Pike Creek Whisky: Then and Now

Like Lot 40, one of my favorite new whiskies from last year, Pike Creek is a Canadian Whisky distilled at Hiram Walker and bottled by Corby Distillers.  As with Lot 40, the brand was reintroduced last year after more than a decade long absence. It's a non age statement whisky finished in port casks.  I'll also try a sample of its earlier incarnation from the 1990s.

Pike Creek Whisky, Current Bottling, 40% ($30)

The nose is mostly antiseptic.  The palate is slightly sweet and medicinal with a touch of spice and wood before devolving into pure alcohol notes with a kiss of malt.  The finish has a mild sweetness but is dominated by bitterness and alcohol notes on the palate.  Between the heavy medicinal and bitter notes, this stuff is pretty horrible.  

Pike Creek Whisky, 1990s, 40%

The nose on this is quite a contrast to the new version.  It's mild and lightly fruity like a Sauvignon Blanc. The palate is very light but has rye spice, wood and some medicinal notes, trailing off with some beer like notes, like a light lager.  The finish has some rye on the nose and medicinal notes on the palate.  This one's okay.

The difference between these whiskies is surprisingly stark. While the '90s version isn't great, it's fine to drink, whereas the current version is not something I would want to drink.  Whatever they did to it, they should undo it.     

Canada Week Part III: Lot 40 Canadian Rye

For my final Canadian Whisky of the week, I thought I'd sample Lot 40.  Lot 40 was a popular Canadian Whisky about a decade ago but was abruptly discontinued.  The whisky was rereleased in fall 2012 in Canada, and it was sent to the US shortly thereafter, but I've only recently started seeing it in California. According to Canadian Whisky blogger Davin de Kergommeaux, Lot 40 is produced by a bottler, Corby Distilleries, from whisky distilled at the Hiram Walker Distillery.  The mashbill is 90% rye and 10% malted rye and it is distilled in a pot still.  For the full story, as with any Canadian Whisky, check out Davin's CanadianWhisky.org (and buy his book too!).

Lot 40 Canadian Rye, 2012 Release, 43% abv ($60)

The nose on this has a strong rye, very reminiscent of the herbaceous rye notes on Whistlepig and the other Canadian straight ryes. Then some cocoa notes emerge.  The palate is both drier and less aggressive on the rye than I expected with some brandy notes, cherries, chocolate and a more muted rye than the nose.  The finish is the first time you get more traditional Canadian Whisky notes with some honey joining the rye spice.

This is a very nice whisky.  It has the nice, spicy rye notes of the Canadian straight ryes but with more complexity.  I've been skeptical of recent talk about a Canadian Whisky revival, at least based on we've seen in the US, but this whisky gives me hope that we will start to see some real gems coming out of Canada.

Another Illinois Dusty: Hiram Walker's DeLuxe Bourbon

A few months ago I sampled Hiram Walker's Ten High from the old Hiram Walker distillery in Peoria, Illinois. Today's dusty is the higher end bourbon from the Walker distillery, also from around 1982: Walker's DeLuxe.

Walker's DeLuxe, 8 years old, 43% abv.

The nose on this has a nice, oaky, musty bourbon note trailing off to some buttered popcorn. It has much more oak on it than the four year old Ten High. The palate starts well with some of those oak notes as well as some nice toffee notes but ends on a very bitter note which lasts into the finish.

This is a better whiskey than the Walker's Ten High; it starts well but the bitterness really ruins it for me. So much for Illinois Bourbon.

Dusty Thursday: Will it Play in Peoria? - Hiram Walker's Ten High

Have you heard of Illinois bourbon? Well, many years ago, there was lots of whiskey being made in Illinois, particularly in Peoria. Canada's Hiram Walker company opened a distillery in Peoria in 1934 and made whiskey there until 1981, when they sold the distillery to Archer Daniels Midland which converted it into an ethanol distillery.

Walker made Ten High Bourbon at its Illinois plant. That brand is now made by the Sazerac owned Barton distillery. (Here's a review of Ten High from the pre-Sazerac Barton distillery). Ten High was, and continues to be a budget brand; they distillery also made Walker's Deluxe.

The liter bottle I'm sampling today was purchased for $15 at a lovely liquor store that looks like it popped right out of Mad Men, inventory and all (see picture above). The bottle has the number "82" on the bottom indicating the bottle was made in 1982, but curiously, the bottle has a tax stamp strip with no numbers which would indicate that it went to market after 1985, when tax stamps were phased out (probably from just after 1985 since they still used the strip). According to Chuck Cowdery, the company emptied the warehouses of stock after they stopped distilling, so I would guess that they either bottled a bunch of Ten High in 1982, right after the distillery closed, and released it gradually or bought bottles in 1982 and bottled it gradually until they ran out. Either way, this bourbon was likely distilled in the distillery's last years.

Hiram Walker's Ten High Bourbon, 4 years old, 40% abv.

The nose is pretty middle of the road bourbon, some caramel sweetness, some spicy rye notes, not bad at all. The flavor is, well, missing. It's like water, bourbon flavored water. There is a slight caramel sweetness...and then nothing. The finish is like the smell of an old bourbon glass after you've finished and it's been sitting around for a while.

This isn't bad; there's nothing objectionable about it, but, to quote Gertrude Stein, "there is no there there." Forget Peoria, I'll take what plays in Frankfort or Bardstown.