Forty Creek Release Calendar Endures

Imagine if Western civilization panicked every December 31st when the calendar came to an end? When the Mayan Long Count calendar ended on December 21, 2012, the West took what would have been a massive celebration for the ancient Maya and distorted it into an impending cataclysm. Sound familiar? Think back to December 31, 1999, when many celebrated New Year’s Eve in their basement sitting on a stockpile of canned food and duct tape. This September, even amid a pandemic, the Forty Creek special release calendar we’ve enjoyed for 14 straight years will continue undaunted. In fact, this year, they have resolved to release two whiskies.

Forty Creek Three Grain Whisky

It’s been 20 years since Forty Creek bottled their first whiskies. In celebration of their porcelain anniversary, the distillery will reprise a Three Grain commemorative edition as a 9,200-bottle LCBO exclusive. The fondly remembered and much coveted Three Grain had been part of that original portfolio back in 2000, along with the familiar Barrel Select.

Three Grain’s juicy nose invites you to luxuriate in dark raisins and soft smoky barley sugars while sizzling spices drop onto the blazing palate. Classic dusty rye spice pop and dried fruits linger through a peppery finish like a fine red wine.

Forty Creek Resolve Limited Release

Resolve is the final installment in a whisky trilogy in which Forty Creek Master Blender Bill Ashburn has dazzled taste buds with specialty wood treatments. For the first of these, called Unity, Ashburn added mocha staves for the finishing stages. Then came Victory, top-dressed with toasted vanilla staves. This year’s release, dubbed Resolve, features a high-spice stave infusion. Just like Unity and Victory, Ashburn added a small amount of his 1999 starboard wine to secure its fruity balance. In total, 6,500 bottles will be available at the distillery and across Canada in September.

A snug, brown sugar nose brings smoky maple sugars with spices and dusty chocolate powder to the familiar Forty Creek fruity house style. A firm and bold palate offers a bounty of breakfast cereal and lustrous peppery spices balanced by sweet cherry. Toasted oak and clean lumber accent bittersweet cocoa on the finish.

Mark these releases on your calendar. You’ll want at least one to drink and another to display next to your stockpile of 1999 duct tape and 2020 toilet paper.