Forty Creek Cream Liquor 17% alc/vol
New in Ontario for 2012, Christmas revelers have a spirit of their own with which to celebrate the season. John K. Hall likes to remind himself that without a long whisky pedigree he need not feel constrained by tradition. So it’s no real surprise that he looked to Ireland for inspiration when crafting one of his latest creations. It’s a cream liquor, made with fresh Ontario dairy cream blended in a base of Forty Creek whisky. And, at least for now, it’s exclusive to Ontario.Served over ice Forty Creek Cream makes a fine office toast or after-dinner drink. Or, pour a wee dram in your coffee for a luxurious steaming dessert café. Actually, it’s bottled at 17% alc./vol., so maybe that dram shouldn’t be so “wee” after all.Nose: Powdered chocolate milk, creamy vanilla, chocolate-covered caramel cream, and melting-soft milk chocolate.Palate: Sweet but not liqueur sweet. A creamy-rich mouthfeel is wrapped around vague hints of coconut, aromatic burnt sugar, fresh butter, milk chocolate, hints of coffee-cream chocolate bars, a slight whisky essence, vanilla milkshake, and caramel-dipped frozen custard. Nummy!Finish: Creamy, vague hints of rye pepper, and a touch of spirit on the tongue. Towards the end tingling rye spices just begin to emerge from the creamy milk chocolate.$28.95 at LCBO.Other flavoured whiskies include:Black Velvet Toasted CaramelDock 57 SpicedDock 57 BlackberryGibson’s Maple 100th Grey CupHighwood Canadian Maple Whisky Revelstoke SpicedWhite Owl Spiced