Those readers who were not living under a rock in the 80s and 90s will remember Wayne Gretzky, aka Number 99, aka The Great One, aka the greatest hockey player ever.
Although he grew up in Onterrible, it was during his stint with the Edmonton Oilers from 1979 to 1988 that he made his mark on the world.
Retiring from the game in 1999, Gretzky dabbled in coaching and ownership roles in both hockey and football, and just this month, became partner and vice-chairman of Oilers Entertainment Group. Yes, gentle reader, The Great One has returned home to Edmonton, and the sports fans are all atwitter.
That is all well and good, but this isn’t the sports page, so let’s talk about The Great One’s forays into booze.
Faithful readers may recall your intrepid liquor reporter’s tale of visiting the Wayne Gretzky Estate Winery near Niagara-On-The-Lake several years back, and will be pleased to hear that winery operations have expanded west to the Okanagan Valley and to Sonoma County in California.
Like most of the global wine industry, consolidation is the norm, and this winery is no exception. Operating under the umbrella of Andrew Peller Limited, the Wayne Gretzky Estate Winery is part of the same family as Peller Estates, Sandhill, Red Rooster, and many more.
The original winery in Niagara-On-The-Lake has been long since been outgrown, but a new and much larger Wayne Gretzky Winery & Craft Distillery is already in operation, and expects to open their tasting room to the public in the spring.
Distilled from grains grown in Gretzky’s hometown of Brantford, the No. 99 Red Cask Canadian Whisky gets its name from being finished in casks previously used to age the Cabernet from the winery side of the business.
Unsurprisingly, the spirit is available at the No. 99 Gretzky’s Wine & Whisky restaurant, which opened a few weeks ago in the Edmonton International Airport, as well as the long-running Gretzky restaurant in Toronto.
The whisky is also available at well stocked booze merchants in Ontario and Alberta, so you should have no trouble finding it at your local bottle shop, or behind the bar in sports lounges everywhere.
Your intrepid liquor reporter was able to sample a wee dram at a tasting event, and was pleasantly surprised that a $35 whisky could hold its own against much pricier counterparts.
Made predominantly from rye grains, the whisky has the typical oily texture and spicy finish that rye is well known for, as well as a warm smoothness imparted by blending with a corn-based spirit.
The whisky is aged in oak for three years to bestow toasty vanilla undertones, and then finished in old Cabernet casks to add a splash of dried fruit flavours to the spirit.
Make no mistake, this is a blended Canadian whisky, so it is an easy-drinking and approachable spirit that will be enjoyed by the same demographic that enjoys Crown Royal or Jack Daniels, rather than the haughty and preening single-malt Scotch connoisseurs that your humble narrator so frequently consorts with.
Some people take their Rye Whisky with a mixer of ginger ale or coke, but your humble narrator prefers his neat, or perhaps with a few drops of water to bring the essential oils out of solution to more fully coat the tongue.
As long as you are sampling the whisky, you might as well pick up a bottle of the No. 99 wine at the same time. The Cab Sauv and Chardonnay produced in the Sonoma County winery command a premium price, while the wines from the Ontario and BC wineries are in the $15-$25 range.
My favourite from the Niagara-On-The-Lake winery is the No. 99 Riesling, a bargain at only $15. With hints of peach and tangerine on the nose, followed by citrus and lemon rind on the palate, the Riesling pairs well with BBQ pork chops or spicy dishes.
Closer to home, the Okanagan winery produces a Cab Sauv / Syrah blend that retails for $16, and is a full-bodied red for those who enjoy a robust red wine. With plenty of vanilla from the oak aging, and hints of tobacco and leather on the palate, this is a big red made to be savoured.
Whether whisky or wine whets your whistle, old No. 99 has something for you. Try one today!
