Canada’s #1 Whisky Maker coming to Portland, Sept 7

The pioneer, independent distiller of Canada’s #1 rated whisky is coming to Portland! John K. Hall is the founder, owner and whisky maker at Kittling Ridge Distillery, producer of Forty Creek Barrel Select whisky.

Here’s my description of the distillery and dram from the book, “Whisky: The Definitive World Guide”:

”The most revolutionary and singularly accomplished whisky in Canada may well be “Forty Creek”, produced by Ontario’s independent Kittling Ridge Distillery in Grimsby. Owner, John K Hall, has brought a handcrafted, winemaking sensibility to whisky production and in doing so has broken the barriers of whisky classification. Forty Creek is a delightful and well-crafted international whisky for the ages, not just a Canadian whisky.

Midway between Buffalo (New York) and Toronto, Grimsby is 40 miles from Niagara Falls, as is Forty Mile Creek which empties into Lake Ontario. Hall has been making and marketing wines for 33 years, and he treats the grain whiskies that make up Forty Creek as he would a varietal wine, distilling then aging each grain spirit in casks suited to the whisky character. He uses two copper, Armagnac-style pot stills for distillation. His rye spirit, the majority of it malted, is aged in lightly toasted American oak barrels. The barley spirit goes into a medium toasted barrel, and the cooked corn spirit is aged in a heavily toasted barrel. The flagship Forty Creek is blended from a selection of these 6-10 year old rye, barley and corn whiskies, after they have aged individually. This blend is then finished for 6 months in a sherry cask, the sherry made by Hall, himself. The result is an ethereal whisky with good body, apricots and black walnuts from the rye, and a lingering gentle finish.”       Stuart MacLean Ramsay

FORTY CREEK BARREL SELECT TASTING NOTES, by Whisky Maker, John K Hall:

“Aromas of honey, vanilla and apricot fuse with toasty oak, black walnut and spice. The flavor is rich and bold with a smooth long finish. As you let the whisky breath in your glass many other flavors begin to evolve such as pecan, chocolate, blood orange and spice.”

ACCOLADES FOR FORTY CREEK BARREL SELECT:

San Francisco World Spirits Tasting Competition: Double Gold Medal. Best in Class. “One of the Top 7 Best Tasting North American Whiskies.”

Beverage Testing Institute in Chicago: Score of 89– the highest score ever given to a Canadian whisky. “ One of the Top 5 Best North American Whiskies.”

Monde Selection, Brussels: #1 Whisky; Gold Medal

Whisky Magazine: Canada’s Distiller of the Year

Malt Advocate: “Pioneer of the year”  making John K Hall the first Canadian to earn the title.

Michael Jackson : “The richest tasting Canadian Whisky I have tasted. Wins points for luxury.”  Jackson rated Forty Creek the #1 Canadian Whisky above Crown Royal Special Reserve.

Jim Murray: “Of all the world’s distillers, there are few I hold in higher esteem than Kittling Ridge’s John Hall.”

”To understand John’s passion, one must patiently wait because rare whisky takes time. His aim has been to produce something entirely different from other Canadian Distillers. And in that, he has already succeeded beyond his wildest dreams.”

David Broom: “His whisky is made with passion and sensitivity. He is making brave New World Whiskies that are cutting edge”.