Sweet flowers and heady green fruits, barrel tones, unlit cigar, sweet grain, soft and sweet then brisk and glowing on the tongue. A basket of fall fruits and a glowing spicy mouthfeel. Peppery going down with hints of hay and green grass. Soft waxy finish. ★★★★★

The longest-aged whisky Wiser’s has ever released and it is truly a stunning beauty. High abv corn spirit distilled more than 35 years ago has sat gently maturing in well-used ex-bourbon barrels and the result is as you would expect.

The blend also includes just under 10% of column and pot distilled rye aged in virgin oak barrels. Loaded with high esters – fruits and flowers – with clean crisp barrel notes that support without intruding on a palate that is remarkably complex even for whisky this old.

Buttery, almost creamy on the palate, it never loses its brisk peppery edge. After a cornucopia of fall fruit and lush summer hay it settles into a peppery but waxy long and vaguely sweet finish. Several minutes after sipping it, your mouth is still telling you that you have experienced the dram to hold all others up to.

Making whisky from just one type of spirit requires great blending skills. Not every barrel will age the same and Don Livermore and his team at Hiram Walker distillery have done a remarkable job in creating this tightly balanced blend. Oh this is good stuff, possibly the best whisky you have ever tasted.

This is one of four Rare Releases for 2017 in the Northern Border Collection.

★★★★★ Very highly recommended. Do not miss this one – it will sell out quickly.

$164.95 at LCBO. Price subject to verificationwhen it is released in October 2017.