When I was in Toronto in September 2017, I happened to pass by the old Gooderham  + Worts distillery from 1837, right in old downtown Toronto. While the original facility is no longer operational, Corby’s distillery has picked up the mantle to produce the blended whisky under the guidance of master blender Dr. Don Livermore.

Naturally that meant a bottle had to make its way back to India for an all Canadian whisky evening.

So what did we think?

Gooderham + Worts Four Grains Canadian Whisky 44.4% 

• Nose – Quite closed, muted, powder, lemon, grains, dry dusty cereals
• Palate – Sweet then bitter, oddly ‘flat’
• Finish – Bitter
• Water – Made it quite palatable, very sweet and revealed cinnamon candy

Hmm… we tried… we really tried… but this whisky just wasn’t talking to us.

What did I do? Offered it at a social occasion and it was a complete hit. Add a splash of chilled water, ice and voila! It was such a favourite I barely snatched it away before the last drop was drained…

So the verdict is? A good blend for social occasions.

What else did we have in our “O Canada” 150th Celebration?

• Manitoba – Crown Royal Northern Harvest Rye 45%
• Ontario – Wayne Gretzky No 99 Red Cask Whisky 40%
• British Columbia – Shelter Point Single Malt Whisky 46%  (Batch 2, 2017)
• British Columbia – Barrel of Sunshine Liqueur 30%