Tastes

What an amazing budget bottle of Canadian whiskey. I opened this with my dad over the weekend and what a wonderful smooth sipping whiskey this is. To me, this is what Crown Royal wants to be. A very smooth full-flavored whiskey that has a clean crisp taste and a pleasantly warm feel as it leaves my mouth. It has soft vanilla and sweet nose and it mixes very well with everything I have tried so far like coke and ginger ale. At $10 to $12 buck in my area, I have no issue with mixing this but it is smooth enough to drink neat or with ice. Well done Canada. This is the only Canadian whiskey I have at the moment but when I am done looking for a few specific Irish whiskeys I will take a hard look at our whiskey brothers to the north and see what they are really about. If anyone has suggestions I am open to them. As far as Rich and Rare Reserve is concerned it is a no brainer it is smooth neat and you can mix it and not be upset about it. It is a keeper.

I am finally getting around to writing this after receiving a bottle of Eagle Rare over the holidays. This is a solid but somewhat hard to find Bourbon (in my area) that seems to have a bigger flavor than Buffalo Trace. It has a wonderful vanilla nose and sweetness or fruitness that I really liked with the finish being a slow release with a touch of wood. I really, really like to way the flavor lingers in my mouth. I prefer this on the rocks vs neat I think the dilution opens up this Bourbon a great deal. This stuff makes an outstanding Old Fashioned the flavors in this go with the bitters very well and next to Sazerac rye it is my favorite spirit to make an Old Fashioned. I usually make a Manhatten evaluate the spirit, but unfortunately, my sweet vermouth had turned and when I mixed it the drink tasted like burnt pencil erasers and while I did try to finish it the drink terrible. Overall I really like this stuff and will continue to stock it in my bar. I have read many of the reviews and am a bit worried about finding a bad bottle but still as Robin Hood said in the Disney version "the faint heart never won the fair maiden". I enjoyed this enough to continue to stock this as space is available in my bar. Enjoy.

Over the last weekend, I had a chance to try J&B Scotch and I was not upset with it. I am still looking for a few good scotches to keep in my bar and while I have found Glenmorangie 10yr I am looking for others. This scotch is not bad and while I can taste a touch of the smokiness it does not overpower it. If this is an introductory blend then I believe it succeeds. I had one glass over ice and I made a scotch and soda with the second glass and both were very easy to sip and both were enjoyable to me. The first glass was a bit rough at the start with the sharpness of the scotch jumping right out at the beginning, but as it mixed with the ice the sharpness mellowed and the sweetness and softer smoke/peat? ( I am not sure of the taste of peat I do not have a lot to compare with it.) The Highball was very nice I made a lite highball with 1 oz of J&B to 3 oz of soda water and that is a refreshing drink. The sweetness seems to come out more and the smokiness is muted and on a hot day, that would be a great drink. All I like J&B it is not overpowering and not too smokey for me. Enjoy.

This is a difficult bourbon to explain. From what I read on the bottle it is a straight Bourbon Whiskey but it is aged less than 2 years so I am not sure what to make of that. The liquid inside is surprising in that I was expecting a Texas-style in your face bourbon instead I found a very smooth, easy sipping bourbon that had all of the characteristics of a Wheat Bourbon. This is one of the smoothest drinking bourbons I have had in a long time. It rivals W.L. Weller for smoothness and is better than Makers Mark. It is a light tawny color and has a bit of ethanol on the nose along with vanilla and a slight touch of oak. The body neat is just gentle sweetness maybe sugar cookies or the old-style tea cakes my grandmother used to make but not super sweet. The finish was warm with another touch of wood. It is listed on the site for $30 and I found it at a Specs in San Antonio, TX for $18 and at that price I will continue to buy it. If the flavors continue to hold up for making cocktails this may become my everyday bourbon. It is a very smooth bourbon and a great price.

I finally got around to getting a bottle of this Bourbon. I had read the reviews and was looking forward to trying it. I was not disappointed this is a solid low-cost Bourbon that is full of flavor and is 100 proof. It has vanilla on the nose and the taste lingers in your mouth. I wonder if the mash bill is the original one. I do like this and it mixes well on top of being a decent sipper. I wish I had some Evan Williams BiB or Wild Turkey 101 to try it against to see how they tasted together. This is a really full-flavored drink. When I made an Old Fashioned is was very good with the flavors blending well. This is an easy recommendation with this one, especially at its price point. I tried the 114 years ago and did not like it if it is anything like this I have to revisit it soon. Enjoy.

So years ago I tried Bushmills White Label years ago and it was absolutely terrible. With that in mind, I was quite reluctant to try any other Bushmills product but I saw this on sale and decided to give it a try and I am so glad I did. I really enjoyed this whiskey. The nose is light and fruity and this is the first Irish whiskey that I could smell something other than vanilla. It has a wonderfully light apple and pear nose but it is not overly sweet. It does flatten out if you add ice or water but it does have a great flavor. I made a Highball with this and club soda and on a hot day, it is very refreshing. Overall, I was impressed with this and would recommend this over the white label every day. Now it is an Irish whiskey and that means the taste is light and it leaves your mouth quickly but at its price point it is just fine for rounding out your home bar or as a gift for someone that likes Irish whiskey. I like it.

This used to be my absolute favorite Rye whiskey until I had Rittenhouse 100 and Sazerac rye. Bulleit Rye is a solid Rye that I can find everywhere and every bottle I have had has been great. The sweetness and spiciness balance each other very well. The color is a rich amber. When I have made an Old Fashioned or a Manhattan it is just right. When I first began drinking Rye whiskey's I preferred Jack Daniels and Wild Turkey and Bulleit was the strong Rye. Later, I had Rittenhouse and Sazerac and I began to see all of the great versions of Rye whiskey out there. This is an outstanding Rye and I will always have a special place for Bulleit but it is no longer number one in my bar.