Two Brewers is a unique whisky for many reasons. One, it’s in the Yukon Territory in Canada which makes it one of the northernmost distilleries in the world right now. Second, it  was started by…you guessed it…two beer brewers who had started up Yukon Brewing after taking a canoe trip together. Third, it is the experimentation that they use daily in the distillery. Finally, it’s the way they release their whisky, in small batches, each uniquely numbered. The release in my glass today is #33 which comes from their “Special Finishes” line of releases. It was finished for three years in an ex-PX cask and was bottled at 58% ABV. This is also a single cask release, of which Two Brewers only does one or two a year.

In the glass: A nice burnt orange. Almost heading to a maroon tinge. A slight red hue around the edges of the liquid in the glass. There’s a nice shine to it under the falling natural daylight. Initial legs are medium in width and fairly slow to fall. The secondary legs are almost sitting still. I love the Two Brewers mouthfeel on their regular abv releases so this one should take that up a notch.

Nose: Upon first sniff this is definitely a Two Brewers whisky. It has a distinctive distillery characteristic note in both the nose and the palate that I find in almost every single release. And yup, it’s there front and centre in the initial nosing. The nose comes through with some heft. Some awesome fruit flavours, with a bit of banana and pear followed right away by some darker fruits. All of the notes in the nose are very “bright” and forthcoming. You don’t need to dig down too far to get a great nosing off the glass.

When I take a bit of a deeper breath in, I was able to find the peatiness come through along with some nice rich spice notes and a touch of maltiness.

Palate: Woah…this hits with every one of those proof points, but in the nicest way. The flavours explode in the mouth with a very nice effervescence that is quite intriguing. The ABV along with the slight peatiness, makes for a very strong first impression. This tingles the tongue and back palate almost forcing you to swallow. I notice my entire mouth is coated and this whisky is very creamy and almost buttery if melted butter also makes your cheeks and inside your lips almost feel a bit raw. Even though I found it on the nose, that characteristic note from Two Brewers isn’t immediately noticed at all. It might be due to the busy-ness of what’s going on here. The second sip allows a lot more actual notes to shine through. It hits with some nice wood tannins along with the spices that usually come with a decent, quality sherry cask. The dark fruits are more active on the second sip as well. That sherry sweetness shows beautifully, shaded only slightly by the spice notes.

Finish: This lasts a long time, mostly due to the full mouth coating character of this dram. The finish is almost all wood tannins and sherry spice, which is awesome.

Conclusion

I absolutely love Two Brewers, and that is no secret. I’d go so far as to say that they are the best whisky distillery in Canada and that isn’t hyperbole or exaggeration. I truly believe that the liquid they produce is the best stuff currently on the market in Canada. This latest single cask release just adds to the sky high impressions they have made on me. A whisky that hits heavy but with a ton of complexity and something new found on every sip. There aren’t too many releases from anywhere in the world that I personally classify as must-haves but this one falls into this category. I can not wait for the next single cask and hopefully I have the chance to pick one up.

Instagram: Sean Kinkaid (@darkcloudwhisky)