Field Note 002: Sweet Treats – Chocolate Malted Rye, Ginger Beer Casks & Maple Syrup Barrels
Written & Photos By: Reece Sims
Overview:
A dessert-lovers’ whisky lineup that proved sweetness can be complex, creative, and completely grown-up.
Date:
July 28, 2025 – July 30, 2025
The People & Places:
Dinner with Master Distiller Tim Wilson at one of Niagara’s few Michelin-recommended restaurants isn’t your average Monday night. Between courses, Tim poured a curated lineup that hinted at his experimental streak, a preview of what was waiting in the warehouses on Wednesday. There, among slumbering casks, we cracked open whiskies rarely (if ever) seen outside the distillery: chocolate malted rye, ginger beer–finished rye, and more.
Flavors in Focus:
• Cask Strength Oat Whisky – Soft, creamy, and comfortingly grain-forward.
• Rye Finished in Maple Syrup Casks – Sweet maple candy meets peppery rye spice.
• 100% Chocolate Malted Rye – Dark cocoa, roasted coffee, and spice in decadent balance.
• Rye Finished in Ginger Beer Casks – Ginger heat, citrus lift, and rye’s signature bite.
Reflections:
Not all sweet whiskies are simple — and not all experiments are risky. In Tim’s hands, dessert isn’t sugar overload, it’s texture, depth, and unexpected layers. These casks were less about chasing trends and more about bottling curiosity, leaving me convinced: when the barrel’s this good, you don’t need a dessert course to end the night.
Field Note Tasting Rule No. 2: Skip the dessert menu when your dram already satisfies the craving
When most people think of Wayne Gretzky Distillery, their minds go straight to the Red Cask Canadian Whisky or that dangerously drinkable Maple Cream Liqueur. But like most good things in whisky, there’s far more going on beneath the surface.
I’d known of Master Distiller Tim Wilson long before I actually had the chance to talk to him. We were technically at the same table at the Canadian Whisky Awards, but seated so far apart it might as well have been a long-distance relationship. Fast-forward to a few days in Niagara, and I finally got to see what he’s been quietly tinkering with behind the scenes.
Now, I didn’t ask him outright if he has a sweet tooth, but judging by some of the drams we tasted… I’m willing to bet dessert might be his love language.
The Warm-Up: Gretzky at The Kent
My first Gretzky sips that trip came at The Kent Motel Lounge launch, hosted by Josh Beach, now at Spirit in Niagara, and developing his own rye label, but formerly Gretzky’s Master Distiller. The pours were excellent, but the evening was cut short by a dinner date with Tim at Trius Winery & Restaurant, one of only three Michelin-recommended restaurants in Niagara-on-the-Lake.
Trius offers a two- and three-course prix fixe menu. I started with a Hillside Farm Beet Salad (honey-whipped ricotta, Icewine-poached rhubarb, beet meringue, beet gel, and honeycomb tuile) before moving on to an Ontario Beef Tasting (grilled Angus striploin and braised short rib).
Before any food touched the table, Tim had lined up five whiskies: Double Barrel, Signature Rye, Four Grain, Single Grain Oat Whisky, and a Maple Cask–finished malted rye.
The Maple Cask stole my attention — made with 100% Ontario grains, aged, then finished in casks that once held maple syrup. Think oak, toasted nut, maple candy, vanilla, and sweet spice wrapped in a gentle, rounded sweetness. I’m not big on sugary profiles, but this was pure nostalgia — like slowly toasting a marshmallow over a campfire until it’s golden, not charred.
The Warehouse Session: Dessert, Reimagined
Our second meet-up was in the maturation warehouses, where Tim let us de-bung and taste through several unreleased barrels. Four stood out (of which two were in our tasting at Trius):
• Cask Strength Oat Whisky (only four barrels made) – Buttery and creamy with a rounded cereal core, oat whisky tends to give softer textures and a mellow sweetness, almost like the whisky equivalent of oat milk’s comfort factor.
• Rye Finished in Maple Syrup Casks – Rich maple aromas with a spice kick from the rye base, giving you that sweet-spicy interplay that feels like Sunday brunch in a glass.
• 100% Chocolate Malted Rye – Dark cocoa, roasted coffee, and rye spice create a decadent, almost stout-like profile. Chocolate malt is rare in rye, and it gives a deeper, toastier dimension without tipping into bitterness.
• Rye Finished in Ginger Beer Casks – Bright ginger heat meets peppery rye spice, layered with hints of citrus and molasses. A finish like this is unusual and adds a vibrant, almost cocktail-like lift to the whisky.
Why These Matter
Canadian whisky often plays it safe in the public eye — but these cask experiments prove it doesn’t have to. Each one of these drams pushes flavor boundaries in a way that still feels rooted in tradition. The oat whisky shows how texture can be as memorable as taste. The Maple Cask finish transforms a seasonal treat into something year-round. The chocolate malted rye is indulgent without being cloying. And the ginger beer finish? It’s the kind of left-field move that works so well, you wonder why no one else is doing it.
Some distilleries make their mark by playing the hits. Others, like Wayne Gretzky Distillery under Tim Wilson’s watch, keep a few wildcard tracks hidden for those willing to dig deeper. Sweet tooth or not, these whiskies prove that when dessert is in the glass, you won’t miss it on the plate.
This Field Note is part of a series as we explore whisky producers in the Niagara Region of Ontario, Canada.