Canadian Club 9-Year-Old Reserve Whisky Review

 

Hiram Walker is one of those names most people recognize. Born on July 4, 1816, in Massachusetts, he moved to Detroit at 22 and took a job as a grocery store clerk. As he learned the ins and outs of the grocery business, Walker saved enough money to purchase 468 acres of land on the other side of the Detroit River, near Windsor, Ontario. In 1858, he built the Hiram Walker & Sons Distillery on that land and also constructed the town around it, which he called Walkerville. Essentially, Walkerville was completely Walker’s design. Walkerville was incorporated in 1870 and then annexed by Windsor in 1935.

 

At first, Walker was making vinegar. He was also in the grain business, selling his stocks to local flour mills. Changing things up to producing whisky seemed almost natural.

 

His whisky was called Hiram Walker’s Club Whisky. He sold them in barrels bearing his brand’s name, which was remarkably different from how others marketed theirs. Most shipped unbranded barrels to grocers; this gave Walker’s an aura of poshness. His whisky became very popular both in Canada and the United States, and so much so in the United States that it was often the exclusive whisky of various gentlemen’s clubs, and soon, it was just referred to as Club Whisky.

 

At this point, American distillers took notice and were less than happy because it was negatively affecting Bourbon’s popularity. They complained to their representatives, and Congress passed a law requiring all foreign distillers to label their whisky with the country of origin. At that point, Club Whisky became Canadian Club and was the best-selling exported Canadian whisky.

 

When Prohibition passed in the United States, Canada followed suit with Ontario’s Liquor Control Act. While Canadians couldn’t publicly drink alcohol, there was nothing precluding the continued distillation and manufacturing of it. Smuggling across the Detroit River became the norm; 75% of the liquor illicitly distributed in the United States came through the US-Canadian border. Walker was loading up every boat he could find with jugs of Canadian Club, making it the most smuggled whisky in the United States.

 

Hiram Walker died in 1899, and his family continued to operate the distillery until 1926, when it was sold to Harry C. Hatch. Hatch’s son, Clifford, sold it to Allied Domecq in 1987, which then became part of Pernod Ricard SA. However, Canadian Club was acquired by Jim Beam and is today owned by Suntory Global Spirits.

 

Canadian Club has received royal warrants from Queen Victoria, King Edward VII, George V, George VI, and Queen Elizabeth II, and, interestingly, is the only North American distiller to have received such warrants.

 

That’s a lot of history to talk about Canadian Club 9-Year-Old Reserve. Aged for 50% more than the flagship Canadian Club 1858. It matured in recharred oak barrels and is packaged at 40% ABV (80°). It is still made at The Hiram Walker & Sons Distillery in Windsor. Canadian Club Reserve used to be aged 10 years, and allegedly taking off a year improved it. However, that doesn’t mean every whisky in the blend is only 9 years old; it’s just that the youngest one is.

 

I found a 750mL bottle for $16.99 at a Denver liquor store. Did I spend my money wisely? We’ll #DrinkCurious to find out.

 

• Whiskey Type: Canadian whisky
• Distiller: Hiram Walker & Sons Distillery
• Age: 9 years
• Mashbill: Undisclosed blend of corn, rye, rye malt, and barley malt
• Cooperage: Recharred vintage Bourbon barrels
• Alcohol Content: 40% ABV (80°)
• Price per 750mL: $16.99

 

Appearance: As e150A caramel coloring is allowed (and used), its deep, orange amber appearance isn’t indicative of anything. However, Canadian Club 9 produced a husky rim with widely spaced, fast, crazed tears.

 

Nose: I was taken aback by how fragrant this whisky was while I was waiting the 15 minutes for it to breathe. The air in my whiskey library was full of floral perfume. When I was ready to approach it, I smelled corn, toffee, floral rye, oak, tobacco leaf, and a slight hint of menthol. When I brought the vapor into my mouth, I found a healthy dose of vanilla.

 

Palate: Canadian Club 9 offered a massively creamy texture, with a rye-spice blast. With my second sip, I discovered corn, dark chocolate, and toffee on the front, with tobacco leaf, cocoa, and caramel on my mid-palate. The back was somewhat spicy, with dry oak, rye, and clove.

 

Finish: Cocoa, caramel, toffee, rye spice, and clove made for a mostly level, warm, and dry, albeit shorter, finish. The duration ran only 44 seconds.

 

Bottle, Bar, or Bust: Some of these low-proof Canadian whiskies punch way above their published weight, and I don’t mean they’re like drinking hot garbage.

 

Were I walking into this tasting blind, I’d guess that Canadian Club 9-Year-Old Reserve was closer to 45% ABV (90°), and ten points is a big deal! It had the smoothness that Canadian whisky fans lust over and went down easily despite that higher-proofed mirage. The only off-putting part of the whole ordeal was that tiny bit of menthol on the nose.

 

For only $17.00, you can’t go wrong with Canadian Club 9-Year-Old Reserve. It deserves my Bottle rating.

 

Final Thoughts: Between the 9- and 12-year expressions, I’d fall on the side of the latter, but only because it was a sweeter sipping experience. However, if you’re more into a Canadian Rye being, well, Rye-like, then you’d gravitate to the former. Both are respectable and very wallet-friendly. Cheers!

 

 

My Simple, Easy-to-Understand Rating System

• Bottle = Buy It
• Bar = Try It
• Bust = Leave It

 

Whiskeyfellow encourages you to enjoy your whiskey as you see fit, but begs you to do so responsibly.