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When: Wednesday, Feb. 17th at 8pm EST / 5pm Pacific
Drammers Club is excited to welcome back Dr. Don Livermore, the Master Blender for the legendary Canadian powerhouse Hiram Walker. He hardly needs an introduction, but if you’re new to Canadian whisky, take our word for it that he has been really shaking up the Canadian Whisky scene with new huge award-winning whiskies on a level never seen before. We last had the honor of welcoming Dr. Don for our World Whisky Day event last summer and his level of expertise is the kind of mind-boggling whisky nerdiness that we love here at Drammers — we knew we needed more time with him as soon as possible! He’s put out so many giant releases in recent years, winning top Canadian Whisky of the year, etc., that there was no way we were going to rein in the lineup. Even so, we admit we went a little nuts here, 11 expressions, most of them not available anywhere outside of Canada (including an exotic dusty from the 1960s!). Drumroll please:
Hiram Walker Creme de Cacao from 1968. This is a fun blast from the past. Distilled in 1964, bottled in 1968, or so we assume from the etchings on the bottom of the bottle. Not a whisky, but who’s going to pass up a chance to try a Hiram Walker product bottled over 50 years ago? A huge thank you to fellow Drammer Ben Wald for contributing this. 54 proof.
J.P. Wiser’s Dissertation. Dr. Don’s favorite release ever, and nearly impossible to find. It’s a blend of experimental casks he used in the process of exploring and getting his PHD. A true headliner.
J.P. Wiser’s Rare Cask Series - Wheatfield Gold. This special bottling was only released in Winnipeg and would be impossible to find anywhere else (and it sold out there quickly as we understand it). Luckily we’ve got a fellow Drammer in Winnipeg who hooked us up, so we’ll get a chance to try it. Released in honor of the 150th anniversary of Manitobas, it is intended to pay tribute to its land and people. Aged in Canadian Whiskey and virgin oak casks, it blends three grains, leading with wheat as the name implies, to reflect the agricultural roots of the province. It’s one of 6,000 bottles and was hand-crafted by our guest speaker Dr. Don. 46.1% abv. A big thank you to John Marchello for securing both this bottle for us, as well as the 49 Wellington release below.
J.P. Wiser’s 35yo. We tried this recently during our Drammers Book Club event for Canadian Whisky, but as the 2018 Canadian Whisky of the Year, it undoubtedly needed to be included in this lineup as well. It is a towering achievement created by our guest speaker and sadly is becoming very difficult to find (fellow Drammer Sean Crain found possibly one of the last bottles at Binnys in Chicago for us, thanks Sean!). 50% abv.
J.P. Wiser’s Rare Cask Series: 23yo Cask Strength. Another very limited release in the rare cask series, and again almost impossible to find (we have Sean again to thank for this one, as well as the 15yo and Signature Series bottles below). This was JP Wiser’s first-ever cask strength blend, and given the response, it’s clearly not going to be their last. 64.3% abv.
J.P. Wiser’s Signature Series. Since we were already raiding Binnys impressive JP Wiser selection, we couldn’t help but pick up this custom blend they had bottled in 2020. Batch A.A1582 at 43.3% abv. Looking forward to hearing from Dr. Don what went into this and the reviews are very promising. Not available outside of Binnys as far as we know.
J.P. Wiser’s 15yo. It can be a bit maddening trying to find these top-rated Hiram Walker releases, and this is something we’ll want to ask Dr. Don about. This is another release that is shockingly difficult to find in the US. 40% abv.
Gooderham & Worts 49 Wellington 19yo. This is another coup for our lineup — described by Whisky Buzz and others as “the most interesting whisky coming out of Hiram Walker thus far”. Released only in Canada. It incorporates two flourishes that Hiram Walker has rarely embraced in the past. First, it is used red oak inserts for part of the maturation (look for a spicy cedar note), and this is an area we’ll have to grill Dr. Don on exactly what that means (he has been working at mastering it for years). Second, it is a four grain blend, but unlike the normal Gooderham & Worts, one of those grains is a 100% red winter wheat. Apparently the bottle was a tribute to the historic flat iron building built by the Gooderham family on Wellington Street in Toronto. This release was part of the very limited, and very highly awarded Northern Border Collection. 49% abv.
Gooderham & Worts Little Trinity. Another Canada-only release from years ago, this time a 3 grain blend.
Pike Creek 21yo Oloroso Sherry Finish. 45% abv.
Pike Creek 21yo European Oak Pike Creek. 45% Abv.
Pike Creek 10yo Rum Cask Finish. 42% abv
Lot 40 Rye Whiskey - Cask Strength Edition. 57% abv.
Gooderham & Worts 4 Grain. A blend of rye, wheat, barley and corn, this is one of the whiskies Dr. Don told us he was most proud of when we had him on for World Whisky Day last Summer. We’ll be tasting blend A.A1129, 44.4% abv.
Lot 40 (standard release)
How about that for a lineup! We hope you can join us!