Forty Creek Heart Of Gold 43%
Forty Creek Distillery has announced bottle reservation dates for its 2013 special release whisky: Forty Creek Heart of Gold. For years John K. Hall has led "Deconstructing Forty Creek" masterclasses at whisky shows across the country. There he pours his rye, barley and corn whiskies individually for his fans, and each time they beg him to release the rye on its own. So far he has steadfastly refused. Heart of Gold is not all rye either, but it is about as close to all-rye whisky as we're going to see from Forty Creek. Hall brings his winemaker's sensibilities to making whisky and insists on blending to increase its breadth of flavour and complexity. With Heart of Gold Hall gets as close as possible to his rye, while bolstering its bold and its delicate flavours with judicious amounts of corn and barley whiskies.Heart of Gold, a limited edition of 9,000, individually numbered bottles, is the seventh annual Forty Creek special release. It will be available on a first come first served basis beginning September 28, 2013. Forty Creek fans are invited to reserve their numbered bottles between Monday, May 27th and Friday, June 21st, 2013.On-line reservations will open at exactly noon on Monday, May 27. Please visit the Forty Creek website at www.FortyCreekWhisky.com on May 27 for instructions. In fairness to all, reservations will not be accepted before then.Customers may choose any number between 0003 and 9,000. Numbers are offered on a first come, first served basis. (Bottles #1 and #2 are already reserved for you know who!) Reservations must be completed on-line.“We are pleased to offer our customers an opportunity to reserve a bottle number with special significance to them,” says Beth Warner, vice-president, marketing. “It’s fun when customers share their stories about what makes their chosen numbers so special – birth years, anniversaries, the year they discovered Forty Creek or the year they are planning to retire. Badge numbers are also a popular choice, and we have one customer who has chosen 1967 each time – the last year the Toronto Maple Leafs won a Stanley Cup. With luck, he’ll have to change his number this year!”Due to provincial and federal regulations, this offer is only available in Ontario, Canada. Unfortunately, Forty Creek cannot ship bottles. They must be purchased and picked up at the distillery in Grimsby, Ontario.This year, Forty Creek’s annual Whisky Weekend is scheduled for Saturday, September, 28th and Sunday, September 29th, 2013. It's highly recommended. Join the three thousand whisky fanatics who will flock to the distillery those two days, and while you are there pick up your bottles of Heart of Gold.“I always look forward to this annual event to celebrate with our fans and to enjoy special tours and activities. It’s always a fun time. That’s when you can pick up your specially numbered bottles and I will be more than happy to personalize them,” says whisky maker, John Hall.John Hall's notes on Forty Creek Heart of Gold ReserveHeart of Gold is a whisky that was inspired by both the heart of the distillation and the heart of the maker.Heart of Gold has been created with an artist’s palette of noble grains, unusual yeast selection, copper pot stills and delicately toasted oak barrels, mixed with passion, innovation and patience.“This project started nearly a decade ago, focusing specifically on Canada’s noble rye grain. I have always brought out the spicy, fruity notes of rye in my whisky, but this time, I wanted to perfect capturing the underlying delicate floral notes of the rye that too often get lost in the process. I decided to use a wine yeast strain for the fermentation because I felt this approach would allow the floral aromas and flavours to prevail.Capturing the subtleties in the distillate was another challenge. Capturing alcohol is easy, but capturing the natural, subtle flavour of the rye is much more difficult. A quicker cut and a narrower band of the heart during distillation helped keep the integrity of the delicate rye character.I aged this rye whisky in lightly toasted barrels to ensure the oak did not overwhelm the subtle flavours captured in the heart of the distillation. Yes, my Heart of Gold is a rye forward whisky. But, it is not 100% rye. I believe the art of blending adds a complexity and creativity to the final whisky. The final Heart of Gold blend includes some barley whisky for nuttiness and some corn whisky for weight and body. Yet, the fruity, floral rye whisky notes are the star of this show!Thank you for choosing my Forty Creek Whisky. I hope this whisky captures your heart as it did mine.”John K. Hall's Tasting NotesThis complex yet delicate whisky has aromas of herbs, peach, sandlewood, hazelnut and vanilla. Violets, rose petals and orange blossoms lend a delicate character and are framed by cinnamon and ginger notes which add a nice spicy flare.Retail Price: $69.95 / 750 mlAbout Forty Creek Distillery:Located in Grimsby, Ontario, Forty Creek Distillery is an independent Canadian-owned craft distillery. Known internationally for its quality spirits, Forty Creek Distillery has won numerous awards at prestigious tasting competitions around the world, including Canadian Whisky of the Year at the Canadian Whisky Awards in Victoria, BC for three consecutive years 2009-2012. Forty Creek was named “Distillery of the Year” at the 2012 Wizards of Whisky Awards in London, England and the 2013 International Whisky Competition in Chicago.See more at: http://fortycreekwhisky.com/whatsnew.html#sthash.Sh1Ssoh7.dpufForty Creek Barrel Select is reviewed here.Forty Creek Double Barrel Reserve is reviewed here.Forty Creek Confederation Oak is reviewed here.Forty Creek John’s Private Cask No. 1 is reviewed here.Forty Creek Copper Pot Reserve is reviewed here.