Gooderham & Worts Four Grain Canadian Whisky

Gooderham Grain Canadian Whisky celebrates the history behind a Toronto grist mill and distillery which first produced whisky in 1837. It closed in 1990, but at its height was producing over 2 million liters of whisky a year, which at the time was half the production in the whole of Canada. This whisky was first released in the late 90’s as part of the failed Canadian Whisky Guild Series along with Lot 40 and Pike Creek.

Gooderham Grain Canadian Whisky is a blended whisky, based on the historical style of the original. The four grain expression contains corn, barley, rye and wheat, all distilled separately in a combination of pot and column stills.  The components are then aged in both virgin oak and ex-bourbon barrels before blending. The final blend is bottled at 44.4%, a higher proof than is typical of Canadian whisky.

Nose:

Very sweet up front, somewhat floral, and surprisingly fruity for the relatively high ABV.  Notes of pear, cherries, oranges, peaches and apricots. Bubble-gum too. There’s a sweet creamy texture to the aromas, like condensed milk or creamed wheat, which is quite distinctive.

Palate:

A real Canadian rye blend, through and through. The sweet floral and fruity notes show up first (and that bubble-gum again), then waves of the classic rye “baking spices” of cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg and all-spice. These notes really dominate and persist for a good while, drowning out almost everything else in the blend.

Finish:

Medium long, with cinnamon hearts and cloves all the way to the end – a very nice spicy finish. Somewhat drying on the tongue, there is a bit of the wheat sweetness persisting for a good while as well.