Barnburner Union Whisky (43%)

At some point along our tortured Trump-era timeline, Maverick Distilling managed to score 40 casks of bourbon from Bardstown, Kentucky, which an educated guess would place as being from the Bardstown Bourbon Company, who are custom whiskey producing specialists as well as being pretty good bourbon distillers in their own right. Oakville, Ontario-based Maverick has bottled much of this as Barnburner Prohibition Release Kentucky Distilled Whiskey.

How you feel about the ethics of sidestepping the American booze boycott is your own decision to make – personally, I waffle back and forth, on the one hand not wanting to support anything American, yet on the other thinking about how so many US craft distilleries got their start aging and bottling Canadian whisky. But since the company sent me a bottle, I can confirm that it’s a nice if slightly overly assertive whiskey, stylistically sitting somewhere between Jim Beam Black and Knob Creek. (Bottles are available through the distillery’s website.)

Union is, as its name implies, a blend of sourced Canadian whisky and the aforementioned bourbon, mixed at 75% Canadian – Maverick’s own Barnburner Ontario Whisky – and 25% bourbon. It was created in collaboration with Kyle Smith of Gorman & Smith Beverage Equipment and recent graduate of the famed Scottish brewing and distilling university, Heriot-Watt. (Congratulations, Kyle!)

As might be expected, the nose is far more Canadian than it is American, with only a mild waft of the charred barrel notes that signal the bourbon and far more a gentle and polite Canadian caramel with some grassy-herbal notes, hints of toasted coconut, and a spiced pear fruitiness.

The American quadrant asserts itself more on the palate, with charred wood and vanilla notes much more prominent, mixed with notes of caramel, cooked peaches, soft nutmeg and cinnamon, baked pear, and a peppery spice note rising towards the off-dry finish.

To my palate, this is a superior overall whisky to the Prohibition Release, with greater complexity and balance. I have enjoyed sipping it on its own, with or without ice, but for most people it is probably best suited to mixology, perhaps in a Toronto cocktail, highball, or a Boulevardier made with half sweet and half dry vermouth.

86 ($45 from the distillery store)