Highwood 25 Year Old Calgary Stampede Whisky

Time for one more Canadian whisky, from a sample I long ago recieved from the one and only Davin D.K, who run the most comprehensive Canadian whisky site , a true whisky lover, and expert, and a really nice man.  To be honest, I’ve never heard about this whisky before trying it (not that this comes as a surprise, as Canadian whisky is not that well known outside CA). It was bottled to commemorate the yearly Rodeo held in Calgary known also as the “Stampede”. This bottle is a special edition of the Century Reserve whisky, very limited to only 6,000 bottles, celebrating the 100th Stampede.

The aging process for this whisky is quite interesting :

Initially the whisky was aged in white oak barrels, as the volume of whisky dropped (due to evaporation – Angel’s share as we call it) Twice the bond was re-gauged. (Re-gauging is the consolidation of maturing whisky into fewer barrels, so individual barrels remain full. This increases interactions with the wood and decreases oxidation, keeping the whisky soft and clean.) and then refilled into the same barrels, and was bottled after 25 years after being diluted.

Highwood 25 Year Old Calgary Stampede Whisky , $52 CAD (at the time)

Nose: Lots of vanilla. Very clean. Ice cream. Crème Catalan. Quite a lot if sweet wood boxes and icing sugar. Hints of butterscotch. As Creamy as they come.

Palate: Starts sweet with that rich vanilla and that lovely creaminess the nose possesses , then getting spicy with lots of white pepper and Clove. Then back to sweet milk chocolate, and citrus bitterness , stopping short of grapefruit , then off to woodier realms with a touch of heavily toasted coffee beans.

Finish: Wood. Bitter grapefruit. Dry spicy wood. Pepper. Pith.

A magnificent whisky. Creamy, sweet, with the right balance of sugar, wood and fruit. Exceptional.One of the best Canadian whiskies I’ve tried to date.

Score: 90/100