Dillons poire William
Yeast infection
A word to my fellow Canadian whisky enthusiacs:
In this project, called the cwe, we revel in the short amount of time that we have to really promote our countries fine product, and we will continue to brag about the quality of canadian spirits for years to come. We here would rather let curious consumers reap the benefits of our work by showing the best Canada has to offer, without punishing the products that are not extraordinary.
However, on the odd occasion we have to do the dirty work and inform the public that there are spirits that are better left alone and not even to be experimented with at the risk of losing your hard earned money and unfortunately, this is the time.
This is a distillate to avoid. It carries a pronounced and seemingly exaggerated yeast profile which has not been removed from the distillation process. During distillation, when the alcohol is boiled off and separated from the remaining water, the alcoholic vapours enjoy condensing back into liquid while making contact with copper tubing, which usually cleans up the last of the yeasty profile. While yeast is a large contributing factor in any fermented beverage, it should not be so evident in the flavor profile.
Yeast selection is paramount in the Canadian whisky field and applying a brewers yeast, winemakers yeast or distillers yeast can create three very different flavours, but in the end, the yeast flavor should not be in the end product.
Sour, grassy, sulphuric and fruity, yeast on its own is not a pleasant taste and when not removed the flavours contributed can carry a very negative effect.
The poire William I tasted was the second batch to be released from dillons small batch distillery and it was unpleasant. This is the second time I had tasted such an offensive, undrinkable, unmixable spirit from dillons, the other being their white rye.
This being said, dillons vodka is good and their gin and tonics are outstanding. And since this is batch #2, I hope batches coming out afterwards are different.
Alc. 40%
Bottle:
Dillons classic stubby bell and stem with a white label. The text is written in black and the font is reminiscent of an apothecary.
Nose:
Sour new make, with rotting apples. Chewed, wet paper and some spirit. a little floral with some possible dry chocolate.
Palate:
Dry pears, hot, and finishing with sour yeasty tones.
Overall:
Avoid. Don’t buy.
Please note:
This is a pear spirit made from local Ontario bartlett pears. Started as a pear wine fermented with champagne yeast, then distilled into a classic poire William, one of my personal favourite eau de vie, when executed properly.
Dillons is crafting spirits mostly known for mixing, in which they boast a large cocktails portfolio on their website. Personally I believe the vodka and gins benefit the most in mixing, most likely because they are distilled from unused wine stocks.
Southern Ontario is waiting patiently for dillons release of aged whisky, which may be released in late 2016.
canadian whisky enthusiast 