Hirsch Selection 10 YO Rye Whiskey

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Hirsch Selection 10 YO Rye Whiskey

Unread postby Mike » Wed Nov 08, 2006 5:42 pm

I have before me at this very moment, a bottle of Hirsch Selection Canadian 10 YO Rye Whiskey which is 86 proof and although quite light in color, makes no references to its being a blended whiskey, as most Canadians whiskies are.

I paid $35 for the privilege of disparaging, uh, I mean, evaluating this spirit. But, I am a poor candidate to judge this whiskey, it is so mild and inoffensive, I hesitate to disturb it in the glass. Would that it were a deeper and richer color.........maybe I could enjoy that.

It is mildly sweet; reasonably smooth, and floats a bit of spice toward the back of the mouth. I looked at the Glenora Distillers (which is in Nova Scotia) website................a marketing mismash with an apparent lack of interest in their product offerings.........Hirsch Selection never being even mentioned (children under the age of 7 are, however, admitted free for the tour).

If Gary Gillman would care to sample this and maybe place it in a Canadian context, I will be happy to part with whatever quantity he thinks is sufficient for him to establish it's worthiness.
Do not go gentle into that good night,
Old age should burn and rage at close of day;
Rage, rage against the dying of the light. - Dylan Thomas
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Unread postby gillmang » Wed Nov 08, 2006 9:45 pm

Mike thank you but you've offered too much already!

Canadian whisky is different: lighter, less congeneric, more subtle than any bourbon. Every time I try a new one I think, this is Canadian whisky. The only exceptions are Lot 40, Barrel Select and Three Grain and now Crown Royal XR which really do offer something different or at least a meaningful variation on the norm.

However try sampling Canadian whisky only for a few nights, that way it does not lose context and you may appreciate the different brands and possibly see merits in this Hirsch that don't appear currently.

Canadian is just so different from, say, any form of JD and I note you were essaying a particularly good one recently (the '54 Gold Medal) so in a sense you are going from one extreme to the other...

Gary
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Unread postby bourbonv » Fri Nov 10, 2006 3:12 pm

Gary,
When you are in town, remind me to tell you about some single malt rye whisky I heard about.

Does Canada and Canadian distillers have a tradition of straight whisky before Hiram Walker hit it big? In other words, did Hiram Walker change Canadian distilling to a tradition of blends and away from straight whisky?
Mike Veach
"Our people live almost exclusively on whiskey" - E H Taylor, Jr. 25 April 1873
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Unread postby gillmang » Fri Nov 10, 2006 3:23 pm

Mike, that is a very good question. There can be no doubt that straight-style whiskey existed in Canada before blending took over stimulated by the continuous still used to its maximum efficiency. I found a study on-line recently that I think will interest you greatly that supports this, it is a master's thesis which studies Canadian distilling between 1850 and 1900. I'll dig it out and post details here soon. This is a very interesting study which e.g., states that before developing double distillation in the 1850's-60's, Hiram Walker and other distilleries in Canada were using single distillation (in columns) and charcoal leaching and the description of the charcoal system is very similar to what JD uses today. Before that it was pot stills making whiskeys in a broad range of styles (malt, corn, etc.). The classic style of Canadian whisky emerged therefore very early, say by about 1870.

I know that into the late 1940's, bourbon and straight rye-style whisky were sold in Canada by Seagram (e.g. its Pedigree line) and probably by Hiram Walker. By the mid-1950's as far as I know, these were gone.

Gary
Last edited by gillmang on Fri Nov 10, 2006 3:46 pm, edited 2 times in total.
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Unread postby gillmang » Fri Nov 10, 2006 3:38 pm

Okay Mike here is how you find it.

I am not good with computers but do what I say and you will find it.

It is a monograph (some 300 pages) by Tanya Lynn MacKinnon, authored within the last 10 years. It is called The Historical Geography of the Distilling Industry in Ontario 1850-1900.

She wrote it as part of qualifying for a master's degree from an Ontario university, the University of Waterloo.

Dial into http://www.collectionscanada.ca

In the search box, put in "distilling + 1850".

It comes up as the first item.

Look down and you will see a link called "E-location".

Click on that and the full text comes up.

This imparts considerable, absorbing information and will give you hours of enjoyment regarding 1800's distilling in Ontario, it did for me. The author, whom I don't know, wrote a fine study and it answers I believe many questions you have including the origin of our bonding rules. Her explanation about the latter is most interesting and the issue of quality is only part of the story!

Gary
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Unread postby gillmang » Fri Nov 10, 2006 3:58 pm

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Unread postby bourbonv » Fri Nov 10, 2006 4:00 pm

Gary,
Thanks for the information. I will try to look this up this weekend.
Mike Veach
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Unread postby gillmang » Fri Nov 10, 2006 4:02 pm

I think I read it through it one go it is that fascinating.

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Unread postby Mike » Mon Nov 27, 2006 3:51 pm

gillmang wrote:However try sampling Canadian whisky only for a few nights, that way it does not lose context and you may appreciate the different brands and possibly see merits in this Hirsch that don't appear currently.

Gary


Gary, I followed your advice and only had Canadian whiskies for a couple of days and, as you suggested, I enjoyed the 10 YO Hirsch much more. I compared the Crown Royal XR, the Hirsch 10 YO Rye, and the Forty Creek whiskies.

I am toward the end of my bottle of Crown Royal XR and I believe I will buy another. It is indeed a wonderful whiskey in my estimation and I guess I have concluded that it is worth the $150. The guys at 'my' liquor store reported that they have seven bottles, so I should have time to put back a little money for the purchase. I do want to have some of it on hand.

The Hirsch 10 YO, while still subdued compared to most bourbons, needed the company of its Canadian comrades to be at its best. The rye spice emerged and played a nice little tune for me.

As to the Forty Creek, it doesn't hold up well against either of the others in my opinion.........a bit too mild for my palate. I tried a 50/50 mixture of Forty Creek and Hirsch 10 YO and it helped the Forty Creek, but not the Hirsch.
Do not go gentle into that good night,
Old age should burn and rage at close of day;
Rage, rage against the dying of the light. - Dylan Thomas
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Unread postby gillmang » Mon Nov 27, 2006 4:37 pm

Excellent notes, thanks very much!

I too tasted some Canadian whisky recently. I had the regular rye whisky from Alberta Distillers (which Mike Veach quite liked when he tasted it in Louisville recently). I find this much improved from a couple of years ago, less raw ethanol-tasting and with more depth and subtlety. Against this I had Three Grain, from the company which also makes Barrel Select. And finally, the new "Bourbon Cask" whisky from Gibson's (made at Schenley's plant in Valleyfield, Quebec I understand).

All were good and quite different.

I like Barrel Select but to kick it up a notch I'd add a dash of Rittenhouse BIB or any older straight rye.

You could do the same for the others too.

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