New Wiser's Pot Still Rye

[gillmang]

Just out in Ontario is Wiser's Legacy, advertised on the label as a pot still rye whisky. It is 45% ABV. No age statement. Corby bought Wiser's in the 1930's and itself later became part of Hiram Walker or controlled by it I believe. I am not sure now who owns the Corby brands, maybe Beam Global or Pernod Ricard (I think the latter). They are produced at the historical Hiram Walker plant in Windsor, Ontario.

The whisky has a mildy spicy nose, quite different, as is the taste, from straight rye, or bourbon for that matter. The taste is very full for Canadian whisky, with noticeable accents of mint, beeswax and spice/rosewater you don't normally get in Canadian whisky. It has a sweetish, maple-like flavour which wraps around the said spices and flowers. The label states it is a blend which I would think means different rye whiskies were combined. These might be whiskies of different ages, or some made from malted rye and some from unmalted rye. I don't get new charred wood character here. Some of the components may be so aged, but I would think ex-bourbon barrels were the main cooperage used. This likely explains the varying character from a U.S. straight.

I would think part at least of what is in the bottle derives from malted rye. Legacy has a relative mildness, akin to single malts, which may derive from that. Lot 40, an earlier pot still release from Corby, was apparently a combination of malted rye and unmalted rye whiskies. IMO, Legacy is much better: clearly older with better flavours and development.

It is an excellent product and stands on its own merits. To describe the taste to those familiar with U.S. products, it is something like a cross between a good regular Canadian whiskey and Handy rye or maybe the younger Sazerac rye (neither of which has a big charred character), with a touch of rosewater added. But the pot still character is still very evident.

Kudos to Corby for releasing another pot still whisky and presumably another of its flavouring whiskies (or something close to them), as urged for many years by consumer writers and whisky devotees.



Gary

[Mike]

I have an eye out for this whiskey, but no luck in finding it so far. I have seen a couple of other Wiser whiskies on the shelf but was unsure as to whether to try them.