Canadian Club Invitation Series 15-Year-Old Sherry Cask

For 2023, a new Sherry Cask from Canadian Club, this one a full 15 years old, and it tastes heavenly.

Canadian Club Classic Invitation Series 15-Year-Old Sherry Cask 42% abv

Vanilla with sweet red and dark fruit, blackstrap and mild pitchy wood on a very complex nose. Butterscotch on the tongue. Shows good weight, solid oak structure and palate-cleansing grapefruit pith. More dark fruits, prunes and sherryish influences follow muted peppers into a lingering warm spiciness. The body, so lush and rich, knits many threads into a single plush and flavourful entity. Finally, a medium finish, fruity and warm, with vague tannins and fading hints of Canada balsam. A model of craft and simply glorious.

Canadian Club Invitation Series Issue No. 1 – 15-Year-Old Sherry Cask is a brand new ultra-premium whisky for 2023. Canadian Club, one of Canada’s top-selling whisky makers, builds on the tradition of quality, it established as early as 1858. This new release harks back to 1984, when the team at Canadian Club did something bold for that era. While other whisky makers struggled, as so-called “white spirits” surged, CC released a new, longer-aged version called Canadian Club Classic 12-year-old.  Made using corn, rye, rye malt and barley malt, CC Classic 12 was a big hit then, as it continues to be now. To make today’s brand-new Canadian Club Invitation Series Issue No. 1 – 15-Year-Old Sherry Cask, they have taken the same spirit they use for Classic 12, and matured it for 15 years before filling it into Oloroso sherry casks for a final maturation. The result is astounding.

Whisky enthusiasts greeted an earlier, 8-year-old version of Canadian Club Sherry Cask warmly when it was released about a decade ago. This new 15-year-old edition, at nearly twice the age, is simply magnificent. With skillfully entwined flavours and aromas – complex yet remarkably well-balanced – this whisky is nothing short of a masterpiece. Working with sherry is not a simple task and it takes real blending chops to let the sherry notes shine without diminishing the thrill of the whisky itself. Canadian Club is one of the few to accomplish this.

According to brand officials, the idea for the Invitation whiskies is to create a modern and relevant series of one-time releases that leverage Canadian Club’s history of craft and expertise. If future releases in the series match the careful attention to sensory detail shown in Issue No. 1, let’s hope there are plenty more “Invitations” coming down the pipeline.

$89.95 CAD *****