By Richard Thomas
Rating: A-
(Credit: Cooper Spirits)
As it has been years since I last wrote about the brand, a brief background summary of Lock, Stock and Barrel is called for. The brand is owned by Cooper Spirits, a company founded in 2006. Cooper Spirits is an independent bottler, reliant upon sourced spirits, but knowing their foundation date marks them as anything but a Johnny-Come-Lately inspired to cash in on the Bourbon Boom. Some Cooper Spirits products were already established and in circulation before I formally began writing about whiskey 15 years ago. The Lock, Stock and Barrel brand is based squarely on imported stocks of Canadian rye from Alberta Distillers. Historically this has taken the form of batches of annual and limited edition releases ranging from 13 to 21 years old (in 2017, we reviewed an 18 Year Old from Lock, Stock and Barrel and before that their 16 Year Old), but they recently put out a flagship Vatted Rye that is meant for regular release. I’ll be reviewing that new flagship rye directly.
The stats behind Lock, Stock and Barrel 21 Years Old Rye 2025 indicate that it is a 100% rye, distilled in 1999 in copper pots. Keeping the distillation season in mind, it’s a good guess that this whiskey was dumped and transferred to stainless steel casks or tanks at upon surpassing 21 years by a certain margin, because if the youngest whiskey used were substantially older than 21 years old, that is the number they would use. Easy math tells us that this stuff would be 26 years old if it had been in wood since 2020. The whiskey has been bottled at 55.5% ABV (111 proof).
The Whiskey
My pour took on a light amber coloring in the glass. The nose led in a way that told me it was quite musty right off the bat. Moving past that, the scent was like a cross between pumpernickel bread and a cinnamon graham cracker. Finally, after one grows accustomed to the prevailing mustiness, a dulled note of caramel arose.
A sip revealed a light, but oily texture to the whiskey. The flavor elements come together more cohesively on the palate than the nose, bringing cinnamon and anise, brown sugar, chopped coconut and a pinch of cracked peppercorns. The finish rolls off that last note, running peppery in the main.
The Price
A bottle of this ultra-aged Canadian-sourced rye will set you back $499.99.
