Whisky Review: Canadian Club Chairmans Select 100% Rye by Jason Debly
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- Опубликовано: 10 май 2016
- The best selling spirit in the United States is Canadian whisky. Why? A number of reasons for this like: it's affordable or down right cheap in price, the flavor profile appeals to a lot of people as Canadian whisky is typically smooth and somewhat sweet, and finally it tends to make for a damn good mixed drink. Marries well with the likes of ginger ale and other sodas.
In the past, Canadian whisky was not regarded as a worthwhile drink to be sipped neat. Times have changed. In the past few years, Canadian whisky has undergone a renaissance of sorts. A lot of innovation has taken place and a lot of money has been spent to improve this category by the companies that own the many famous brands. Canadian Club is not an exception.
"Price"
$27 in Canada
"ABV"
40%
"Age Statement"
None on the label but the whisky according to reliable sources is aged for 7 years.
"Closure"
Twist off cap.
"Nose' (undiluted)
Surprisingly floral. Hints of roses, wet leaves, like the damp air you inhale as you walk through a forest following a light rainfall.
"Palate" (undiluted)
Gorgeous rye bread gives way to sweet oak, cloves, a dusting of thyme and sage, and red berries.
"Finish" (undiluted)
Cleansing, fresh, cinnamon, zesty wild honey on darkened rye toast.
"General Impressions"
This is an amazing value for money proposition! $27 for a bottle of 100% rye whisky that is perfectly balanced without bitterness, bite or any offensive qualities, yet at the same time sufficiently interesting that you will have no hesitation in returning to time and time again for another reward of artisan rye bread flavors.
This is a highly recommended bottle for someone who is wondering what is the big deal about Canadian whisky and interested in venturing into sampling this spirit neat.
Cheers!
Jason Debly
Please visit my non-profit blog for more independent reviews of world whiskies:
jason-scotchreviews.blogspot....
Forgot to add that this makes a wicked Old Fashion, had them lining up at my friends cottage last year making them with CC 100%.
Cheers
Thanks for the excellent review. I am a novice and this is more my style than the Dark Horse.
thx
Good review, Jason. Like you, I'm a scotch whisky fan. Due to ever-increasing scotch prices I'm always looking out for a cheaper substitute - especially as a daily dram. However, my various excursions into the bourbon and other American whiskies always seem to come up against the same barrier: they just don't hit the spot, even though they are cheaper (much cheaper in some cases), and I just keep coming back to Scotch. As Christopher Hitchens said, "cheap booze is false economy."
+Frank lampard Hard to argue with Mr. Hitchens. A great mind that is sadly gone from this world.
I am kinda on the search for a go-to whisky that is affordable and delivers good flavors. I think this CC 100% Rye fits the bill. I must say I really dislike the standard bottling of CC so was skeptical about this release.
I hear ya about Scotch. Love the stuff but damn the price is hurting. Cheers!
+Yousef Aghet Bish Al-Khut Yadiq Nigah Christopher Hitchens was a wise man. I miss his wit. Blue Label is way over priced. It taste like a $60 single malt. Anyhow, thanks for commenting.
Johnnie Walker Green Label 15 year old blended malt! Cheers!
I usually hate whisky as a mixer and thus opt for rum in most mixes I drink but this stuff - especially given the honey sweetness you point out - is delicious when mixed with anything, plus it's more than tolerable for the non-connoisseur!
Thanks Jason. I'm U.S. American and I can't stand Canadian whisky -no offense. I don't really like Whisky made in the U.S. For that matter. Like you I am a scotch devotee. That said I am branching out this year and I have found a couple of home grown whiskies I like. I'm gonna find me some premium Canadian whisky next.
+cato cato No offense taken. I hear ya and understand where you are coming from. Scotch exhibits the most complexity. Just a fact in my mind and I really have to evaluate Canadian whisky within its own realm. Same with American. Within their realms there are stars and black holes. Great American and Canadian always come with a higher price tag, but still much cheaper than a lot of Scotch. Cheers!
Comment fail, I just caught your mention of the ADL.
No prob! Cheers!
thanks for your review. I am second generation Scottish Canadian and nothing compares to Single Malt Scotch, in my humble opinion. Every other whiskey/whisky scratches the surface of the bottom of the barrel. It's a curse that the real deal is expensive. Cheers!
I think Scotch whisky delivers the most complexity in general. However, Japan has blends and single malts like Hibiki 17, 21 and Yamazaki 18 that in a blind taste test I would easily think I am drinking a fine Scotch.
I think when drinking other world whiskies it is necessary to appreciate that they work within their native parameters of flavor. So, with Canadian whiskies the range or spectrum is narrower, but what is done in that range can be obviously very entertaining!
Canada is a big country. Canada has similar geography to Japan and of course Scotland. Canada has potential to produce single malt scotch as good as Scotland just as Japan has proven so. Canadian wines are at the same level as California and Europe. I agree... It is entertaining to understand this
...however, Scotland is and always will be Scotland ...the origin of scotch whisky.
God Bless America and their entertainment industry
I believe this is sourced from ADL and bottled by CC.
Yes Alberta Distillers Ltd produce this in the distillery located in Calgary. They also are the source of the rye in Dark Horse.
Jason, Canadian whisky is absolutely NOT the top selling spirit in the United States. Not even close, even if it does a lot better than some people might expect. Here are the sales stats (apparently rounded off to the nearest thousand) for the top 5 best-selling spirit types in the US in the year 2015, according to the Distilled Spirits Council of the United States (DISCUS), measured in 9-litre cases:
Vodka: 68,160,000 cases sold
Rum: 24,793,000 cases sold
Bourbon/Tennessee Whiskey: 20,367,000 cases sold
Cordials/Liqueurs: 20,027,000 cases sold
Canadian Whisky: 16,745,000 cases sold
So number 5 in sales, which as a Canadian I say is pretty damn good, and Canadian whisky certainly beat scotch whisky in US sales (a little over 9.5 million cases of scotch were sold in the US in 2015).
+Richard Bostan I was reading two whisky books that made the claim that Canadian whisky was the top selling whisky by volume in the US. I should not have said top selling 'spirit.' My mistake.
On the topic of best selling whisky in the US, it seems that Jack Daniels has dethroned Crown Royal. But to my point if you look at the top sellers a lot are Canadian.
www.thestandish.com.sg/blog/top-20-best-selling-whiskey-brands-2014/
www.bizjournals.com/dayton/news/2014/07/23/top-20-best-selling-whiskey-brands-of-2014.html
Thanks for commenting!
+Jason Debly -- Hey, thanks for the quick reply, Jason. As you can see by comparing the DISCUS figures I provided for "Bourbon/Tennessee Whiskey" and "Canadian Whisky," even if you had used the word "whisky" instead of "spirits," the statement still would have been incorrect. Canadian whisky is the SECOND best-selling whisky in the US by volume, not the first.
Is one of the books you were reading Davin de Kergommeaux's? I don't know what he says about this in his book, which I imagine isn't up to date on statistics, but more recently he has been saying (or has been quoted saying), in different places on the internet, that Canadian whisky was the top selling whisky in the US from 1865 to 2010. Now, the DISCUS website shows the sales stats for each year in the 21st century (not before that, unfortunately). In 2010 Bourbon/Tennessee Whiskey sales surpassed those of Canadian Whisky for the first time this century, and Bourbon/Tennessee Whisky has beat Canadian Whisky every year since then. But I have to say I am not buying at all Davin's claim that Canadian whisky was the best selling whisky in America from 1865 to 2010. Davin is making the big mistake of equating "American whisky" and "Bourbon/Tennessee Whiskey." There is American whiskey that is NOT "Bourbon/Tennessee Whisky." Rye, for example, but that hasn't amounted to much in terms of sales volume for a very long time. The big category of American whiskey that Davin completely ignores -- both in past history and now -- is "American blended whiskey," which actually out-sold Bourbon/Tennessee Whisky in America up until the 1980's and still amounts to US sales of about five million 9-litre cases per year. Add together US sales of Bourbon/Tennessee Whiskey, American blended whiskey, Rye, and any other American-made whiskies that don't fit any of those three categories, and I am sure the result would be that "American whiskey" has out-sold Canadian Whisky EVERY YEAR going back to however far one wants to go back.
Sorry for not responding earlier, but I found the whisky book that made the claim that Canadian whisky outsells any other spirit including American whisky in the US market. On page 271 of "World Whisky" editor in chief Charles Maclean, published in 2009 by Dorling Kinderley Limited, the following passage appears:
"Today, America consumes more Canadian whiskey than any other spirit, including American whiskey."
In any case, a ton of whisky is sold to the US market whether it be in first or second place.
I also think Davin has made a similar claim. Not saying he is right but I think he has made similar statements.
Cheers!
Jason