A delicious and pure Canadian rye whiskey.

Last summer I had the opportunity to take the quick ride to Ontario and visit the Dillon’s Distillery.

We got a nice little tour from one of the Distillers (I wish I could remember his name and he may have been THE ONLY distiller) and had tasty many of their offerings.

Their gin, limoncello and impressive collection of bitters were the main attractions for going, but I was incredibly surprised by their Rye Whiskey.

Sidenote: If you can ever get your hands on their bitters they are so good! My favorite are the DSB bitters.

Their products are not really available in the states at this time, but I hope that they continue to grow so more of us can enjoy their work.

How Dillon’s Rye is made

Dillon’s places a real emphasis on the fact that this whiskey has a 100% Ontario rye mash bill, which I think is awesome! They mention that it is “grain to glass” and that they control every aspect of the process, something reassuring in the market of Canadian rye that seems to have been often portrayed as a little lackluster.

It comes in at 43% ABV which some of the few reviews I have read have an issue with, but I think suits the light and bright nature of the whiskey perfectly well.

It is distilled in copper pot stills after being malted, mashed and fermented at the Dillon’s distillery with all local rye, 10% of that being malted.

The aging occurs (for three years I believe) in three different types of oak casks: new Ontario oak, new American oak, and first fill bourbon casks.

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Tasting Dillon’s rye Whiskey

This is a relatively young whiskey but I don’t say that as if it’s a bad thing.

The nose smells of bright banana, lightly toasted nuts, pine, dill and caraway with a background of vanilla.

As you sip it brings more of that banana and pine, but it remains really light and mild. More toasted nuts, butterscotch, brown sugar and marshmallow and drifts into a light chocolate finish.

Bright and light could sum up the overall experience, but that certainly does not entail a lack of flavor.

The absence of any real big base notes is something I quite like about this rye, it does have some of that distinct rye spiciness, but not in a way that over powers the rest of the experience.

As a whole, I think this is a really nice bottle of young and unique Canadian rye. It has tons of nuance for something so young (likely from the blend of oaks) and it evolves as it sits out in a delicious way. Well done Dillon’s

Cheers!