Tasting Date: 2021-07-14
Region: Canadian Whisky
Type: Flavoured
Age Statement: NAS
Size: 750ml
ABV: 35% ABV
Cask Type:
Distiller: Since the 1980s, J.P. Wiser’s Whisky has been distilled and bottled at the Hiram-Walker & Sons distillery in Windsor, Ontario, Canada and aged 18.5km away in the Pike Creek area of Lakeshore, Essex County, Ontario, Canada
Location: 2072 Riverside Dr E, Windsor, Ontario, Canada
Bottler: Hiram-Walker & Sons
Purchase Location: Sobeys Liquor Lakeland 120 580 Baseline Road Sherwood Park, Alberta, Canada
Purchase Date: June 2021
Cost: $31.59 including GST & Deposit
Tasting Notes From The J.P. Wiser’s Website:
TASTE PROFILE: Caramel, Toasted Grains, Toffee, Vanilla
Colour: E150a Amber
TransparentSmoke Review: I didn’t plan this dram, and I should have. I should have taken time and gone out and grabbed a bottle of J.P. Wiser’s Deluxe so that I had something to compare this to. I have never in my life had a taste of J.P. Wiser’s whiskies. In fact I knew so little about them I mislabelled this one as American whisky when I first started this review.
It is not an American whisky, it is in fact the longest produced whisky brand in Canada. A product called J.P Wiser’s has been available since 1857, before Canada, was Canada. I don’t know why I have had brand block on J.P. Wiser. I even have a sampler of J.P.Wiser’s Manhattan in my collection that I have never gotten around to trying.
I had this as a dessert whisky and was able to enjoy it over a fair amount of time. My glass of J.P. Wiser’s Vanilla Whisky was surprisingly easy to drink. Easy to drink for some of the wrong reasons I think. This is why I should have gone out and tried the J.P. Wiser’s Deluxe whisky first. To know if those wrong reasons are inherent to the core whisky or if they are introduced by the flavouring.
One of the wrong reasons I liked this as a dessert whisky is because there is sugar added to J.P. Wiser’s Vanilla Whisky. Enough that it tastes like a premix all on it’s own. I imagine in a whisky sour this would easily allow non-whisky drinkers to partake because it would pop the sugar level to 10. I am attempting to evaluate it on it’s own, but there is no real epiphany here as all I could taste is vanilla. So much vanilla that the second wrong reason it is easy to drink is that the rye spice is hidden and diminished.
In the end J.P. Wiser’s Vanilla Whisky is just an OK sugary sweet vanilla based alcohol, with a little bit of toffee so you know you are drinking a whisky and not a vanilla vodka.
Our Score: 55/100
Bottles on Hand: 
