J.P. Wiser's Seven Rebels
42.8% ABV - Ontario, Canada
Nose: Delicate and a light sweetness overall with vanilla, wood notes, light fruits, and spices. Everything is blending together nicely.
Taste: Very soft fruits with spices and wood. Background notes of caramel, molasses, pear, and some grain.
Finish: Vanilla, wood, and spices. Mild amounts of citrus, cotton candy, pepper, and clove.
It seems fitting that this past week during my commute back and forth to work I have been reading Davin de Kergommeaux’s Canadian Whisky (First Edition!), as now, while drinking J.P. Wiser’s Seven Rebels, I can appreciate what the name stands for. Wiser, Corby, Walker, Gooderham, Worts, Seagram, and Hatch. These people and their families helped build the pillars of Canadian whisky that this ‘Golden Age’ of Canadian whisky we sip on stands today. It’s amazing to learn the history and timeline for when each distiller had their peak moments – and how they contributed to, and shaped, the overall industry. I highly recommend seeking out this book to read if you want a comprehensive collection of stories about the history of Canadian whisky.
And onto the whisky we go… My favourite part has been swirling it around trying to understand the different flavours. While it doesn’t have an intense spread across the flavour wheel, Seven Rebels still has lots of complexity to explore. The fruits, spices, and wood are what I find most dominant. The nose is balanced with both sweetness and spices, and the fruits really emerge on the taste into the finish.
This is one of the few whiskies where I have followed the "one for now, one for later" mantra – that’s been reserved for just under a handful – and I even went one further and made yet another bottle the focus of a Christmas gift!
J.P. Wiser’s Seven Rebels is definitely one to try should you find the opportunity. It was my favourite in a tasting that also featured the four from the Northern Border 2019 Collection. I really like how deep – taste and complexity – each of the flavours feel. There is still quite the inventory remaining; approximately 700 bottles at the time of posting! Looking at the price, this whisky is an excellent(!) value.
Details: Rare Cask Series. Bottled for BC Liquor Stores in 2019.
Tasting Notes (Official): Featuring smoke & spices in a blend of seven distillates, finished in virgin oak & speyside casks, with notes of embers, toasted malts, vanilla, cinnamon & spice.
Tasted 04 February 2020. (Posted 09 February 2020.)
