He Says...Welcome to Collingwood!

He said…Unlike a lot of my friends growing up I never had the privilege of throwing up in a ditch on account of overindulgence with a bottle of cheap Canadian "rye" mixed with pineapple juice, kool-aid or what ever other terrible mix you could acquire for a dollar. No sir, I did all my barfing on account of vodka...liquor of the devil. So to that end I really had no preconceived notions of Canadian whisky other than what I have heard from other...well…ditch fillers. As you might expect not much of what I heard was positive. It was the nectar of John Hall that changed those opinions. The various offerings of Forty Creek are unique, varied and impressive as any other whisky genre out there.

Now that the barn door has been opened my desire to try more Canadian Whiskies has grown significantly. Recently I have the opportunity to try another Canadian whisky that surprised and impressed me as much as the first. A little personal insight into the hamster on the wheel that is in my head and what keeps him running…if something is unique and exciting I am often more than willing to overlook or accept other less than desirable characteristics or weaknesses. So with all that in mind I present to you Collingwood.

Now for a little taste…

Colour: Gold.

Nose: This one took me a few minutes…I got a big hit of very familiar sweetness right off the bat but I couldn’t figure it out. Bang! Twizzlers red liquorish, then stale sour gummies. Through all of that is the sweetness of corn and cereal notes.

Taste: Again, Sweet corn, cereal…a little buiscutty…almost like a digestive cookie.

Finish: The finish is medium but does linger a little. It sort of hangs around in the back corners…kind of like that nerdy little kid at the middle school dance standing in the corner, the party is all done but he just wants to help take apart the sound system. The sweetness of the malt is gone and it leaves a strange flat aftertaste.

Overall I really enjoy this whisky…from an analysis point of view I find it too sweet with a strange finish but I love the fact that despite this it is VERY drinkable! Afterall, not every dram needs to be examined thoroughly with a nosing glass, pen and paper. For the price point you can’t beat it and the fact that its new and expanding the availablity of good Canadian whisky makes it even better! This is one for the back deck on a summer’s eve…just in time too!