Spirit in Niagara Mixed Mash Whisky (45%)
Like many rural Canadian distilleries, Spirit in Niagara was born of fruit farming, which the Lepp family have been doing in Niagara for four generations. It was Arnie, Lepp, however, who a bit over four years ago decided to add distilling to the family business, and thus Spirit in Niagara was born.
According to the distillery’s website, roughly 10% of Niagara-grown tender fruits are wasted each year, defined as peaches, nectarines, yellow plums, blue plums, pears, apricots, and cherries. That adds up to about 3,000 tonnes of fruit per year, which while unrelated to whisky production, does seem like an awful lot of waste. Spirit in Niagara, which operates a fruit packing and shipping company, as well, has access to what the website describes as “significant volumes” of this otherwise wasted fruit, which they turn into a gin and a vodka, as well as numerous fruit eaux-de-vie.
No fruit is used for their whiskies, of course, but Cabernet Sauvignon barrels are employed in the finishing of their Canadian Whisky, which is distilled from corn and aged three years in bourbon barrels prior to the wine cask finishing. It is available for $45 from the distillery store.
The Mixed Mash is, to my mind, more interesting, with a mash bill of 78% corn, 16% unmalted wheat, and, curiously, 6% unmalted rather than malted barley. (It is available at the LCBO as well as from the distillery store.) No finishing is declared, but the three years of aging is done in virgin oak barrels.
The aroma hints at the lightness and relative delicacy of the spirit, with a soft fruitiness elegantly overshadowed by floral and citrusy butterscotch notes. With its rather bourbon-esque mix of grains, one could be forgiven for expecting a bigger whisky in the glass, but in its lighter, more subtle character the Mixed Mash carries an impressive amount of character and complexity, with notes of baked pear, dark berries, light butterscotch, and vanilla all mingling on the palate, with a gently oaky spice on the finish.
While certainly in the same ballpark as a bourbon, this is a spirit true to Canadian traditions of subtlety and nuance. Fans of blended Canadian whiskies will not be disappointed, and Marker’s Mark drinkers presently denied their tipple will likewise find solace here.
82 ($50)
