Very Olde St. Nick Ancient Cask 8 Year Canadian Rye Whiskey

VITALS:

- $150

- 86.8 Proof

- 8 years

- Lot #16

- Canada

This is one of my first forays into Preservation Distillery's offerings. I had seen them floating around social media for quite a while, new revivals of old brands. They come with higher age statements, great looking packaging that reminds one of other very sought after whiskeys, and, of course a great story/label that uses words like "ancient cask" and "legendary rye."

But, what's hidden on the back is something I should have looked at before I made this purchase -- "Product of Canada."  This is a low proof, 8 year Canadian whiskey.  That doesn't exactly command the premium price that I paid back in 2020.  I made the mistake of getting excited over seeing these bottles hit Illinois shelves for the first time and not bothering to do my research. But, despite the wind being taken out of my sails, I figured at that point I had already bought it, I might as well drink it!

The nose was a healthy dose of cinnamon and sawdust. It had that light, woody smell that you get when working with a table saw.  It also had sweet bready notes that reminded me of Hawaiian rolls and even at times glazed donuts.  The long and short of it is it was very sweet with a bit of cinnamon.

On the palate it was also very sweet, but it was more of a brown sugar sweetness that dominated, and it told me fairly quickly that this was indeed a Canadian whiskey.  There was also a layer of vanilla underneath the brown sugar sweetness that gave it a bit of a dessert quality. Unfortunately, for me, it just leaned too sweet and I had a hard time getting past it.

I did get some other, more interesting notes, including the cinnamon that I was getting of the nose. That mostly came through on the back-end, and it was unfortunately fairly fleeting. I also got a bit of a cayenne note that added just a touch of spice.  That too was fleeting.

On the finish I was left with those sweet, bready notes coupled with the ever-present brown sugar. The finish was short-lived, though, disappearing on me almost immediately.

This bottle just didn't offer much more for me than standard fare Canadian whiskey. And every time I drank it and thought about the price, I just got angry. There is a reason these bottles just sit on shelves now. This was one-dimensional, overly sweet and way overpriced.

Grade: D

Preservation Distillery Rare Perfection 14 Year Canadian Whiskey

VITALS:

- $180

- 100.7 Proof

- 14 Years

- Lot #02

- Canada

When Preservation Distillery first released their Rare Perfection and Old St. Nick lines, apparently reviving a couple of older brands, I frequently saw these bottles in my various whiskey-related Facebook groups. I knew nothing about them, but I certainly was intrigued by the cool looking, antique style labeling, not to mention the age statements and the higher proof. I hadn't been seeing any of these in the stores by me, so when I got the chance to buy this and the 15 year at essentially retail, perhaps even less based on what they're being sold for now, I went ahead and pulled the trigger.  Of course now I see them sitting on shelves everywhere, not being bought and just taking up space. 

What I didn't know until these bottles arrived, though, and the reason that these are now just sitting, was that these are Canadian whiskey. Admittedly, I did little to no research prior to purchasing these, which is on me. I do, however, find it interesting that they deliberately left off the word "Canadian" from the front label, only indicating as such in small type on the back. I was immediately disappointed and had a bit of buyer's remorse, but, you live and learn. How bad could it be, though?

The nose on this was actually really good. I got a lot of brown sugar and a light caramel right up front. It also had this sweet cream note to it that reminded me of vanilla ice cream. There was a bready note as well, perhaps like a pie crust. It had all the makings of a good dessert.

As to flavor, though, I felt a bit overwhelmed by the brown sugar flavor. It was easily the most dominant flavor, and any other notes I was getting were slight in comparison. It dominated from the first sip through the finish. That's a lot of brown sugar. And, on top of that, it had a certain artificial flavoring quality to it that I just wasn't a fan of. 

Other notes were there, but, like I said, they were very light in comparison. I did get notes of root beer and at time butterscotch. I even got that pie crust note that I was noticing on the nose. There was even a bit of a molasses note to it, something darker and richer than just that artificial brown sugar. 

However, make no mistake about it, this came across as sweet.  Very sweet.  Overly sweet. And I can handle a brown sugar sweetness, but when it's an artificial sweetness and it's as sweet as this, it just becomes too much. I don't know if artificial brown sugar is a thing, but if it is, this tastes like it had some added directly to the barrel. 

I've had plenty of Canadian whiskeys that leaned toward the brown sugar note, but none that did so quite like this one did. I do have the 15 year, and I will eventually get around to opening that one in hopes for a better experience, but it may take me a while to get around to that.

Grade: C-