Loaded with rye spices, dark fruits, wet slate, sweet spices and hot gingery pepper. Sweet, crisp and slightly pulling. Develops a gorgeous lasting glow in your mouth and maintains breadth and complexity long into the finish. Some crisp barrels notes with fruity overtones – prunes, red grapes, dried apples and grapefruit. Lovely barrel tones with just a hint of silky tannins. ★★★★★

When James Gooderham Worts and his uncle, William Gooderham began distilling whisky early in the 1830s, they could not have known they would have a key role in turning an inhospitable territory into a prospering nation. Distilling was, after all, a sideline to their intended trade: milling flour. However, in the decades before Confederation, their distillery paid more taxes to what would become the government of Canada, than any other enterprise in the land.

So, it is fitting that when the Centennial of Canada’s Confederation rolled around in 1967, Hiram Walker & Sons, which owned Gooderham & Worts distillery and brand, celebrated by releasing this 15 year old beauty. It was so well received that they continued to make it for at least a decade after Centennial celebrations had passed. LCBO’s price of $8.00 a bottle was certainly no bargain in 1971when this bottle was purchased but it was well worth every penny.

Rye notes resonate from a rich vanilla toffee base. Think cloves, nutmeg, citrus fruits, hints of prunes and dried apples. A blazing example of the blenders art.

Collectible and desirable. ★★★★★