’s whiskies in my Meta-Critic Database:

Gooderham & Worts Four Grain: 8.58 ± 0.33 on 18 reviews ($$)
J.P. Wiser’s 15yo: 8.32 ± 0.27 on 8 reviews ($$$)
J.P. Wiser’s Alumni Series Darryl Sitter 10yo: 8.08 ± 0.41 on 7 reviews ($$)
J.P. Wiser’s Alumni Series Dave Keon 14yo: 8.86 ± 0.17 on 7 reviews ($$)
J.P. Wiser’s Alumni Series Guy Lafleur 10yo: 8.48 ± 0.10 on 10 reviews ($$)
J.P. Wiser’s Alumni Series Lanny MacDonald 9yo: 8.09 ± 0.47 on 10 reviews ($$)
J.P. Wiser’s Alumni Series Larry Robinson 6yo: 8.55 ± 0.33 on 7 reviews ($$)
J.P. Wiser’s Alumni Series Mark Messier 11yo: 8.76 ± 0.35 on 6 reviews ($$)
J.P. Wiser’s Alumni Series Paul Coffey 7yo: 8.20 ± 0.41 on 7 reviews ($$)
J.P. Wiser’s Alumni Series Wendel Clark 11yo: 8.90 ± 0.28 on 10 reviews ($$)
J.P. Wiser’s Alumni Series Yvan Cournoyer 12yo: 8.68 ± 0.32 on 6 reviews ($$)
J.P. Wiser’s Triple Barrel Rye: 8.48 ± 0.29 on 10 reviews ($)
Lot 40: 8.88 ± 0.36 on 26 reviews ($$)
Pike Creek 10yo Rum-finished: 8.47 ± 0.27 on 11 reviews ($$)

Let’s see what I find in the glass:

Nose: Sweet corn, corn syrup, and candy corn (notice the theme?). Peaches and dried apricots. Dried barley. Quite floral – but again, in a dried flowers way. Not really getting a lot rye spice yet. Slightly organic note, but not offensive. Overall has a young and bright nose, with a lot gentle dried fruit and flowers.

Palate: Creamy corn. Vanilla. Dried apple and apricots. Orange zest. The grainy notes are coming through more stewed than dry now. Woodier than the nose suggested, with a nice mix of oaky notes. The rye spices show up on the swallow, with some classic cinnamon. Mouthfeel is fairly light, in keeping with the standard 40% ABV.

Finish: Relative quick finish. Remains pleasantly floral, with violets and touch of roses. Orange citrus still. Bit of lingering saccharine, balancing out the slight oaky bitterness (and a touch of spice).

The corn notes are fairly dominant here, as you might expect. The rye is coming through more in a floral way than in a spicy sense. And the fruits definitely tend toward the dried variety. A refined and contemplative whisky. I can’t help but feel that a higher proof would have helped amp it up a bit though.

This whisky received a gold medal at the annual Canadian Whisky Awards. Among reviewers, the highest score I’ve seen comes from Chip the Rum Howler. Jason of In Search of Elegance was fairly positive as well. This whisky received moderately positive reviews, but mediocre scores, from Andre, Patrick and Martin of Quebec Whisky. My own assessment is good match with the overall Meta-Critic average score. A good buy, but the Wendel Clark and Dave Keon whiskies remain my top picks.

J.P. Wiser’s Alumni Series Darryl Sittler 10 Year Old

Following up on the inaugural 2018-2019 Edition of the J.P. Wiser’s Alumni series, a second offering was released in the spring of 2019. This 2019-2020 Edition features whiskies named after Darryl Sittler, Larry Robinson, and Paul Coffey. As before, each of these players were involved in helping select component whiskies for their namesake blends. The profits from the series are shared evenly with NHL Alumni Association, to help support former players in need. As before, these all retail for ~$45 CAD in most jurisdictions.

I was generally impressed with the 2018-2019 Edition whiskies, which all featured age statements and more distilling and barreling details than typically found in Canadian whiskies (especially at this price point). All whiskies are designed by Dr Don Livermore, Master Blender of Corby (who owns J.P. Wiser’s). He is the person most directly responsible for all the popular limited/special releases coming out of Corby (i.e., the Rare Cask series and the Northern Border Collection).

At this time (November 2019), all of the 2019-2020 Edition whiskies remain widely available in Ontario at the LCBO. These can even be ordered directly from J.P. Wiser’s website (for delivery in Ontario only).

First, let’s check out the composition of this Darryl Sittler namesake whisky:

Grain: mainly corn, followed by rye (6%), wheat (4%) and malted barley (4%)
Age: 10 years old
ABV: 40%
Distillation: all column distilled
Oak: mainly used Canadian whisky barrels, some ex-Bourbon casks

Growing up in Montreal in the 1970s and 80s, I didn’t get to see a lot Toronto Maple Leaf games (as the Leafs and Canadiens were rarely matched up in that period). But I saw enough to know that Darryl Sittler was one of Toronto’s most popular players. A centre for the Leafs, Darryl even captained the Leafs for a period during this era.

The main hockey link here is the age and grain proportions of this whisky, both referring to a famous 10-point night for Darryl in 1976: the rye/wheat-barley mix reflects his number of goals (6) and assists (4) in that game (the record still stands, by the way). The overall whisky style is said to be “well-rounded,” much like his famed playing style.

Here is how this Darryl Sittler whisky compares in my Meta-Critic Whisky Database, relative to other Alumni releases and some similar whiskies:

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 ($$)
J.P. Wiser’s Alumni Series Wendel Clark 11yo: 9.01 ± 0.09 on 5 reviews ($$)

Crown Royal: 7.56 ± 0.48 on 20 reviews ($)
Crown Royal Reserve: 8.41 ± 0.63 on 15 reviews ($$$)
Gooderham & Worts Four Grain: 8.59 ± 0.28 on 13 reviews ($$)
J.P. Wiser’s 15yo: 8.39 ± 0.20 on 7 reviews ($$$)
J.P. Wiser’s Deluxe: 7.98 ± 0.53 on 11 reviews ($)
J.P. Wiser’s Triple Barrel Rye: 8.53 ± 0.25 on 9 reviews ($)

Let’s see what I find in the glass:

Nose: Corn forward indeed, I’m getting a lot of sweet corn syrup to start. Candied fruit aromas – including some dark fruits – but also pears, plums and apricots. Orange citrus. Definitely grainy as well, with classic column-distilled notes. Rye spices show up too, with a bit of ginger. Unfortunately, I also get some artificial sweetener notes and a bit of acetone.

Palate: A surprising amount of rye hits me upfront in the initial palate, a lot more than I expected from the nose. The corn syrup is still there, plus maple syrup, very sweet on the swallow. Buttered popcorn. Has a dry, earthy characteristic – like ginger and dried leaves. Mild, with no real burn. Not a whole lot going on in the mouth, seems like a fairly traditional Wiser’s blend.

Finish: The dried earthy notes and light rye spices dominate. The artificial sweetener note lingers the longest, matched with a slightly tannic oaky bitterness.

It has been a while since I’ve had Wiser’s Deluxe, but this seems a like an amped-up version of it to me – just heavier, with drier rye and earthy notes. This style would be very recognizable to Canadian whisky drinkers – it is probably the most representative example of the classic “Canadian Rye” flavour profile that I’ve come across yet for the Alumni series. Well executed, but not very distinctive (except for those earthy notes). J.P. Wiser’s Triple Rye is similar in style, and benefits from a lack some of the artificial sweetener notes. Crown Royal Reserve could be another good comparable. Sippable neat, it would also do very well as a higher-end mixer.

There are relatively few reviews to date. I recommend you check out the ones from the Toronto Whisky Society and Jason of In Search of Elegance. Mark Bylok also covered this whisky in his recent series overview whisky.buzz podcast. I find the Meta-Critic average score to be appropriate.

 

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.

Hibiki Harmony Master’s Select

Hibiki Harmony Master’s Select is a duty-free (aka “global travel retail”) special release of Hibiki Harmony blended whisky. Unlike some Japanese special-edition “travel exclusives” – which are simply re-labelled and marked-up versions of standard bottlings – Master’s Select is actually a different blend than the regular Harmony.

Master’s Select is reported to be a blend of 10 different Japanese malt and grain whiskies from Yamazaki, Hakushu and Chita distilleries, aged in 5 different types of casks, including American white oak casks, sherry casks and Mizunara oak casks. The stronger woody character – and use of Yamazaki sherry casks in particular – are emphasized in Suntory promotional materials, in an apparent effort to increase the cachet of Hibiki Master’s Select. As with regular Harmony, there is no age statement, and it is bottled at 43% ABV.

I bought a bottle in early 2016, but only opened it recently. I paid a little over $100 CAD at the time (on sale), which was about the same price as regular Harmony here in Canada. I have always been a big fan of the older Hibiki age-statement expressions (especially the Hibiki 17yo), and am relatively positive on the no-age-statement Harmony expression – although it doesn’t fare as well among most reviewers. So I was curious to see how this Master’s Select version of Harmony would compare.

Here are how the Hibiki whiskies compare to other entry-level Japanese whiskies in my Metacritic Databae:

Hibiki 12yo: 8.61 ± 0.25 on 21 reviews ($$$$)
Hibiki 17yo: 8.77 ± 0.32 on 16 reviews ($$$$$)
Hibiki Harmony: 8.36 ± 0.54 on 18 reviews ($$$$)
Hibiki Harmony Master’s Select: 8.19 ± 0.74 on 5 reviews ($$$$$)
Ichiro’s Malt Double Distilleries: 8.64 ± 0.23 on 8 reviews ($$$$$)
Ichiro’s Malt Mizunara Wood Reserve (MWR): 8.20 ± 0.46 on 10 reviews ($$$$$)
Mars Iwai Tradition: 7.69 ± 1.03 on 4 reviews ($$$$)
Mars Maltage Cosmo: 8.56 ± 0.27 on 4 reviews ($$$$)
Nikka All Malt: 8.44 ± 0.18 on 8 reviews ($$)
Nikka Coffey Grain: 8.48 ± 0.52 on 18 reviews ($$$$)
Nikka Coffey Malt: 8.77 ± 0.42 on 12 reviews ($$$$)
Nikka From the Barrel: 8.82 ± 0.36 on 23 reviews ($$$)
Nikka Pure Malt Black: 8.78 ± 0.21 on 14 reviews ($$$)
Nikka Pure Malt Red: 8.53 ± 0.33 on 9 reviews ($$$)
Nikka Pure Malt White: 8.70 ± 0.32 on 13 reviews ($$$)
Suntory The Chita Single Grain: 8.36 ± 0.39 on 5 reviews ($$$)
Suntory Toki: 8.24 ± 0.45 on 10 reviews ($$$)
White Oak Akashi Blended: 7.60 ± 0.67 on 8 reviews ($$$)
White Oak Akashi Single Malt (NAS): 7.94 ± 0.49 on 7 reviews ($$$$)

Let’s see what I find in the glass:

Nose: Similar to regular Harmony, but with more dry oakiness up front. Not particularly fruity, but I do get light pears, plums, bananas and orange rind (plus some lemon curd). Floral, with some sort of fruit blossom. Lots of vanilla, as before – perhaps even more so. Toasted coconut, which is new. Wood spice. A slightly funky note, vaguely vegetal, which I don’t recall on standard Harmony. Definitely a bit more character here, but not all of it good. Also more acetone, which detracts for me.

Palate: Similar opening waves of vanilla and honey, with the arrival of prominent caramel now. Stronger orange citrus taste now than before. Dark chocolate (with that classic bitterness). Cinnamon and nutmeg. Something vaguely earthy, but I can’t quite place it (ginger? not quite). Simply put, it seems like a more heavily-oaked version of Harmony, especially with that lingering bitterness – which builds on each sip, unfortunately. Less of the delicate perfumy/incense notes than the regular Harmony (but they may be drowned out by the earthy wood tones). Decent mouthfeel, slightly silky in texture.

Finish: Short, but longer than regular Harmony. Nutmeg. Bitter apple. That ginger-like note from the palate is prominent, with a vague wet cardboard note. The oaky bitterness lingers the longest – rather unpleasant, frankly. Again, the complexity is up a bit, but this is the most disappointing part of the experience.

This “master’s select” version of the NAS Hibiki is no match for the age statement versions of old. It lacks the traditional subtlety of Hibiki, and seems to have gone for a flavour-shortcut, by exposing a younger blend to heavier wood influence.

If you like an earthy, oaky structure in your whisky (i.e. virgin wood), then this might be a blend for you.  But for most casual whisky drinkers, I expect standard Harmony would be preferred. For me, some of the more delicate characteristics of Harmony are lost here, and too much oaky bitterness has been added.

There are few reviews of this whisky, but Dramtastic gave it a positive review with an average score (compared to a very low score for standard Harmony). On Reddit, _xile also gave it an average score (and greatly preferred it over standard Harmony).  Josh the Whiskey Jug get it a slightly lower assessment than Harmony, and muaddib99 of Reddit gave it a much lower score than standard Harmony.

I’m in this latter camp, and give this a lower score than Harmony. That said, I think the Meta-Critic average scores are a little low for both NAS Hibiki expressions. In choosing between them, it really comes done to how much you like a woody presence in your whisky. But I recommend you start with standard Harmony – or the age-statement versions of course, if you can find them.