r/worldwhisky

Hey folks! I've been wanting to try one of Dillon's more serious whisky releases for a while, and this one finally caught my attention. First up, yes I review whisky on YouTube, but no this is not a paid promotional review or post.

This is the current Dillon's Rye 1, a distillery-exclusive 10-year-old whisky made from 100% Ontario rye. It's a single cask of new Ontario oak, bottled at cask strength, and made grain-to-glass at Dillon's in Niagara. The distillery calls it a "100KM Whisky" because the ingredients are sourced within 100km of the distillery.

This particular release is Cask 87, 54.1% ABV, 122 months old, with 450 bottles. It also picked up Double Gold / 96 points at the 2026 San Francisco World Spirits Competition. I've seen some older discussions of Dillon's Rye 1 on here, and I know the younger releases have had some pretty mixed reactions.

Nose: For me it's a really expressive rye. Fresh rye bread, honey, orange peel with a deeper layer of toasted oak and cedar underneath. There's a nice herbal quality if you like that sort of thing.

Palate: This is where the whisky really clicked for me. Lots of baking spice, caramelized sugar, toasted grain and dark fruit, but it is followed by a pretty substantial wave of rye spice. The new oak is definitely present and I'd be curious to see this aged even longer.

Finish: Long, warming and dry. Cinnamon and pepper hang around alongside toasted oak.

What I find most interesting about this whisky isn't just that it's a 10-year-old Canadian rye. It's how committed the production is to a particular place...

100% Ontario rye. New Ontario oak. Grain-to-glass. Distilled, aged and bottled at the distillery.

I also recently met Geoff Dillon while he was in Vancouver for the World's 50 Best Bars events. We ended up having a beer at Como Taperia and talked about everything from kids and running a spirits business in Canada to Dillon's approach to sustainability and local sourcing.

That conversation actually changed how I think about this bottle. The "100KM Whisky" idea doesn't feel like a marketing gimmick when you understand how deliberately Dillon's has built the production around local ingredients.

Has anyone else tried the current 10-year Rye 1 release? I'm especially curious how it compares to the older Rye 1 casks.

If you want to learn more, I have a full video review here; https://youtu.be/5LRQrE4vO-I

Hi all, I'm here today with a rather interesting Korean whisky!

This one here is another one a Korean friend brought to our whisky spot for sharing. Interestingly, this one is a bottle fully distilled and aged in Korea!

From what I heard from my Korean friend, the Kimchangsoo brand was one of the rising stars in Korea's relatively young whisky making history. The owner founded his own distillery in 2020, with the goal to create his very own 'grain to glass' whisky in Korea!

The distillery focuses on small batch, small quantity production, with the goal of becoming something similar to Korea's Chichibu some day (where the owner had spent some time working at). Interestingly, one of his 2025 releases won minor recognition in the WWA!

Kimchangsoo Whisky Single Cask, Summer Bloom Lotus (50% abv)

This is a 4 year old, lightly peated, 1st fill PX Sherry cask single cask whisky that wasn't chill filtered. I heard from the Korean friend that the Korean whisky enthusiasts were quite eager with this brand, and their bottles' preorder tend to sell out pretty quickly. 

Was it worth the hype? Here are my notes:

*Nose*

new make fumey;

sichuan peppers;

crushed walnuts & oiliness;

dried red jujube, smoked dried plum;

light hint of fresh cucumber;

maltose shows up after resting;

peat smoke (campfire-like)

*Palate*

oily;

new-make like fumey;

sweet maltose;

very prominent sichuan peppers;

sweet dried red fruit (jujube);

slightly charred oak;

oaky bitterness that lingers

hint of campfire-like peat smoke in the background

present alcohol sting, some astringency

*Finish*

medium-long.

a bit of the fumeyness/sting lingers;

red jujube but just the fragrance;

maltose but with subdued sweetness;

ash-like smoky and peaty bitterness;

a light hint of the peppery spice.

*Conclusion*

This one was certainly unique enough to be memorable!

What I found most interesting about it had to be the very present sichuan peppercorn spiciness and fragrance, which I must say was a pretty odd note but worked rather well without feeling particularly off. While it undoubtedly had a bit of the new-make like abrasiveness/acridness, the oily body and the rather well balanced mix of dried red fruity and smoky peat character more than cover up for that shortcoming.

Now I must say, I've noticed a pretty interesting point when it comes to these very young whiskies-the young whiskies made with peated distillates tend to fare better than non-peated ones. It sure seemed like the additional oiliness from the peat made the whiskies have a mellower, more rounded mouthfeel, while also adding an additional layer of complexity. It does feel a bit like cheating though lmao.

All in all, I kind of enjoyed this one, and made me quite curious  to what Kimchangsoo can potentially create when his whiskies were given more time to age! 

Thanks for reading, cheers!

I've been working my way through a few Paul John expressions recently, and the thing that keeps striking me is just how tropical their whiskies are. FYI, no, this is not a paid or partner review.

Mango, pineapple, papaya, banana, honey... these aren't occasional notes for me. They seem to show up again and again, regardless of the cask.

The Paul John Madeira Cask might be one of the clearest examples I've tasted.

Before my notes, I'd love to know how folk are feeling about Indian whiskies and specifically Paul John?

On the nose for this bottle, I get ripe mango, grilled pineapple, papaya and guava, with honey, vanilla custard and a little orange blossom underneath. Yes, a lot going on.

The palate is rich and creamy (Paul John for me is generally fairly oily), with peach, baked pineapple, caramelized banana and golden raisins. There's plenty of sweetness, but it doesn't come across as syrupy. The texture is oily and coating, with some cinnamon and gentle oak keeping things in check.

The finish hangs around with tropical fruit, a little cocoa and warming spice. I love the finish on it.

What I find particularly interesting is that the Madeira doesn't seem to dominate the whisky. Instead, it feels like it amplifies what Paul John is already doing.

I've now tasted several Paul John releases, including their Port and PX expressions, and I keep coming back to the same house style: tropical fruit, richness, and a really distinctive texture.

That's what makes this bottle interesting to me. The Madeira finish adds dried fruit, honey, marmalade and a little extra richness, but underneath it is still unmistakably Paul John.

I wouldn't necessarily tell everyone they need a bottle, but if you enjoy fruit-forward single malts or want to explore what Indian whisky can do, I'd definitely look for a pour of this one.

I'm particularly curious what other people think of Paul John's "house style." Do you get the same tropical character across their different expressions, or am I just tasting mango everywhere now?

Full video review here: https://youtu.be/ZHM_qwWFfWc