Hiram Walker

Lot 40 11 Year Cask Strength

In the autumn of 2017, Corby Spirit and Wine Limited announced the Northern Border Collection Rare, a premium range of Canadian whiskies that serves as a big departure from the core brands many international consumers associate with Canada (Canadian Club, Crown Royal, J.P. Wiser’s) by focusing on smaller brands within their portfolio ripe for promotion. The series is essentially among the best offered by Hiram Walker Distillery and cultivated by their Master Blender, Dr. Don Livermore, to showcase a different aspect of Canadian whiskies along with an elevation to the regular Northern Border Collection. The Lot 40 11 Year Cask Strength is their 2018 edition and is made from 100% rye and, if it is treated anything like the regular Lot 40, it is column-distilled and then put through a pot still to smooth out the rough edges.

By Adam | May 20, 2021 | Foreign | No Comments |

The original Lot No. 40 was released by Corby Distributors in the late 90s under the Canada Whisky Guild series but discontinued it a few years after the turn of the century. Because of the small window of release and amount produced, bottles of it became rare and highly sought after. The brand was reintroduced in 2012 as a premium rye and has continued ever since to great acclaim. Unlike some Canadian whiskies called ryes, Lot 40 is made of 90% rye and 10% malted rye. Nothing that isn’t rye, in other words! Lot No. 40 supposedly refers to a plot of land in Ontario that was the home of Joshua Booth, a Canadian pioneer and politician, and an ancestor of one of Hiram Walker’s distillers. Recently, Hiram Walker has released a cask strength Lot No. 40, which quickly sold out its initial first run.

By Adam | December 26, 2017 | Foreign | No Comments |

J. P. Wiser was a Canadian businessman in the late 1800s who went about building a spirits company centered around whisky. A lot of the mythology around Wiser involves the dedication to the craft of making whisky, specifically that the time it takes to mature is more than worth it. Wiser’s company has been bought and sold a few times since he founded it and the brand is now part of the Hiram Walker portfolio, which in turn is part of the Pernod Ricard conglomerate. As with many, though not all, Canadian whiskies, any information about the blend or maturation is very difficult to come by.

By Adam | October 5, 2017 | Foreign | No Comments |