Dock 57 Blackberry 40% alc/vol
Blueberries, blackberries, raspberries, grape popsicle, sweet simple syrup and maybe just a hint of clean oak in a whisky liqueur-cum-ice-cream topping designed for summer patio, fall campfire, or winter-hot-spot bliss.Let's get this straight: If Dock 57 Spiced is for whisky sippers, Dock 57 Blackberry is much more of a sipping liqueur. But serious whisky? No. The bold, fruity and sweet infusions pretty much over-write all but a few key traces of whisky. Still, it is well balanced, very moreish, and frankly, a whole lot of fun. Of course at 40% it would also go well in a fruity cocktail.Flavoured whisky may be the whisky story of 2012. Suddenly, producers all seem to have caught the bug. And among the leaders is Beam Inc. Beam introduced Red Stag bourbon a few years back and followed up with several variants on the original cherry-flavoured version. And now the trend has been picked up by Canadian Club.The spiced version of Dock 57 uses vanilla and spices judiciously to bolster whisky flavours, pushing some of the more vague oaky nuances up to the threshold of taste. Dock 57 Blackberry, however, makes no attempt to maintain the whisky profile. Rather, it uses the whisky flavours to broaden the sweet, berryish fruitiness of a fun cocktail drink.There will be no intellectual discussions among whisky connoisseurs, followed by earnest tasting notes, for this one. No, the label may bear the Canadian Club logo, but this is one unabashedly fun fruity concoction that will do more to draw new drinkers to whisky than it will to satisfy those whose whisky palate has already developed certain expectations.Flavoured rum, of course, is very popular and a huge seller, so can you blame whisky makers for following the same playbook? If they can boost sales and attract new customers without affecting their core whiskies, more power to them.And there is another benefit to fruit flavoured whisky – whisky dessert! A dram or two of Dock 57 Blackberry added to a dish of French vanilla ice cream is heavenly, and added to a dish of coconut-milk ice cream it is heaven itself.So here’s to Dock 57 Blackberry. It does not take itself too seriously, and neither will the drinker who would rather sip and chat with friends than analyse the contents of their glass.$14.99 at liquor stores in the U.S.Dock 57 Spiced is reviewed here.Other flavoured whiskies include:Black Velvet Toasted CaramelForty Creek Cream Liquor Gibson’s Maple 100th Grey CupHighwood Canadian Maple Whisky Revelstoke SpicedWhite Owl Spiced