Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/776532
1 14 / the tasting panel / january/february 2017 CATEGORY REPORT A 100 percent single pot still Canadian rye named for a plot of land once occupied by the whisky's retired Master Blender, Lot 40 screams its terroir from the mouth of the bottle. The distillery is positioned at the southernmost point in Canada, looking south at the city of Detroit, ensuring summers as hot as those in Kentucky, and across from the Great Lakes, which contribute to extreme temperature changes and intense winter winds; these conditions shape what lies in the barrel as the liquid and the new oak interact. Lot 40's award-winning liquid recently received 2015 Canadian Whisky of the Year at the Canadian Whisky Awards and Double Gold Best Canadian Rye Whisky at the 2016 San Francisco World Spirits Competition. Other accolades include being named one of the 50 Best Whiskies in the World. Pot-distilled in small batches of 100 percent unmalted rye, Lot 40 starts off earthy and woody with peppery rye announcing itself on the nose. The luscious palate remains soft and creamy as the flavor leads to full-bodied, complex spice and a soothing citrus and vanilla oak finish. "If you taste flowers, it comes from yeast; vanilla, from the barrels; clove, from rye," says Don Livermore, Master Blender, North American Whisky, Pernod Ricard USA. "We age it in brand new virgin oak barrels to develop the vanilla, caramel and toffee characters." The result: a Canadian whisky that is 100 percent rye where the heavier rye spices balance against the sweet caramel-toffee notes from barrels of the best quality. Lot 40's beautifully balanced spicy rye characteristics and sweeter notes from new oak barrels provide beautiful depth and complexity to classic cocktails like a Manhattan, Old Fashioned, Sazerac, Vieux Carré or a modern variation of a cocktail from the golden era of the '20s and '30s, when Canadian whisky was the biggest-selling category in the U.S. —Becky Tsadik LOT 40: A Rye on the Rise