As Canadian As A Butter Tart
TJ Shirk • September 7, 2021
A Review of Top Shelf Distillers Butter Tart Liquor
Is there anything more Canadian than a butter tart? Sure poutine is iconic, but deep down America wishes they invented that sinister delight. Nanaimo bars are also a favourite, but many people dislike coconut, and honestly coconuts don’t grow here. To me, the butter tart is a quintessential part of “Canadian cuisine”. Plain, raisin, pecan or one of many other creations, whatever your palate there is probably a flavour for you. I’m not fussy. If you’d prefer to drink your butter tart, look no further. Top Shelf Distillers in Perth, Ontario has you covered. In this article I will be reviewing Top Shelf’s Butter Tart liquor.
I was introduced to this liquor through Top Shelf’s social media and found it at my local liquor store. As a big fan of butter tarts, this looked right up my alley. The bottle is $22.95 for 375mL and is 17% ABV.
The colour is deep amber, the colour of butter tart filling. The nose is full of butter tart aromas. Brown sugar, caramel, butter and pecan. On the palate it is very sweet. With 226g/L of sugar! Flavours of caramel and table syrup, almost like Aunt Jemima butter flavour syrup. Light alcohol and a mouthfeel of light maple syrup.
I tasted the butter tart liquor three ways. Neat, on ice and with some rye whisky added. Neat is very nice. Same temperature you would enjoy a butter tart. You feel the little alcohol that is in it. On ice all I tasted was the sweetness. The ice dilutes the alcohol level, leaving a cold syrup-like sipper. Not my preference but you may like it. My prefered drinking method is with the addition of rye whiskey. A little goes a long way. Just as the pastry helps tame the sweetness of the butter tart filling, the rye adds a bready richness and alcohol level for a more balanced drinking experience. This would also be a great addition to coffee or as a substitute for simple syrup in a cocktail, even over vanilla ice cream.
This butter tart liquor may not be for everyone. It is very sweet, almost more so than a butter tart, depending on the recipe. Those who do not like butter tarts probably won’t like this either. It is a very well crafted product. That being said, it isn’t something I would drink a lot of, or very often. I will definitely keep a bottle around over the holidays when butter tarts are being served, as a dessert drink option.
Check out Top Shelf Distillers other offerings on their website at topshelfdistillers.com and on Instagram @tsdistillers and in LCBO locations across Ontario.
*Oenzym is not affiliated with Top Shelf Distillers. Products were purchased for the purpose of review.