You can thank Dave Broom for all of this. “This” being the Spokane Whiskey Club’s periodic focus on Canadian whisky. Canadian whisky as a category has responded well in terms of growth and style in recent years, but only after a century of existing somewhere at the bottom popularity wise. Consequently, most introductory whisky books (and the most popular ones) did not see Canadian whisky as worthy to sit among the big three of Scotch, Bourbon and Irish. But the World Atlas of Whisky by Dave Broom, thank you very much, felt it was just fine to feature Canadian Whisky without even blinking. If it is good enough for Dave Broom, then it is good enough for me, and if you have something to say you can go ahead and park it sideways. Anyways, his book was the first whisky tome I purchased, and therefore shaped how I viewed the drink. To me, Canadian whisky, despite occasional evidence to the contrary, is getting not just bigger but better. On to today’s selection.

Pike Creek is one among a whole new grouping of premium Canadian whisky that is driving the category with double digit sales increases at present. We have written about how this is working with whiskies like Lot 40 and so on, so we will move past that discussion. Pike Creek is another bottling launched by Corby Distillers and distilled at Hiram Walker. This particular expression is a re-launched version originally from the 1990s. This “single distillery” whisky is double distilled in copper column stills, matured in first fill ex bourbon casks and then finished in port pipes. It’s a 10 year old in Canada, 7-8 years NAS here in the states. On to our review…

SWC Group Review

Nose- Dessert in a glass – maple, brown sugar, toffee and caramel. Charred oak. Candy corn, honey. Peaches and almonds. Big.
Taste- Sweet (shocking, I know) with grapefruit. Creamy liquer feel. The port seems to give it body and heft.
Finish- Grapefruit pith. Pie crust, fades to sour. Medium length.
Comments- Straight forward dessert whisky. Doesn’t remotely approach any interesting complexity apart from the sweetness, but it doesn’t have any rough edges either. Sits well in a tumbler, not much fun in a tasting glass. For the sweet tooth in you.

SWC Rating – 78/100

-Tasted Blind

Agree? Disagree? Let us know in the comments section below.

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