J.P. Wiser’s, Canada No. 1 Whisky brand has made its debut into the Australian market with four expressions, J.P. Wiser’s Triple Barrel, J.P. Wiser’s 18 Year Old, and sub-brands Lot No. 40 and Pike Creek.
The brand which is the latest addition to the Pernod Ricard Australia portfolio was established in Canada in 1857 and to mark the launch in the Australian market, Master Blender Don Livermore visited Sydney where the launch was held at the Whisky Room at the Clock Hotel.
Don Livermore
Don Livermore has been a Master Blender with the company for 19 years, starting as a microbiologist and obtaining a PhD in brewing and distilling. According to Livermore, Canadian whisky is the most innovative and versatile with a few laws that define it while not being too restrictive. The whiskies are mainly double distilled and are made up of either a single column distilled spirit, double column distilled spirit, or a combination of column and pot distilled spirits.
At the launch, we sat down with Don Livermore for a private tasting. Below are our tasting notes of the JP Wiser’s range soon to be available in Australia on premise and off premise:
JP Wiser’s Range
J.P. Wiser’s Triple Barrel
J.P. Wiser’s Triple Barrel (40% ABV) is the flagship brand, made of corn, rye and barley with an emphasis on spice. Each grain is fermented, distilled and aged separately and the liquid is aged between 5 and 9 years. Virgin oak is used for maturation along with first fill bourbon barrels and Canadian whisky barrels. The whisky starts sweet on the nose and palate and leads on to vanilla with a nutty character. The finish is short to medium with a burst of spice from the rye. The whisky is best suited to cocktails such as the Old Fashioned and Manhattan.
J.P. Wiser’s Triple Barrel is available in 700ml at RRP $49.99 AUD.
J.P. Wiser’s 18 Year Old
J.P. Wiser’s 18 Year Old (40% ABV) is double distilled creating a lighter style of aged whisky using Canadian barrels. The whisky is surprisingly not wood forward on the nose for its age and retains a fresh and bright note of fresh pine. The palate is rich and mature with loads of caramel, vanilla and toffee with a medium finish that ends with a little spice. This whisky is best for sipping rather than cocktails.
J.P. Wiser’s 18 Year Old is available in 750ml at RRP $94.99 AUD.
Lot No. 40
Lot No. 40 (43% ABV) is made from 100% rye aged between 5 and 9 years in 100% virgin oak. The nose starts a little underwhelming with fruity and floral notes before it develops in the glass. The front palate is light but full on flavour in the mid and back palate and finishes long with rye spices. The whisky is good to sip on its own and adds a spicy character to cocktails.
Lot No. 40 is available in 750ml at RRP $79.99 AUD.
Pike Creek
Pike Creek (40% ABV) is double distilled from 100% corn, aged for 10 years then finished in Port casks for a minimum of 100 days. The whisky bears a red hue in the glass and is characterised by sweet dried fruits along with spice and vanilla sweetness and toffee with a lingering finish. The liquid has been designed to be smooth on the palate, an after dinner sipper, a style that would appeal to a Cognac drinker.
Pike Creek is available in 750ml at RRP $64.99 AUD.
Photography © by Kevin Burke for Gourmantic – Copyright: All rights reserved.
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