Review: Forty Creek Unity
It’s been a while since we checked out another offering from Canadian distiller Forty Creek, so we thought we’d change that with a look at its 2018 limited edition, which hit shelves in September. For this release, dubbed Unity, the distillery wanted to create something that honored its fans. To that end, Forty Creek’s whisky maker, Bill Ashburn, enlisted the help of five lucky whisky drinkers to select the chosen blend from four pre-designed options. What’s in the winning blend? It’s reportedly a mix of 4-year-old whisky that was extra-aged with mocha staves for an unknown duration blended with 10-year corn whiskey and a very small amount of port-style Starboard wine. Let’s see what these Forty Creek fans picked!
On the nose, Unity is rich with toffee and praline notes, toasted pecans, and cigar box. It’s at first surprisingly beefy for a Canadian whisky. With air, a dark berry note shows itself and the whole thing turns considerably sweeter with the addition of some chewy caramel and maple syrup. On the palate, things are a bit brighter with butterscotch candies and wintergreen, but the savory quality remains. It’s luscious with dark caramels, vanilla salt water taffy, and black grapes. Tellicherry peppercorns and a bit of clove chewing gum arrive midpalate and carry into a honeyed finish that shows malt balls and toasted oak. All told, it’s a winning selection from the Forty Creek fans, to be sure.
86 proof.
A- / $70 / fortycreekwhisky.com
Forty Creek Unity
$70
