Lot No. 40 Cask Strength Rye Whisky (1st Release, 2017) Quick Review

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My reviews tend to be long-winded and very in-depth. I know that many readers don’t have the time or patience to read them all. This is why I have decided to create a “Quick Review” format. I’m not going to cover backstories, distilling methods or anything like that if I know I’ve covered it in a previous review of a similar bottle. You’ll find that a lot of these quick reviews will be based on single barrel picks because their backstory is usually the same with the exception of the group that picked them.

Lot No. 40 is a brand of Canadian Rye Whisky owned by spirits giant Corby. Its whiskey is distilled at the Hiram Walker Distillery located in Windsor, Ontario (right across the river from Detroit). Ever since the brand was created in the late 1990’s, it’s been focused on making a rye whiskey that is generally closer to American styles than it is Canadian.

What makes Lot No. 40 different?

Canadian Rye Whiskies tend to be a blend of two kinds of whiskies. The first are “flavoring” whiskies (not flavored) which are made on a pot still usually to the specs of American Rye Whiskey. The second kind are “blending” whiskies made on a column-still, but resembles more of a grain neutral spirit due to its high still proof. Both of those varieties don’t even have to contain 51% rye grain to be called a rye either.

Lot No. 40 is different because their standard product uses 100% rye grain and is double distilled by passing through a short column still with the second distillation passing through a copper pot still. It also uses a majority of new charred oak barrels for aging. For this release that I’m reviewing today, I believe that all of the barrels selected were aged in new charred oak.

Corby decided to try its luck on a more premium line by launching their Northern Borders Rare Collection in 2017 with the bottle I’m reviewing today. Just under 5,000 bottles of cask-strength, 12-year-old age stated rye whiskey were sold – mostly in Canada. For those that managed to snag a bottle, they were in for a treat. This was one of the oldest rye whiskies Lot No. 40 had ever released (until the surprise 18-year-old release in 2022) and is loved by many. So how does it taste? Let’s find out. I sampled this neat in a glencairn.

Tasting Notes

Nose: Scents of gingersnap cookies, brown baking spices and brown sugar are the most intense of the spice notes I find. There’s no confusing this rye whiskey as anything else. To continue the theme, it’s easy to find herbal notes, candied orange and lemon peel and some peppermint. There’s even oak and some vanilla fondant icing (so it’s got a sort of weird artificiality about it) in here as well.

Palate: The sensation of a Christmas candy cane are followed by flavors like fennel bulb, herbs, pine needles, wildflowers and potpourri. This has sweeter notes like sticky toffee, gingerbread and random candies from Grandma’s candy dish. More dense notes also stick out like cinnamon stick, heavy brown baking spices, charred wood and earthiness. The fruit notes don’t make themselves as noticeable but I can find some candied citrus peel and black cherries.

Finish: The ending is heavy with anise, cinnamon and oak spice notes. Drier flavors like dried leather and dried tea leaves also remain. Tart berries pair up with peppermint and cherries. The sweetness fades fast after the sip is complete which is something I wish wouldn’t happen.

Score: 8.3/10

Much like the bottle of Wight’s Old Reserve I recently reviewed, this version of Lot No. 40 shows how good an all-rye recipe (or close to it) can get without having to rely on corn to gain sweetness or drinkability. Its flavors are deep and nuanced and it has a natural sweetness about it that picks up at the nose and balances things out on the tongue. This is a really great rye whiskey because of it.

The only thing I began to dock this bottle on was the fact that the finish began to get overly dry. I was unsure if this was naturally a part of the bottle or something to do with how my palate reacts to this style of whiskey (which, admittedly, I don’t have often). I think that can be a large part in why some flavors don’t always jibe with me. But regardless, this is one of the best examples of what a Canadian distillery has put out as far as cask strength, age-stated rye whiskey when compared to American ryes. I just wish the land up north would make more just like it.