Two guys, a girl and a rye, whisky #1 - Gibson's Finest Age 12 Year Old, She said...

JF, mon ami!

SHE SAID:  Well, here goes the adventure and wouldn't you know it I picked up these two on the trail.  There they were, just wandering around. One said I'm tasting/nosing Gibson's tonight and I went "hell ya" me too, then the other piped in and said can I join this party?  So it just so happens all three of us have something to say about #1 of my "15 whiskies in 14 days experiment". A bit about the writers: Jean François, but we call him JF, is also a Canadian blogger like myself who reviews whiskies but also more.  He is from my neighboring province of Québec, loves whisky as well as other beverages and writes an informative and great blog in both languages (English and French).  To see what he thought of Gibson's Finest 12 Year Old Canadian Whisky, please click here: http://www.whiskyplus.ca/en/reviews/whisky-en/rye_en/gibsons-finest-12-year-old/

Dave "imbibing"

Guy #2 is from across the Atlantic in England.  We will call him Dave, well because that's his name actually :)  He is also a blogger who loves whisky as much as I do (if that's at all possible).  He and his daughter Kat are on a whisky adventure together which I think is fantastic, quite the dynamic duo.  He was lucky enough to procure some of the Gibson's which is readily available in Canada but hard to find in the overseas market. I believe his quest to try Canadian Whiskies came as a result of a recent book he purchased called 101 whiskies to try before you die, by Ian Buxton.  The book is based on Ian's personal whisky discoveries and what he thinks are the best drams (not necessarily the most expensive) in the world that one should consider trying at least once before they die.  (My copy has been ordered :) To see what Dave thought of his very first Canadian dram of whisky, please click here: http://whisky-discovery.blogspot.ca/2012/10/whisky-discovery-219.html

And then there's me, the girl in this equation who thought it very important to start her journey here in her own country:  Canada.  

Growing up, I only recall one bottle of hard liquor in his cabinet:  Gibson's.  Saturday night ritual for him was to grab a bag of ketchup chips and dump them in a bowl.  Then he would start humming the hockey song and prepare his evening nightcap:  Gibson's 12 on ice with a splash of Coke.  He would then race into the living room, park his body into his olive green lazy boy recliner and ask one of us get up, turn the television and change the channel until we found Hockey night in Canada.  (That should tell you what year this was and yes I guess technically my brother and I were the remote control!?)  My dad would finish the whole bag of chips and usually would get up two, maybe three times to make another "rye and coke".  How truly Canadian.  "Rye" as we know it, is synonymous worldwide with Canadian Whisky.  You walk into any bar in the states and ask for a rye and coke, you will likely get whatever Canadian is behind the bar.  Of course at the age of 7 I thought it was vile stuff and I couldn't understand what my father liked about it.  All I knew was that after a few of these strange potions he would mellow out and not yell at the hockey game as much.

So Gibson's...   JF does a great job of covering a bit of the history about Gibson's and if you want more information about it, I suggest two things:  One, their website:  http://www.gibsonsfinest.ca and if you have a chance Davin de Kergommeaux's Canadian Whisky, the portable expert is fantastic at debunking the myths that surround Canadian whiskies as well as a great historical outlook on most of the distilleries.  Gibson's story is a fine chapter.  I do like how Dave compared this to a Scotch blend but with the twist of rye, which truly does make it an interesting dram.  For those of you who have never had rye it imparts a spicy flavor to whisky like white pepper or cinnamon.  It's very nice and quite distinguishable in a dram if you know what you are looking for.

So without further ado, my tasting notes for a very fine example of Canadian rye. Not expensive on the waller but very tasty in the glass.  Everyone should have a bottle of this in their whisky collection, if not to serve to the dad's of the world who watched hockey from their lazy boy recliners, clinking the ice cubes while screaming at the television.  Well, that's what my dad used to do, lol.  Here's to my dad's whisky!

GIBSON'S FINEST AGED, 12 YEAR OLD

Nose:  Very distinguishing rye spiciness.  This one in particular reminds me of dark rich earth on a warm day, almost like walking through the forest after a rain storm.  Very "organic" in nature.  A bit of nail polish remover at the back but with a sweet attached to it, like a creme caramel.  I do get a hint of sweet vanilla.  With a bit of water added, it opens to a softer sweetness but I really had to hunt for what I thought it was, it reminded me of standing in an apple orchard when the blossoms are full out.  

Palate:  Such a typical spicy whisky, I can taste a gingery or hot cinnamon type of spice.  A bit of bitterness of a pink grapefruit, sweet but makes the back of your mouth sort of stand to attention.  It's very tannic in nature.  Once I added water, it becomes a bit oilier in nature, and very recognizable flavors of wood appeared.

Finish:  Still quite spicy in nature, more citrus pith (almost like a palate cleaner containing lemon peel).  I would say this has a small-medium finish.  

It doesn't stay with you for long, and I really had to work at this one, especially after I added water.  One afternoon, I let it sit for almost a full hour and then went back to it.  I found this very helpful as far as getting so much more on the nose from it.  However, most people would not let their whisky sit for an hour before they drink it.

So thanks Dave and JF for coming on this short little adventure with me and thanks for ascertaining a very good Rye.  If you haven't tried Gibson's I suggest you do, soon!

On my way to whisky #2, I remain...

The whisky lassie