Copyright The Whiskey Wash) Tasting Notes: Collingwood 21-Year-OldĪppearance: Also a deep, orangey amber – almost indistinguishable from Pendletons’ Director’s Reserve. So how does it stack up to the Pendleton Directors’ Reserve?Ĭollingwood 21-Year-Old. It’s said to impart a distinct smoothness and “new dimension of flavor,” and while it may be nothing more than the powers of suggestion talking, I do detect a distinct note of maple syrup in Collingwood 21-Year-Old. Where Tennessee distillers filter new-make through maple charcoal, this treatment is administered to already matured distillate. It reminds me, at least in some aspects, of the Lincoln County process used to make Tennessee whiskey. After full maturation, the whisky is then finished in a vat full of toasted maple staves. Collingwood 21-Year-Old, like the standard Collingwood blended release, is matured in used white oak casks. It’s distilled at the same plant in Collingwood, Ontario, that also gives the world Canadian Mist blended whisky. Located on the shores of Georgian Bay in Lake Huron, Collingwood is proud of the fact they use Great Lakes water to make their whisky, as well as their unusual approach to finishing. The Collingwood brand is owned by Brown-Foreman. But Collingwood is out to show you you that Canada’s national tree is good for more than just making great American whiskey. In North America, maple wood is usually associated with Tennessee. I also tasted another super-aged Canadian whisky: Collingwood 21-Year-Old. More balanced and better-integrated, this won’t disappoint Pendleton’s fans one bit. It’s like drinking the same whisky, only with the sugar and caramel notes turned down, and the spice and leather notes turned up. If you like the everyday Pendleton, you’ll love the Directors’ Reserve. The relationship between Pendleton Directors’ Reserve and Pendleton’s classic expression is quite direct. The smoke in the nose doesn’t really show through on the palate until the end, when there’s a subtle hint of char. Some classic whiskey flavors – sweet oak, caramel, vanilla, and a touch of cherry – mingle with a slightly funky undertone: oxidized lemon juice, wet saddle, and slightly bitter ground nutmeg. Palate: Intense, prickly cinnamon on the entry with a slightly powdery mouthfeel. Nose: Maybe it’s the power of suggestion, but I get notes of saddle leather, powdery dust, sweat, inexpensive cigarillo, even a bit of warm hay – exactly the cocktail of aromas I’d expect at a rodeo. The bottle itself is absolutely beautiful – encased in a black sueded presentation box and wrapped in a leather sheath made by a third-generation saddle maker. Vital Stats: 750 ml bottle, 80 proof, 20-year-old, around $125 per bottleĪppearance: A deep, orangey amber. Tasting Notes: Pendleton Directors’ Reserve You’ll find my notes on that after the Pendleton below. For comparison purposes in this review I also snagged a bottle of the now hard to find Collingwood 21-Year-Old, another 20+ year old Canadian release, this one being from Brown-Forman. Something tells me a lot of champion bull-riders and calf-ropers will be celebrating with a bottle of Pendleton Directors’ Reserve later this month. This higher end expression is not released annually however, as we previously reported. It’s held in Pendleton, Oregon, not far from the Idaho border, and during the Round-Up Pendleton Whisky flows freely. Pendleton Directors’ Reserve seems to be released to coincide with the Pendleton Round-Up, one of the largest rodeos in the world.
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