Tastes

COLOUR: Deep reddish-brown with golden highlights. LEGS: Thin clothesline formed; thick, oily drops gathered; then shortly dropped down the glass at a moderate pace in thick oily tears. NOSE: Subtle, gentle & mature; soft sweet rye; caramel, toffee & powdered candy; some sweet sherry fruitiness, but with a tangy rye spiciness added; herbal & woody; every now and then there is a burst of deliciousness, but it is elusive. WITH WATER (2 drops into 10mL): dusty sweetness rises. Score 6/10 TASTE: Very rich & round; medium viscous mouthfeel; moderate intensity (3/5); very sweet; some rye spice; toffee, runny honey, sugar & powdered candy; tropical fruits, sherry tang & dried fruit; woody. WITH WATER: sweeter. Score 8/10 FINISH: Medium and very sweet. WITH WATER: same. Score 6/10 OVERALL: Very nice and rounded and mature; very sweet and delicious; nice sherry influenced fruitiness. Weighted Score 7.2/10 IMAGERY: Drinking in a candy shop in the Niagara Falls tourist strip.

COLOUR: Dark gold. LEGS: Pretty quick and medium thickness; fairly oily-looking. NOSE: Moderate (3/5); moderately sweet; rye spice; vanilla, toffee & honey; sour green apples; citrus; black pepper; licorice; herbal & oaky. Pretty nice and pleasant; with the occasional waft of deliciousness. WITH WATER (3 drops into 10mL): an increase in well-balanced deliciousness. Score 7/10 TASTE: Fairly simple and straight-forward; light (2/5) & thin; heavy rye & then some corn sweetness; vanilla, butterscotch, honey & maple syrup; tropical fruits; black pepper; licorice & slight saltiness. Quite nice; predominantly sweet with a rye bite, and some interesting flavours emerging with patience. WITH WATER: washed out, and perhaps a bit sweeter. Score 7/10 FINISH: Very brief; sweet and spicy. WITH WATER: sweeter and slightly longer. Score 4/10 OVERALL: Quite pleasant and well-rounded blended Canadian; not too dominant on the rye, which is sweetened up and smoothed out by the corn; not a bad thing to have on your shelf for some mindless sipping, especially at the rock-bottom price. Initial Impression (2022-04-03): nose is rather pleasant and sweet, reminiscent of the corn sweetness of Potter's and Signal Hill; taste is similarly sweet, with a kick of spicy rye, and a bit of bitter oak on the sides of the tongue; finish is short and sweet and spicy. Weighted Score 6.7/10 *NOTE: came in a huge 1.75L bottle.

COLOUR: Medium gold; King Tut's death mask, after a quick polish for the press in 1922. LEGS: Very thick clothesline; big bulges formed and stayed on the line for ages; finally formed broken tears that fell very slowly (this all bodes well for a good mouthfeel). NOSE: Delicate-moderate (2/5); sweet corn, spicy rye & malty richness; caramel, honey & powdered candy; licorice; herbal & flowers. Quite pleasant and nothing off-putting. WITH WATER (5 drops into 10mL): same, but subdued. Score 7/10 TASTE: Rich, oily (4/5), thick & round; quite powerful and bitey (5/5); sweet corn, spicy rye & malty barley; vanilla, caramel, butterscotch & runny honey; orange(!) & sour citrus; licorice; very herbal; salt & pepper. Not too bad, but it does have a bit of young herbal acetone in the background. WITH WATER: not good -- sweet acetone dominates all else. Score 7/10 FINISH: Very short and unmemorable; a bit of everything (corn, rye, barley, wheat). WITH WATER: sweeter. Score 3/10 OVERALL: An interesting dram, due to the history of G&W, and the blend of four grains which all contribute to the whole without losing their individual character. Weighted Score 6.6/10 IMAGERY: Standing on the Canadian prairie and tasting everything that is growing in the field.

COLOUR: Orange-bronze. LEGS: Very fast and thin (this does not bode well for a good mouth-feel); secondary legs much thicker and a little slower. NOSE: Delicate (2/5); sweet corn & slightly spicy rye; lots of acetone (unpleasant nail polish remover); caramel, honey & sugar; some grassy hay-like character; hint of salt. WITH WATER (3 drops into 10mL): almost everything is gone except for the annoying acetone. Score 3.10 TASTE: Very sweet; rich, oily & thick; powerful (4/5); drying spicy rye; butterscotch, honey & sugar (a bit like rum); very sweet and one-dimensional. WITH WATER: less sweet; chocolate emerges (very interesting); but the acetone also rises unpleasantly. Score 6/10 FINISH: Very short; delicate (1/5); sweet & spicy, but very subtle; butterscotch & sugar. WITH WATER: same, but with a remembrance of chocolate. Score 4/10 OVERALL: A very sweet dessert-like dram; the nose is very unpleasant and off-putting; the taste is better. Better without water, unless you want the chocolate taste, but you lose everything else. Weighted Score 4.9/10

COLOUR: Dark bronze; or well-aged brass; slightly hazy. LEGS: Very fine clothesline; thick blobs gathered quickly; then giant oily drops moved down the glass quite quickly. NOSE: Delicate-Moderate (2/5); sweet corn & rich barley; vanilla, caramel, toffee; slight hints of citrus (maybe imaginary); wood oak. Quite nice for a Canadian; no off-putting acetone. Score 8/10 TASTE: Thick, rich & mouth-coating; moderate intensity (3/5); very sweet and reminiscent of rum; vanilla, caramel & lots of maple syrup; tropical fruits & dark berries; cinnamon nip on the edges. Score 9/10 FINISH: Medium; sweetness lingers; nice and juicy; happy memories. Score 8/10 OVERALL: A very nice, corn-heavy sweet dram; delicious. Weighted Score 8.6/10 IMAGERY: Drinking rum atop Signal Hill in Newfoundland, watching the whales and pirate ships going by.

COLOUR: Old copper still. LEGS: Thin clothesline; micro-beads consolidated into bigger drops on the line; a long time later, they gently and very slowly rolled down the glass like Empress Carlotta's necklace; they took forever to fully drop -- I lost patience and went on to the nose. NOSE: Moderate (3/5); sweet, spicy & grassy; vanilla, honey & maple syrup; sour green apples & citrus; slight acetone (Sharpie marker); herbal, hay & oak. WITH WATER (10 drops into 15mL): perhaps slightly sweeter and dustier. Score 7/10 TASTE: Very thick and rich; oily, wet drying; powerful (5/5); very sweet, very spicy rye; vanilla, caramel & honey; pepper, cinnamon & leather; herbal & oaky; some hints of salt towards the end; WITH WATER: much juicier, sweeter, creamier, and dustier; way better; I bumped up the score by half a point. Score 8.5/10 FINISH: Long and sweet, with lots of hot rye spice; a little dusty grains at the end on the burp. WITH WATER: longer and sweeter. Score 7.5/10 OVERALL: Quite strong and harsh without water; very sweet and delicious with water. Excellent in a tumbler with an ice cube, but be sure to drink it all down before the ice cube fully melts and dilutes the rye too much. Weighted Score 8.0/10 IMAGERY: I'm browsing a small-town candy store, smelling all the candy dust in the air.

COLOUR: Dark bronze. LEGS: Very thin clothesline; micro-beads consolidated into bigger drops on the line; then gently and very slowly rolled down the glass like Empress Carlotta's necklace. NOSE: Moderate (3/5); sweet & rye; caramel, butterscotch & honey; sour green apples, lime & slight tropical fruit; herbal & oaky. More pleasant and inviting that Batch 1. Does not smell anything like 66% ABV. The longer I nose, the better it gets a really nice warming sweet rye dustiness develops. WITH WATER (10 drops into 15mL): acetone (Sharpie marker) appears, and the nose becomes less pleasant. Score 8/10 TASTE: Rich, oily, thick & round, with a strong and drying alcohol burn; powerful (5/5); sweet rye spice; vanilla, caramel, butterscotch & maple syrup; quite fruity; black pepper, cinnamon & licorice; lots of drying oak; salty tinge at the end. A really enjoyable full-flavoured experience, but a bit of an assault on the senses. WITH WATER: richer and creamier, and easier on the senses. More water makes it even more so. Score 8.5/10 FINISH: Long; powerful (5/5); drying; sweet rye spices linger; butterscotch & honey continue; pepper & cinnamon persist; herbal & oak remain. You know you have had a beast, as your tongue will be numb. WITH WATER: longer and fruitier. Score 8/10 OVERALL: A very rich and full-flavoured dram. Needs water to tame it. Excellent in a tumbler with an ice cube, but be sure to drink it all down before the ice cube fully melts and dilutes the rye too much. IMAGERY: Eating gummy bears at the back of a barn just after harvest time; the barn is full to the rafters with fresh grain and dust; there is a chill in the air, but I don't care, coz this bottle is keeping my nice and warm while I goof off and avoid my chores. Weighted Score 8.3/10

COLOUR: Dark bronze. LEGS: Very thin clothesline; micro-beads consolidated into bigger drops on the line; then gentle and slowly rolled down the glass like Empress Carlotta's necklace. NOSE: Moderate (3/5); rye spice; some acetone (Sharpie marker); sweet vanilla, caramel & butterscotch; sour green apples; black pepper; herbal dusty hay; drying wood; slightly earthy and rubbery. Not particularly enticing or special. Does not smell like 65% ABV. WITH WATER (10 drops into 15mL): no difference; 10 more drops causes it to fade quite a bit. Score 7/10 TASTE: Hugely powerful (5/5) & richly flavoured; lots of sweet vanilla & caramel; giant hit of rye spice; a massive explosion of flavour in the mouth; very drying; all fruity, sweet & spicy; vanilla & butterscotch; black pepper & cinnamon; herbal and woody. Now you can taste the full 65% ABV. Huge & flavourful mouthfeel; very very tasty, but a but rough on the edges due to youth. WITH WATER: a little tamed and more manageable; fruity spice elevates; still very drying; 10 more drops brings forth some gentle creaminess, which is quite nice; always the burning spicy rye though. Score 9.5/10 FINISH: Long and numbing; sweet spice lingers. WITH WATER: dryer and longer. Score 9/10 OVERALL: Really excellent, strong, fruity, sweet & spicy dram; my tongue is numb! Get as many bottles as you can. (2021-10-02) First impressions: really strong and flavourful; like a sherry bomb (think Glenfarclas 105) with maple syrup and toasted rye bread; needs a loooong time in the glass to open up its flavours; first sip is devastating on the senses but subsequent sips are excellent; I didn't even need to add water; the best of the first three batches by far. Weighted Score 8.7/10 IMAGERY: I'm in the back of a barn just after harvest time; the barn is full to the rafters with fresh grain and dust; there is a chill in the air, but I don't care, coz this bottle is keeping my nice and warm while I goof off and avoid my chores.

COLOUR: Bright orange-brown. LEGS: Very tight clothesline; tiny beads appeared then coalesced; finally, big oily tears slowly moved down the glass; it looks like it will have a thick and oily mouthfeel. NOSE: Moderate-Powerful (3/5); sweet corn and spicy rye; caramel, vanilla, honey, & maple syrup; slight citrus at the back; fresh tropical & dried fruits; hints of licorice; slightly herbal and grassy; no alcohol punch that might be expected from the high ABV, but rather mature and mellow. WITH WATER (5 drops into 15mL): unleashes some dusty barn floor and intensifies the rye spice. Score 8/10 TASTE: Blindingly powerful and hot (5/5); very sweet caramel; mouth-coating, but dry; sweet corn & spicy rye; caramel; port wine & dark berries; pepper & cinnamon on the back of the tongue; drying oak; slight saltiness. WITH WATER: tames down the alcohol hit somewhat, and intensifies all the flavours; wonderful! Score 9.5/10 FINISH: Very long and very drying; gentle sweetness goes on and on. WITH WATER: same, still very drying. Score 8/10 OVERALL: A magnificent whisky! Delicious and wonderful in every way. Weighted score 8.9/10