This Canadian whisky by Great Plains in Calgary, Alberta is one of those releases that doesn’t quite know what to call itself by.
The website refers to it as ‘Great Plains 18 Year Old – Jerez Brandy Finish’, but the label on the front of the bottle reads almost like one of those ‘Live Love Laugh’ signs you’d see hanging is someone’s suburban kitchen.
Name fail aside – this is one helluva whisky.
It features a 17 year old whisky sourced from the now-defunct Old Potter’s Distillery in Kelowna, British Columbia (a blend of 91.5% Corn, 8.5% Rye), that’s been custom finished by Great Plains for “12 Long Months” in select vintage Brandy de Jerez casks from Spain. Bottled at cask strength and un-chill filtered with no coloring, this is a sophisticated, elegant liquid.
SHELF APPEAL RATING (Note: does not count toward final rating, out of 5):
APPEARANCE: Clear. Golden honey.
NOSE: Very bright; peaches, figs, sweet tobacco, caramel and powdery vanilla.
PALATE: Quite mouth coating and syrupy, which is immediately redolent of the syrup of canned peaches. Cinnamon, nutmeg and English sponge toffee are followed up by creamy vanilla custard, oak and the slippery sweetness of brandy.
FINISH: Exceptionally long and sweet, yet somewhat drying. Bitter dark chocolate and Arabica coffee mingles with a mild astringency of rubber cork (though the cork used is a traditional cork, top to bottom). Post-finish, the chest throbs with a centralized warmth directly under the ribcage.
ABV: 54.5%
AGE: 18 years
CASK(S): Ex-bourbon, ex-Jerez brandy
ENJOY: Neat or with a little water.
RATING:
The Great Plains 18 Year is proof positive that applying a strategic finishing method to a mature Canadian whisky can work wonders – even if the blend is comprised of primarily a corn-based whisky.”
Conclusions
There’s no valid ‘sourced whisky stigma’ that’s applicable here.
This is a very elegant pour from start to finish. The Great Plains 18 Year is proof positive that applying a strategic finishing method to a mature Canadian whisky can work wonders – even if the blend is comprised of primarily a corn-based whisky. I also love the artificial excise tax strip that was strategically placed over the cork for effect. Well done. Of course, the lone, slight drawback to the entire experience is the slight essence of a rubber cork I detect on the palate, which I also found evident in Bearface Triple Oak Canadian Whisky. But don’t let that deter you…
After the exceptionally long finish, not to be missed is the wonderful warming chest throb at emanates directly underneath the sternum.
Who knows, for you yoga lovers, maybe it’s my Heart Chakra…
…And For Those So Inclined: A Recommended Cigar Pairing
Pair the Great Plains 18 Year Jerez Brandy Cask Finish with the Arturo Fuente Flor Fina 8-5-8 Maduro cigar.
The spicy sweetness of the oily Maduro Cameroon wrapper (actually grown in Cameroon, not elsewhere as it is these days from Cameroon seed) on this medium-bodied cigar wonderfully compliments the brandy sweetness of the whisky and the spicy tingle from the small rye component from within the blend.
See more Canadian Whisky reviews
– Kurt Bradley
Kurt Bradley is the founder of The Gentleman’s Flavor, to which he is also a contributing editor, host and curator.
Kurt is a certified Whisky Ambassador accredited by The Scotch Whisky Association and has achieved Level 2 Award in Wine & Spirits Education Trust with distinction.
He lives in Toronto, Ontario.
