Tired of the same old whiskey you find from your friend’s personal bar to your favorite hangouts? I have some good news by the name of Canadian Club Whiskey that I think many of you will appreciate. So far, it’s been available in every liquor store I’ve visited, but most hangouts don’t seem to allow my new Canadian friend a place at the bar. That doesn’t surprise me here in the South. We are proud southern folk, but damn! If we can start cheering for Georges “Rush” St-Pierre (who happens to be a mixed martial arts fighter from Canada), then maybe we can put the redneck juice aside for a while and try some of this stuff. It will get you drunk just the same, and it tastes pretty good too. Before I continue, here’s a little boring history and a few facts about this stuff.
Canadian Club Whiskey was founded in 1858 by Hiram Walker. The distillery originated in a town that was then known as Walkersville, Ontario. Today, the same distillery produces the Canadian Club brand whiskey in Windsor, Ontario across from Detroit, Michigan. Canadian Club blended whiskey comes in seven different varieties aged from five to ten years and distilled up to 100-proof. It is a blend of corn-distilled whiskey and rye, malt, and oat-distilled whiskey. This is a review of the Reserve, which is aged in white oak barrels for 10 years to a deep gold color and a strength of 80-proof. Okay, are you still with me? Well, hopefully this will wake you back up. STRIP CLUB! Since I’m going way back to the late 19th century, I’ll use the more politically correct word: GENTLEMEN’S CLUB! Why am I capitalizing these words, you may ask? It’s because I have the utmost respect for those beautiful ladies working hard trying to pay their way through college. Okay, let’s stay focused on the whiskey. Notice anything interesting? If not, that’s just fine. The word “Club” which happens to be part of the name of the Reserve has something in common with a thing we all love. It’s not a coincidence, either. Canadian Club Whiskey was the thing the gents drank while their wives thought they were hard at work. Contributing to a bright, educated future for those young ladies is a noble thing. I’m sure the wives would appreciate that. Speaking of ladies, I’d like to think they trimmed the hedges back then, but I kind of doubt it. I guess you can learn to love it if that’s all you know. Well, it’s time for the tasting…no pun intended.
As odd as it sounds, the first impression of scent from the BoozeBasher staff ranged from dirty corn to spicy fruit mixed with corn. When sampled straight, the general consensus was that the taste was much better than the smell. The taste provided an immediate sensation of spicy fruit followed by a slightly sour aftertaste. Overall, I thought it was surprisingly smooth without a strong, lingering aftertaste, but several of the crew members were not impressed and disliked the taste completely. Canadian Club Reserve on the rocks rendered a similar result, but it felt more refreshing with the lowered temperature. I personally recommend trying this stuff on the rocks before mixing because you just might like it. When mixed with Sprite and Coke, the whiskey provided a unique, fresh beverage that is great for sipping. It was a toss-up for the preferred mixer, but both of them took the slightly sour edge off and left a fresh, light taste of rye and malt with a hint of corn and spice. This time, the majority of the crew agreed that Canadian Club Reserve gave much better results.
After a long delay between the taste test and suffering through the worst case of stomach flu ever, I was finally ready to take on Canadian Club Reserve, one on one. It was rough being sick for a week and having the bottle stare me down day after day, so I was ready to get at it. I decided to used Sprite as the mixer because it happens to be my favorite from experience. Just two rounds into the fight, I was feeling quite good, and knowing that I didn’t have to work the next day made me want more. While drinking the tasty beverage and writing I couldn’t help but open a new browser and YouTube some Joe Satriani. The air guitar was jamming to “Surfing with the Alien.” My guitar skills seemed just fine until I made the mistake of watching that guy. It made me so sick that I haven’t picked up my guitar since. Several drinks later, I realized I was a bit drunk which was obvious to me due to a stupid grin I seem to wear, even when alone. I decided to throw in the towel and live to fight another day. Ten hours later when I awoke, I felt a little dehydrated but overall fine. This stuff gave me a very clean drunk, but if you decide to drink a little excessively, I don’t doubt this stuff will treat you any different than the rest. However, it’s only a matter of time before I find that out for myself, and I’m looking forward to it.
To sum things up, Canadian Club Reserve is like a decent-looking, educated, middle class girl that has a bunch of rich, stuck-up, hot friends. She tasted pretty good, she doesn’t treat you too bad, and she’s not high-maintenance. Not to mention, she’s foreign too. Compared to other similar whiskeys she’s very affordable, costing only around $17 after tax. That reasonable price will buy you a whiskey that’s aged for 10 years to a reserve quality. Canadian Club Reserve is pretty good stuff that is well worth its price to me, so I hope you give it a try. Let us know what you think.
Sipability - 6.0
Mixability - 6.5
Drunkability - 7.0
Hangover-ability - 6.5
Bang for the Buck - 10.0
Overall - 6.5 
Comments
Will be trying this stuff out, never popped that canadian whiskey cherry yet
question, I read somewhere that canadian whiskey has to be made from cereal grains, does that pertain just to the majority of the grains used like >
something went wrong, here goes nothing
“Will be trying this stuff out, never popped that canadian whiskey cherry yet
aside question, I read somewhere that canadian whiskey has to be made from cereal grains, does that pertain just to the majority of the grains used to make it, or does the whole thing have to be cereal-based?”
Good question. I don’t believe the whole thing is cereal based. Several sources mentioned the use of cereal along with other grains. I’m waiting on a reply from Canadian Club to confirm and I’ll post the info when I get it. Thanks for the question. Let us know when you pop the Canadian whiskey cherry.
i used to drink canadian whisky when i was a teen…cause it is so smooth and great for mixing….i drank alot of black velvet, canadian club and canadian mist.
From the source: the distillation process includes Corn, Rye , Rye malt, and Barley malt.
No mention of cereal.
no, those are indeed all cereal grains as I suspected
seems like they do have to
thanks for the info paco
I didn’t know those were considered cereal grains. Thank you.
yeah cereal just means any fruitseed yielding grass crop, and malt is just grain (any grain) that has been germinated then heated to stop germination in order to get a deeper flavor out of it, such is the recipe for all delicious single malt (only barley used of course, 100%)
I’ve consumed many a bottle of this stuff and prefer it over most Canadians. My usual drink is Crown Royal (gold bagged if I had a lucrative day) but I won’t hesitate to pick up a bottle of this Canadian Club Reserve if money is tight. It’s much smoother than the standard Canadian Club, and doesn’t seem as heavily “oaked” as the 12 year Canadian Club. This whiskey is one of my top 5 picks.
A buddy of mine has a bar, and I encouraged him to stock this stuff and recommend it to his patrons. To date he’s yet to find one that didn’t like it, and consider it a good value compared to Crown Royal which, by the way, no longer claims that it’s 10 years old.
Yep, it’s good stuff. I need another bottle! Haven’t had the 12 year yet. I imagine it’s pretty pricey but we’ll have to test it out.
I love Canadian Club Reserve!
It tastes great…much smoother then regular Canadian Club (6 yr. old).
Crown Royal hurts my stomach. Canadian Club Reserve does not. What does that mean? I don’t know but I’ll be drinking CCR for the rest of my life. Relatively inexpensive. Tastes great.
Vodkaman
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