Spirit of York 100% Rye Whisky (46%)

When Toronto’s Distillery District first opened as a shopping, arts, culture, and tourism destination, it struck some people as a bit odd that while the District did boast a brewery, the then-independent Mill Street Brewing, it lacked any distilling. It was a curious state of affairs which continued until that original brewery, by then owned by Anheuser-Busch InBev, opened their distillery-containing Beer Hall.

With Mill Street’s Beer Hall more restaurant than bar and its distillery initially focused on such somewhat marginal products as its various forms of bierschnaps, however, it took a further few years until what many – yours truly included – considered the District’s first truly dedicated distillery finally opened up. That distillery was Spirit of York.

As Christine Sismondo and I reported in Canadian Spirits, Spirit of York at first focused on producing unaged white spirits, as do many such start-up distilleries, while “quietly laying down whisky to age.” One of those whiskies, now a distillery mainstay, is this 100% Rye.

Rich gold in colour, the rye grain is immediately evident on the nose of this unapologetically assertive whisky, with loads of peppery spice joining toffee, toasted oak, and baked apple aromas accented by hints of nutmeg. The palate entry is gently sweet and unexpectedly creamy, with caramel and apple notes prominent, supported by a light herbaceousness. On the mid-palate, it grows drier, although still somewhat creamy and sweet, with a growing spiciness, hints of canned apricots, some light but apparent oaky notes, and a bit of charred wood, all ending as it began, with peppery spice lingering on the tongue.

The distillery suggests serving this whisky cold and/or on ice, presumably to temper its spiciness. So I tried it with a single ice cube and found the experience to be at once similar and quite different.

As I anticipated, the peppery character of the whisky is muted almost throughout the drinking experience when cold, with the nose more oaky with vanilla accents and the flavour a bit sweeter, more appley, and with a slight tannic quality not immediately in evidence when the whisky is served neat. Not even ice can tamp down the peppery spice on the finish, though, which I view as very much a good thing.

For those who love the full-on character of a 100% rye whisky distilled entirely in a traditional pot still – as opposed to many Canadian 100% ryes which combine pot and column distillation in order to moderate the impact of the grain – I suggest enjoying this neat or in a carefully measured Manhattan. If you are more a typical Canadian whisky drinker, however, by all means follow the distillery’s advice and add a cube or two to your glass.

Either way, aside from cocktail hour enjoyment, this is very much a whisky that partners well with rare to medium rare beef, particularly a charcoal-grilled rib steak.     

79 ($65)