Grand Grizzly (40% Alc/Vol)

Black pepper and earthy spirit give way to hard and gingery rye, while citrus zest with dark fruits, real black pepper, butterscotch, and dashes of pickle juice meld into cold wet slate. The round and weighty body is alive with the grizzly growl of restless young rye. Spicy Rye. ★★★★Deep in the melancholy of yet another cheerless Canadian winter, the mind drifts southward. No, it wouldn’t be Christmas without blasting winds and pelting snow, but many of us northern spirits confess that once the merrymaking ends, it’s the sand and surf of Mexico that beckon.This year, Canucks arriving in los Estados Unidos Mexicanos will find a welcome that is even warmer than usual. From Mazatlán to Cancún, from Acapulco to Cabo San Lucas, vacationing Canucks can expect a “Grand Grizzly” welcome.  This “grizzly” is a new all-rye that is enjoying unprecedented popularity south of the Rio Grande among Mexican nationals and visitors alike. It's Canadian whisky yes, but a truly Mexican treat and the only way to get your hands on a bottle is to visit that southern clime yourself or have someone else bring a bottle back for you.Grand Grizzly is all Canadian rye whisky, but it’s whisky with a twist as it’s blended in Canada from Canadian rye, but in tune with the Mexican palate. To think of Mexico in a bottle is to think of tequila. And the best tequila is made from the blue agave plant with its spicy black pepper and its muddy earthy tones. These are the same peppery earthy tones that rye drinkers find so enticing, except that in the most prized tequilas they’ve been turned up a couple of notches.Because these flavours are also naturally present in rye whisky, wouldn’t it be fun to see what happens when you crank them up a notch in whisky, just like tequila?  What’s involved? First, you have to select only the right barrels of rye. The best barrels would be the ones with the strongest earthiness and black pepper notes. Then, you mingle them to create a whisky with a truly Mexican feel. Taste Grand Grizzly and you’ll soon agree. Yes, indeed, this is variation of the rye theme that is certainly well worth exploring.Mexican whisky drinkers seem to agree: Grand Grizzly has become the fastest growing whisky brand in Mexico, a market where Canadian whisky is already well represented. Of course this is not surprising given the number of Canadian visitors there each year. It’s something to think about for those heading south this winter.Nose: Dry, bright, fresh, and expressive with pickles, hints of spices, some sharpness, vanilla, spring flowers, cereal mash – Weetabix^®. There is a fruity bouquet with stewed prunes, sweet new spirit, and a rich full creaminess, then the vaguest menthol, Caramac^® chocolate bar and fresh black pepper.Palate: Clay, hard rye, sweet cereal mash, and authentic fresh-ground black pepper. Unusually earthy, with a tinge of plastic, fiery heat, clean new spirit and the muddiness of great mezcal. Bright and so lively with aggressive rye spices and just hints of fruitiness, this is an excellent example of just how vibrant and flavourful a young rye whisky can be. Filled with zesty flavour, it tingles with gingery, hot, spirited pepper. A soothing creaminess dissolves into milk chocolate and butterscotch, with dry breakfast cereal hovering in the background. A unique and very enjoyable whisky.Finish: Medium longish pepper, earthy rye, and lightly herbal.Empty Glass: Slight floral notes mingle with sweetish wood smoke, creamy cereal, and green plants. Way in the background hints of lemonade poke through dusty rye.So yes, enjoy your Margaritas by the Oaxaca pool, or back at base after a steamy hike to the Mayan temples of Palenque or the pyramids of Teotihuacán. But this year, instead of slipping a bottle of tequila into your suitcase when you return, why not grab a Grand Grizzly and bring a Mexicanadian treat back home with you, something  to cheer the soul as the snow falls on yet another northern winter night?Highly recommended. ★★★★