Wayne Gretzky No 99 Red
What to do when you’ve finished a legendary hockey career with the moniker The Great One? You could rest on your laurels, but you could also start a winery followed by a distillery. Wayne Gretzky Estates opened in 2017 in southern Ontario and boasts a wide array of offerings from both areas, including some beer. Taking a cue from recent trends, one of the brand offerings is the Wayne Gretzky No 99 Red, a rye whisky finished in casks taken from the estate’s winery – specifically the red one. While the details on which specific red wine casks are not specified, the winery offers Merlot, Shiraz Cabernet, along with multiple mixed reds.
M Whiskey
Twin Spirits was founded in 2014 by Michelle Winchester and began production in 2016. The distillery has a cocktail room and coffee shop on site, and is often a place where local music can be found. The 100 gallon copper pot stills were made in Kentucky and the distillery uses a grain-to-glass approach for most of their products. The M Whiskey is the distillery’s only sourced product, finished in ex-red wine casks from local Alexis Bailly Vineyards. The desire was to produce a port cask finish, and the dessert wines were the closest approximation available. The M Whiskey, along with the other spirits from the distillery, are available in 375 ml bottles.
Tullamore D.E.W. Cider Cask
Tullamore D.E.W. likes the number 3. Triple distilled, triple blended, three ingredients. Making whiskey either by brand or by hand at their own distillery since 1829, when the original distillery opened in Tullamore. The D.E.W. of the brand name is from former distillery manager and owner Daniel E. Williams, who created what would eventually become the brand signature (and caused to have his initial stamped on the barrels, D.E.W.). One of the offerings from their large portfolio is this Tullamore D.E.W. Cider Cask, taking a spirit aged in ex-bourbon and ex-sherry casks and finished in bourbon barrels that once held apple cider.