Lot 40 Rye Whiskey: The Rye You Never Knew You Needed

I can't say that I'm much up to speed on Canadian whiskey. I look at the Whisky Advocate reviews when they post them, and I read my friend SKU's reviews (his take on Lot 40 is here) when he gets a sample. However, when I read the write-up on the Advocate's 2013 "Canadian Whiskey of the Year," I found Davin de Kergommeaux's personal blog with much more information behind the brand. It was a heck of a tale and suddenly I was very interested in Canadian whiskey, even though I couldn't get it or sell it here at K&L. The story behind Lot 40 reads a lot like the American version of Pappy, albeit not quite as neurotic.

It would be another few months before I got the chance to actually taste the Lot 40. It just kind of showed up at the store. "Oh! I've been wanting to taste this!" I told my Pernod Ricard rep. Then it hit my lips. Then Kyle tasted it and jerked his head in my direction, giving me this "what the heck is this?" look, but in a good way. Then the staff went in to taste. Our Italian buyer Greg came out raving, saying "You need to buy as much of that as you can. How much is it? A hundred bucks?"

"It's gonna be around $60," I said.

"I'm in for two" he replied.

We've got a little in stock right now. We're getting a WHOLE bunch tomorrow. A WHOLE bunch.

This is a must-own bottle even if you just kinda like whiskey. And its got a great story. I won't bother to retread the history here, considering I'm no expert anyway. Just read Davin's blog post and then try and tell me you don't want one, too.

Lot 40 2012 Release Canadian Rye Whiskey $59.99

-David Driscoll