Raging Crow Can’t Call It B**rbon ★★★★

Bourbon militants will tell you that “by law” bourbon must be made in the United States. “Make it anywhere else and you can’t call it bourbon,” they insist, forgetting that American laws do not apply outside the USA. Really, it is more a matter of goodwill, and formal trade agreements with the US that keep Canadian distillers from calling their corn-based, mixed-mash whiskies bourbon. 

It does seem a somewhat ungrateful law though, given how in times of need – post-prohibition in particular – American distillers looked to Canadian distilleries to provide the whisky with which American bourbon bottles were filled. Yes, there was a time when the labels on Old Crow, Old Overholt and many other well known American bourbon brands clearly declared that the bourbon itself was made in Canada. 

Given that US laws allow distillers in any of the 50 states from Alaska to Florida, and Maine to Hawaii to make bourbon, terroir is not a factor, as it is for example for Champagne, which is the protected name for a sparkling wine made in France’s  Champagne region. And since the name “bourbon” is not based on the name of the country of origin (as “Scotch” is on Scotland), there is no real geographical designation either. No, the claim, enshrined though it may be in US law, is arbitrary. 

But honestly, who cares? When people taste a new Canadian whisky named “Can’t Call It B**rbon,” their first thought will be, “Bourbon, and a good one at that.” For, as the fair Juliet wondered in Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, “What’s in a name? That which we call a rose, by any other name would smell as sweet.” And Can’t Call It B**rbon is one sweet little bourbon indeed.

To produce the whisky, Jill Lindquist and her team at Raging Crow Distillery in North River, Nova Scotia, ferment a mixed mash of 65.2% corn, 17.4% rye and 17.4% barley, then age the distillate in brand new Kentucky oak barrels for 13 to 16 months. US law also specifies that if it is aged at all, bourbon must be aged in new oak. There is no specific ageing requirement, though, unless you want to call it “straight bourbon,” or “bottled in bond.”

Raging Crow is an artisanal distillery that sources local ingredients where possible, to craft into small-batch, hand-made spirits. This includes the locally grown rye used to make Can’t Call It B**rbon. Available in 375 and 750 ml bottles, this whisky can be purchased online from Raging Crow Distillery Inc. for delivery across Canada.

Tasting Notes:

CAN’T CALL IT B**RBON 46% abv

With clean wood, sweet cherries and vanilla on the nose, and rich oak caramels tempered with hints of vanilla and barrel notes on the palate, Can’t Call it B**rbon ticks all the boxes to please aficionados of what we can’t call it. A sweet, almost fruity palate delivers a lush, creamy texture that leaps to life as the initial mild and warming peppers begin to rage and caw like a corvus chorus, on subsequent sips. Low-key oak tannins bolster flavours of sawdust, barnboard and wood shavings, while also signalling the whisky’s brisk youth. Clear notes of doused, burnt firewood add a pleasing smoky quality. The longish finish fades in cereal notes. And if you leave your empty glass out overnight, next morning it smells of oak caramels and clean wood. Call it what you like, this whisky is well crafted and highly recommended. Rage on Madam Corvus, rage on? Highly Recommended ★★★★