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Drinks Food & Drink

What to drink right now: J.P. Wiser’s Hopped Canadian Whisky

Unbelievably, my judgmental tendencies regarding flavoured spirits have been undone by a flavoured whisky, of all things. Oh, the shame. 

Flavoured spirits are a mega-market, their monstrous growth spurred by their novelty and appeal to younger demographics and sweet tooths who say they don’t like the taste of alcohol. 

Vodka, an easy blank slate for grotesque liquefied versions of bacon, cupcakes and other dead-to-me food trends, was champ in this category for a long time – until the whisky wave dominated the North American flavoured spirits sector earlier this year. 

Now we can take our pick of blasphemies, from honey, vanilla, cherry, apple or cider to maple, ginger and pumpkin. Of the dozens I’ve encountered and hundreds more I’ve avoided, maybe two didn’t make me want to claw out my tongue.

So when I heard whispers of a Wiser’s hopped whisky, I rolled my eyes. Aggressively. I found the idea of two drinks trends as immense as flavoured whisky and hops smashed together in one cash-grab package downright offensive.

Imagine my surprise when I tasted it. It’s not bad at all. I actually like it. In this case, the lifted florals and herbaceous qualities of the hops are a good companion to the whisky’s malty base flavours of caramel and coffee. The hops (the Bravo variety often used in APAs and IPAs) also complement typical Wiser’s top notes of citrus and blossoms. To put it simply, whisky is distilled beer, so this makes perfect sense. 

But for me, this product’s selling point is its subtlety. It’s the most balanced flavoured spirit I’ve tasted. The hopping process was carefully considered by Wiser’s master distiller, Don Livermore. A blend of five to nine-year-old whiskies are dry-hopped, maximizing delicate flavours while skirting overbearing bitterness. Wiser’s Hopped is bottled in brown glass to ensure that the hops don’t take a skunky turn. 

Try it on the rocks with a side of dark IPA or stout, experiment with boilermakers (that’s a shot of whisky tossed into a beer), or mix it with ginger beer and a squeeze of lemon. 

Price 750mL/$28.95

Availability LCBO 409508

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