Julie: Now, when you started did you know what ratio you were planning to use or just the ratios of grains vary from bottle to bottle?
John Hall: They do vary not too much. When I aged the three different whiskies, the youngest whisky is aged in a barrel for six years. The oldest is aged for 10 years. So, it’s a blend of six, seven, eight, nine, and ten-year-old rye whiskies, barley whiskies and corn whiskies.
And more the real difficult task comes in is that you have to taste each barrel. I have well over 40,000 barrels to taste. I usually do that on Sunday afternoon. I don’t taste off 40,000 barrels at once but it’s a tough job and someone’s got to do it.
Julie: Now, you’re the sole taster here at 40 Whisky or do you have a small crew of tasters?
John Hall: I have a small crew. I have three other people that taste with me because you never know one day you might have a cold and you might be off that day. But, each barrel needs to be tasted because no two barrels will age the same. We could put two barrels here and fill it up with the same spirit and come back 10 years and taste it, it won’t taste the same and that’s what’s important.
And it’s because of that, the barrels staves, there’s over 25 to 30 barrels staves in a barrel and each stave has a different grain. It’s just like going to the lumber yard and buying 2x4’s. You have to hand picked those 2x4’s because some are twisted. Some are going up and down and because of grain. And so indeed, I have some 6-year-olds that taste like 10-year-olds and I have some 10-year-olds that taste like 6-year-olds.
Aging is very, very important but it’s not the most important ingredient. It’s only one. You have to start with great grains, great stills and great barrels so it’s a combination of all three to make a good fine tasting whisky.
Julie: Of course, once you’ve blended that’s not the end of making 40 Creek?
John Hall: No, it was interesting when I started making whisky in 1992, I heard of the Scotch fellows were using cherry cask to round off their whiskies. Well, being an independent, I am the only Canadian owned, Canadian distillery in Ontario. Being an independent, I couldn’t get on to plane and fly to Spain and buy a used cherry cask. But being a wine maker in Ontario since 1970, I know how to make cherry.
So, in 1992 I purchased Ontario grapes and made a cherry, an all old Rosa style cherry, put it into a brand new American white oak barrels, aged it for 10 years and then I dumped the cherry and now I have my cherry casks.
So, when I take my three different whiskies I called that my Meritage whisky, my Bordeaux-blend rye, malted barley and corn whiskies. I have 6 to 10 years old and I bring them together as a Meritage and then I put them into the cherry casks for about five to six months just to give it a further rounding off and like letting the three whiskies hang together in one barrel and it’s really assists in smoothing it out and brings a little bit more nuttiness to the whisky. Nuttiness is a very important taste component to a good tasting whisky.
Julie: Now, are there any other really ways that you’re experimenting with your whisky making?
John Hall: Yes, actually I have been making some ports, some vintage ports. I’ve been aging them in brand new American white oak barrels and someday I hope to once a port is ready. I will take that port or I won’t dump it because it’s vintage ports, varietal ports but I will use those barrels to do some port wood aging.
I’m also looking at some Canadian oak and various types of oak be an American oak. Majority of whiskies are aged in American white oak barrels. For example in Kentucky, Bourbon has aged in a brand new American white oak barrel and Bourbons are very what I call wood forward.
They really get their flavor from that oak barrel. Majority of scotch whiskies are aged and want to use Bourbon barrels. So, that all of the harsh tannins have gone from that fresh oak barrel and now you’re left with the soft tannins and the vanillas and the caramelizations from the heavy char. Scotch’s flavor is more developed by the feeding and the selection of the grains than it is the oak, in my opinion.
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