Amongst all Canadian Whiskies, J.P. Wiser’s, which is distilled at the Hiram Walker Distillery in Windsor Ontario, has some of the most devoted of followers. In this piece we’ll look at the Top 5 W.P. Wiser’s Whiskies available today (if you’re luck enough to stumble upon one).
Whisky Flashback
I just spun the time wheel. It’s kind of like the Wheel of Fortune only it has years instead of dollar amounts. Waiting… waiting… oh. It landed in 1825. So, what happened in 1825? Well, Alexandre Dumas had his first sword duel. He lost. There was the Decembrist Revolution in Russia. Charles X was coronated King of France. He would end up being the last of the Bourbons to sit on the throne. Oh, and Isaac and Mary welcomed their newborn son, John Phillip, into the world…
John Phillip Wiser
A quick spin of the time wheel sees J.P., shortly after getting married, moving to Prescott Ontario to work for his uncle. One last spin. Ok – it’s presently right now. J.P. certainly wasn’t one who would let the grass grow under his feet. He had his hands in ranching and manufacturing. He was elected to the Canadian Parliament as a representative for Leeds-Grenville area. One more little thing: J.P.’s uncle’s farm also was home to the Charles Payne Distillery. Eventually J.P. would take it over.
Was it a good decision?
It turned out to be a Wiser one than J.P could have expected (my apologies for taking two paragraphs to get to a bad dad whisky pun).
By 1893, J.P. was introducing his whisky at the Chicago World’s Fair. Seven years later, Wiser’s whisky was being sold around the world. And, by the time the (temporary) Income Tax Act was passed, the four biggest tax contributors were Canada’s four biggest whisky distilleries. Yup, that included Wiser’s.
Eventually, Wiser’s merged with Corby which eventually was bought by Pernod Ricard.
The Wiser Choice
Today, Wiser’s as well as Pike Creek, Godderham & Worts, and Lot No. 40 whiskies are made in the Hiram Walker Distillery, also owned by Pernod in Windsor – all made under the watchful eye of Master Blender and Canadian Whisky Doctor, Don Livermore. That’s not figuratively by the way, Don has his PhD in brewing and distilling from Heriot Watt University.
Master Blender Dr. Don Livermore
Well, we’ve enjoyed a few sips of history in word form. Let’s enjoy a little more history in liquid form, shall we? With that, I give you:
The Five After Five: Top 5 J.P. Wiser’s Whiskies:
5.
J.P. Wiser’s Last Barrels
45.0% ABV
This was part of Wiser’s Rare Cask series and was exclusively released in Ontario. It’s a bourbon style, last batch 14 year old whisky that was created using the American sour mash approach.
4.
J.P. Wiser’s 22 Year Old Port Cask Finish
66.0% ABV
Cask strength goodness that enjoyed some quiet time in French oak casks and Port casks.
3.
J.P. Wiser’s Legacy
45.0% ABV
A pot still rye blend, it’s been released a couple of times and right now, it currently isn’t in production. However, a friend with a bottle of Legacy on their shelf is another option…
2.
J.P. Wiser’s 35 Year Old
50.0% ABV
While not the oldest Canadian whisky, it is Wiser’s oldest so far. And it’s bottled at 50% abv – so you don’t need hearing aids to pick up what this whisky is saying.
1.
J.P. Wiser’s Red Letter
45.0% ABV
Originally released in the mid 1800’s, Red Letter made its return in 2007. The current release is a 15 year old whisky aged in new oak casks.
And So…
Suggesting only five whiskies from a renowned Master Blender as Don Livermore isn’t quite fair. You could enjoy one from the NHL Alumni Series as well as the various Northern Border Collections he has created featuring limited releases for Lot No. 40, Gooderham and Worts and Pike Creek.
A few of the releases from Wiser’s NHL Alumni Series
Then again, we just created two more Five After Five lists. I could start working on the next one now. Nah, relax tonight and tackle it tomorrow.
After all, you know what they say: early to bed, early to Wise.
[Note – that last sentence was my definitely my groaniest bad dad whisky pun… so far, anyway]
– Renaud Timson
Renaud Timson resides in Ottawa, Canada and likes to refer to himself as a “whisky enjoyist”. He is a certified Whisky Ambassador, accredited by the Scottish Whisky Association and his wallet has membership cards to The Scotch Malt Whisky Society of Canada, Ontario Whisky Quarterly and The Ottawa Whisky Guild.
On the non-whisky side, he’s a dad of six adult kids: three with two legs and three with four legs. He has some whiskies that are older than his kids.
He can be reached at renaudtimson@gmail.com.
