World Whisky Review #33: Caribou Crossing Single Barrel Canadian Whisky

Distillery: Old Montreal Distillery

Bottler: Buffalo Trace/Sazerac

Region: Canada

Price: $50

ABV: 40%

Age: NAS.

Color: 1.4, Tawny.

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Nose: Things are a little faint here. There are a few distinctive cooling notes that lead me to think of menthol and mint a bit. Every so often there’s a sharp note of green apple, some caramel, and notes of well toasted marshmallows (with a hint of char on the outside).

Palate: This is silky smooth, it goes down far too easily. There’s not a whole lot of flavor unfortunately. Caramel mostly dominates along with that charred marshmallow popping up here and again. Every so often there’s a bit of fruit pie filling as well.

Finish: Short, it almost doesn’t exist at all. There’s a little bit of vanilla that’ll pop out as fast as it’s popped in and you might miss it if you’re not paying attention.

Conclusion: Every so often, I come across a whisky that is clearly lacking in many ways but my hand keeps going to in the liquor cabinet. This Caribou Crossing appears to be one of them. The nose, though faint, is fairly delightful. The palate could use a lot help with flavor, what little is there is nice but there simply isn’t enough of it. And the finish is so short that is very easily missed. It’s lacking but I’m enjoying it. I’d love to see what this whisky would be with even a few extra percentage points of ABV, as it stands it is too smooth and it’s being held back by that. Would I buy another bottle? Maybe.

Final Score: 74.

World Whisky Review #33, Canadian Whisky Review #4, Whisky Network Review #302

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Scoring Legend:

• 96-100: The perfect dram, nectar of the gods.
• 90-95: Near perfect, there is something truly special about this whisky.
• 85-89: Amazing, will always try to keep a bottle of this in my collection (if feasible).
• 80-84: Very Good, maybe only one minor nitpick about the whisky keeping it here.
• 75-79: Good, quite enjoyable to drink.
• 70-74: Solid, wouldn’t go out of my way to get it.
• 60-69: Meh, still drinkable.
• Below 59: If you have a bottle of this, start cooking with it instead.