Patent 5 The Dominion Express (45%)
When I was in Winnipeg last month for the Winnipeg Whisky Festival – one of the best such events in Canada, btw – I took the opportunity to pay a visit to the Patent 5 Distillery. One of only two distilleries operating in Winnipeg, Patent 5 was only just getting started when Christine Sismondo and I wrote our distilleries guide, Canadian Spirits, in 2019, but Christine, who handled research on the Prairie provinces, voiced optimism about what owner Brock Coutts was doing in the Manitoba capital’s downtown.
Having visited and tasted numerous Patent 5 whiskies, I’m much more than merely optimistic. I’m positively enthusiastic!
The Dominion Express is Patent 5’s flagship whisky and it’s a interesting one. Rather than going the corn base, 100% rye, or single malt route, Coutts has instead chosen to emphasize unmalted barley in its recipe, combining 63% of it with 15% malted barley and 22% wheat. This is a sufficiently unusual path that, after sampling the whisky, the conversation among myself, Coutts, and head distiller Ben Graham revolved around the best way to communicate the whisky’s uniqueness to a drinking public who may still be wrapping their heads around the idea of malted barley, much less the impact of the unmalted stuff.
Regardless of how its character is communicated, however, this is a whisky very much worth getting to know!
The Dominion Express sports a deep gold colour and offers a rich and fruity caramel aroma discernable from the moment the spirit hits the glass. The nose suggests single malt, as you might expect of a whisky made from over three-quarters barley, but boasts the sort of roundness and richness found in very few such whiskies. Peach and orange fruitiness are certainly present, as is caramel and toffee, with it all coming together in a manner than reminds me a bit of sticky toffee pudding and a bit of bread pudding slathered in peach or apricot sauce.
The palate entry is similarly rich, gently sweet, and fruity, with cooked stone fruit and caramel notes. On the mid-palate, however, a drying tendency takes hold, with the fruitiness becoming more fresh and eventually even dried fruit and the caramel veering towards floral honey. This trajectory continues on the finish, which grows more oaky with dry vanilla, hints of lemon zest, and very soft spice notes.
On the whole, this is an intriguing whisky that I believe would both fascinate and delight any sort of whisky drinker, from 100% rye fans to single malt aficionados.
88 ($90 from the distillery with free shipping on orders over $150)
