Gibson’s Finest Rare 12y with Davey

IMG_6110xOkay… This is a head-scratcher. This might technically be a Round 2, but it’s hard to say. We’ve had Gibson’s Finest 12y before, but it didn’t have the word “Rare” on it, and the LCBO lists the Finest 12y and the Finest Rare 12y as separate listings. But the Gibson’s website lists their “Rare” as 18y, while the LCBO lists their 18y as “Finest Venerable”. And none of the pictures of the bottles on either website look like this one. So it’s possible that Gibson’s Finest Rare 12y is either a new, “less available” version of the Finest 12y, or (more likely) a market adjustment to add Rare to Finest to attract some new attention. Like me purchasing it, regrettably.

Maybe it is different, maybe it isn’t, but the notes are similar and the result is the same.

The other Gibson, the Sterling, is cheaper by two dollars, but only available starting at a size up from this one. If this is the second or third tier of their product range I’m genuinely afraid of trying the entry level stuff. Here’s what we thought:

colour
Davey – amber
Simon – light brass, sticky legs

nose
Davey – nothing
Simon – fake, caramel, hairspray, smoke

neat
Davey – sharp, but no strong flavour
Simon – nothing but burn

finish
Davey – nothing
Simon – heartburn

splash
Davey – n/a
Simon – n/a

Gibson’s Finest Rare 12y – 40% 375ml – $16.50 – Canada

Try it? Seriously no. Buy it. Really no.

3 Replies to “Gibson’s Finest Rare 12y with Davey”

  1. 1
    Grant

    It’s simply a redesign of their regular lineup. They have most likely reduced the prominence of “12 years” on the label so as to slowly remove it from the label as it becomes very problematic to meet up with demand when you deal with an aged product (ie., you are never able to “speed up” production). As it’s no longer on the main paper label, they are hoping to just remove it altogether over time.

    My guess is they felt they needed something to replace “12 years”, so they chose “rare” as “finest” is already being used in their branding. I’m sure it’s the same base product that they’ve always had in the (gold) lineup.

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