Forty Creek

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Forty Creek

Written by Candiss Everett

Tuesday, 08 June 2010 12:22

June 2010 - Monthly Feature - Forty Creek

Forty Creek Whiskies have been inspired by my passion to create New World Whiskies that, with time, will establish their own legacy. As a first generation whisky maker, I am not so bound by tradition as I am inspired by it....

The Making of Great Canadian Whiskey:

The making of whiskies involves the same basic process.

Grains are selected and milled. Water is added to the grains and the grains are cooked. The starch in the grain is converted to sugar. Yeast is added to the sugar-rich mixture and allowed to ferment. The yeast converts sugar into alcohol and carbon dioxide. Once fermented, the mash is distilled, sometimes more that once.

The resulting spirit is aged in oak barrels for varying lengths of time, sometimes blended before ageing, sometimes blended after ageing and then finally bottled.

By law, Canadian Whisky must spend at least 3 years ageing in oak barrels.

“Despite what others have written elsewhere over a great many years, the making of whisky is not a difficult task. The making of good whisky however, is another matter entirely.”

Forty Creek Barrel Select is distilled in small batches in our copper pot still and patiently aged in white oak barrels hand-picked for their unique characteristics. A selection of light, medium and heavy char barrels create a richness and toasted earthiness in the spirit. Vintage sherry casks impart a subtle complexity. This unique barrel selection process results in a whisky where aromas of honey, vanilla and apricot fuse with toasty oak, black walnut and spice. The flavour is rich & bold.

Forty Creek Double Barrel Reserve Whisky

A Word from John on his Double Barrel.

A few years ago, I had an opportunity to purchase some outstanding “First Run” bourbon barrels from Kentucky. Bourbon Whisky makers in the USA are regulated to always use a new American White Oak barrel. A “First Run” bourbon barrel is a barrel that has been only used once for aging bourbon.

These barrels are excellent for aging whiskies because they are “seasoned”. This means most of the fresh harsh oak tannins have been removed by the bourbon and what remains is all the good stuff, such as the softer oak tannins, wood vanillas, sugars and the toasty, smokey, spicy aromas as well as the caramelized aromas and flavours from the heavy charring of the barrel.

Double Barrel. For a Reason.

I decided to Double Barrel my aged Forty Creek Whisky stocks. Instead of blending the rye, the barley & the corn whiskies, rounding in sherry casks, and finally bottling, as we do Forty Creek Barrel Select, I blended the three aged whiskies and then re-barreled them in “First Run” bourbon barrels.

Since my whiskies had already been aged, I didn’t want to distract from the taste I had already achieved. My intent was to complement the existing taste and therefore I needed barrels without fresh harsh oak tannins. The characteristics of the “First Run” bourbon barrels were just what I was looking for. These barrels would enhance the existing tastes of Forty Creek and take the whisky to another level. The added bonus would
be allowing all three whiskies time to mellow, and get to know each other in the same barrel.

Tasting Notes

Forty Creek Double Barrel has a wonderful golden roasted aroma filled with deep vanilla notes and highlighted with toasted spice, pecan and walnuts. There is a caramelized creaminess to the flavour with a rich spice that lifts it off the tongue. The finish is extra smooth, mellow and extra long.

Each bottle is individually numbered.

I hope you enjoy this Double Barrel Whisky as much as I do.

Thank you for your support.

John Hall, Whisky Maker

Last Updated ( Tuesday, 08 June 2010 12:36 )

Newsletter

June 2010 - Monthly Feature - Forty Creek

Forty Creek Whiskies have been inspired by my passion to create New World Whiskies that, with time, will establish their own legacy. As a first generation whisky maker, I am not so bound by tradition as I am inspired by it....

By law, Canadian Whisky must spend at least 3 years ageing in oak barrels.“Despite what others have written elsewhere over a great many years, the making of whisky is not a difficult task. The making of good whisky however, is another matter entirely.”

By law, Canadian Whisky must spend at least 3 years ageing in oak barrels.

“Despite what others have written elsewhere over a great many years, the making of whisky is not a difficult task. The making of good whisky however, is another matter entirely.”