Dark fruits, butter tarts, baking spices and ripe fall fruit in a complex, elegant whisky, warmed by the glow of real black pepper. Silky, rich, mouthfilling and beautifully balanced.

The year 1858 was a long time ago. Canada wasn’t even a nation when Hiram Walker began making whisky just outside Windsor, Ontario. Walker had been a grain dealer in Detroit, and while most Canadian distillers were mashing wheat, he preferred a blend of corn and rye. That is the same blend of grains used to make Canadian Club today, just as it was in 1977 when this 40-year-old beauty was distilled. Oh, it is gorgeous whisky. One of the finest I have ever tasted, anywhere.

The Canadian Club trademark dark fruits announce an elegant, beautifully balanced whisky with tremendous complexity and breadth of flavour. Hints of butter tarts, gentle cloves, nutmeg and other baking spices, and ripe purple plums are interlaced with the warming glow of real black pepper. After 40 years in barrels, the most refined oaky tones bring silky structure to the whisky, while avoiding the woodiness so common in long-aged whisky. Black pepper notes remain brisk and invigorating yet carefully constrained, from the middle right into the long elegant finish.

CC40 is a masterful achievement and a real tribute to the Canadian whisky style. Canadian Club: you’ve knocked it out of the park.

$250 across Canada only.

Very highly recommended. ★★★★★