Highwood Distillers are the vendor of this whisky, that is not cleverly entitled "Ninety" because it is 90 proof and carries an age statement of 20 years. I say 'vendor' because Highwood Distillers did not actually distill this spirit, but rather bought it from another distiller or possibly acquired it in a corporate merger (Potter's Distillery). Highwood then aged it further, performed wood management in ex-bourbon (or ex-Tenessee) casks, and blended the stocks. The oak casks were reportedly sourced from Jim Beam or Jack Daniels.
The label says it is a "Rye" but actually it is not. It is 100% corn whisky. Confusing? Opaque? Clintonesque? Informative as a Bill Belichick press conference? Me thinks so. Maybe not intentional, but certainly not helpful to the consumer. The explanation I received from Highwood Distillers is as follows:
"As a Canadian distiller and following the allowable definition from the government of Canada we continue to use 'Canadian Rye Whisky' as the unique Canadian indentifier . . . just like the Scots do with 'Scotch' as their proprietary descriptor."
In any event, we are dealing with a 100% corn whisky aged for 20 yrs in charred American oak. Notwithstanding the inarticulate labeling, our quest is to determine if it is any good?
ABV
45%
Closure
Silicon stopper
Price
$50 CDN.
Availability
Canada only.
Nose (undiluted)
Cedar, cooked plums, vanilla, charred oak.
Palate (undiluted)
Melted caramel, maple cream, French Vanilla ice cream, nut meg, toasted coconut, pleasant spiciness late palate.
Finish (undiluted)
Long lasting notes of white chocolate and spiced milk chocolate macaroons.
General Impressions
This is a good whisky in terms of taste and has a lot more spice than one would expect from a 100% corn whisky. For the price, it is worth the money.
Just one thing bugs me, the use of 'rye' on the label when there is no rye in the mashbill is not reaching the level of transparency I expect of a player in the Canadian spirits industry.
Cheers!
Jason Debly
P.S. I did correspond via email with Highwood and they answered very promptly a question of a reader about whether or not this is a one-time release:
Hi Jason,
Thank you for your email and thank you for your appreciation and support of Ninety 20yr.
The Whisky is a limited release but not in the context of a one-time bottling. We do have Whisky to support this brand for some years to come but there is only so much 20 year old of this outstanding character to bottle into this brand every year. As the popularity and distribution continues to grow there may be times when it becomes unavailable because we have bottled all the available select Whisky for that year.
For now you should not find any issue with availability, but the Ninety 20 Year has been recognized in review by Whisky Advocate as the 4th best Whisky in the world so word is spreading.
Enjoy, and thank you again for your support.
HIGHWOOD DISTILLERS LTD.
highwood-distillers.com
Thanks Jason. I'm a fan of Highwood and their older whiskies but completely agree with the nonsensical "Rye" label.
ReplyDeleteLet's face it: the 20 years on the bottle should be enough to get anyone's attention.
So just to be sure....they bought what must have been fresh "juice" and then aged it 20 years? Would have figured they'd buy some older stock and perhaps finish it but if that's what they did then it's a very pleasant sipper and worth the ticket.
There is no official word from Highwood Distillers as to the source of the corn whisky that they acquired. However, I suspect it was acquired when they bought another Canadian distiller Potter's. Here is the history available on the Highwood website:
DeleteIn November of 2005, Highwood Distillers purchased Potter’s Distilleries, British Columbia’s only distillery, and expanded their portfolio with over a dozen new established brands.
Ernie Potter founded the Potter’s Distillery back in 1958, which originally only bottled and sold liqueurs, but over the years expanded into spirits. In 1962, Captain Harold John Cameron Terry (Captain Terry) – who started his career at 14 as an Australian seaman – acquired Potter’s Distilleries. He took the company public in 1967 and was its CEO for 20 years. In 1990, production was moved from Langley to Kelowna, British Columbia where it remained until 2006.
I hear that this was a one-off production. They had a number of (quite a few) casks and some might be older than 20 years, but that once current shelf stocks are gone, that's it.
ReplyDeleteThis is one of my favourite Canadian whiskies. A year or so ago I got the rare opportunity to try a Cadenhead's bottling of 100% corn whisky produced by the same distillery...at cask strength...it was fantastic!
You are probably correct as I find it hard to believe that they could source an aged corn whisky, hold till a minimum of 20yrs and market it for a mere fifty bucks Canadian. But, if they acquired it as part of the stocks of Potter's Distillery then your theory would be likely.
DeleteHard to say without official word from Highwood. I may email them on this point and if I get a response will advise.
It should be noted that Highwood also market other Canadian whiskies with age statements in excess of 20yrs and have been doing so for quite a while. But again maybe they are just relying on Potter's stocks that are ultimately finite.
Maybe I should be nicer to industry and they might return my emails and phone calls.
I just got a reply from Highwood, it reads in part as follows:
Delete"The Whisky is a limited release but not in the context of a one-time bottling. We do have Whisky to support this brand for some years to come but there is only so much 20 year old of this outstanding character to bottle into this brand every year. As the popularity and distribution continues to grow there may be times when it becomes unavailable because we have bottled all the available select Whisky for that year."
Says Highwood:
ReplyDelete"the Ninety 20 Year has been recognized in review by Whisky Advocate as the 4th best Whisky in the world"
Translation: This whisky was #4 in one particular issues of Whisky Advocate. Three years ago.
http://whiskyadvocate.com/2013/08/20/whisky-advocates-fall-issue-top-10-buying-guide-reviews/
- Ol' Jas
But it is still an excellent whisky!
Delete-Nozinan