Tastes

Rye, black pepper, fennel, honey, caramel, Elmer's glue in the nose (as always), flowers/pollen, brown sugar.

Unfortunately there really isn't much to talk about with Canadian Club Reserve 9 Year. The aroma is thin, with a mostly chemical, solvent-like aroma. It smells like an opened bottle of rubbing alcohol, with maybe a mild hint of charcoal briquettes. The taste is caramel and sugar, but saccharine. It has almost a cola flavor, which is probably why it's most often taken with Coke or club soda. The aftertaste is straight up unpleasant: bitter, burnt cookies. A hint of cinnamon spice. Vanilla Coke. There is a nutty character, but even that tastes synthetic on the palate. If you buy this as a budget selection, you will likely try it neat once, and then bury the rest in cocktails.

Honey color and slickness. Very oily on the inside of the glass. The nose is at first heavy on the nuttiness: brown sugar, nutmeg, bulk candy caramels. There is a lot of spice too: black pepper and baking spices, ground cinnamon, a touch of powdered chocolate. Just a little cherry juice. It's surprisingly friendly in the nostrils for 94 proof. The first sip has a definite burn: lots of charred wood and dark chocolate. Spicy cinnamon heat. More of that nutty stuff: dusty nutmeg, brown sugar, molasses, and liquified almond. The corn syrup is there, but like toasted. Browned butter. The finish is a lot more intense than the sniff would suggest. Lots of charcoal and barrel char burn. Fennel seeds. Almond syrup and some kind of cherry syrup reduction. There is an acidic, citric bite like orange peel and lemon drop. I can't say that Jack Single Barrel is a transcendent experience, but it's awfully pleasant, if a tad overpriced at $55. It's a clean, pleasant experience with just enough oomph to make it worth your while, but not enough that your eyes start watering. Plus that bottle is beautiful.

Honey-colored light orange color, like a yellow traffic light. An upside-down crown of droplets stick to the glass, but in just a few drops. The nose is hay and barley. Black pepper and a hint of rye. Aroma of dried corn kernels. Light vanilla. The nose pleasant, but at a low volume. The flavor is mild rye spice and black pepper. There is a very bitter barrel char, reminiscent of the burnt bottom of a chocolate chip cookie. Hazelnut and amaretto-flavored coffee syrup. A real black licorice bitterness. Feel-wise, it really dances on the palate, like a prickly handful of Pop Rocks. A lot of peanut oil-like and caramel flavors stick to the lips. Finishes with some smoky business: smoldering embers. Spicy red pepper flakes. Tobacco. A curious pungent red berry.

This is the 93.7-proof version. Light orange color. An oily, leggy appearance that slow-rolls down the inside of the glass. The aroma is very friendly: vanilla, cream and butter, with a dollop of syrup. A mild wood char in the nose. I'm getting some bitter cherry, as well as an unidentified "red berry" aroma. The first sip has a very pronounced burn, that manifests itself like a barrel char. It's dark and mildly smoky to me, like cigarette ash. Black pepper, wood spice and corn balance each other out. Bitter citrus and orange rind. Potpourri and dried autumn leaves. An aluminum/metal taste that I'm not in love with, if I'm being honest. In the finish, I'm getting some more of that tobacco smoke, as well as black pepper and lack licorice. Oak, corn and metallic tannins make another appearance as well. What's very interesting is the hint of botanicals that are reminiscent of Angostura bitters; it's no wonder it goes so well in an Ol' Fash. 1792 Small Batch is a good bargain in beautiful packaging. It's got a balance of char, tobacco smoke and tannins; but also vanilla, cream and orange peel. I am not quite as high on it as a lot of people are, but it's a solid bourbon, and an outstanding base spirit for mixed drinks.

Pours a honey-yellow color. Very, very leggy, like raindrops dripping down a windowpane. Looks like a game of Missile Command. The nose is very soft and friendly: caramel, vanilla, marzipan, malted barley, and creme brulee. Banana-flavored bulk candy. Sugarplums and a trace of port wine. There is a citric bite redolent of a lemon drop. The taste is citric lemon drop candy right off the bat. Butter and heavy vanilla creme. Grainy barley and heather/herbs. Stewed cinnamon apples, spiced plums, sweetened prunes and brown sugar. The taste to me is closer to an Irish whiskey than a single malt Scotch. The finish is mild tobacco smoke; fresh coffee grounds and mocha powder. Puckery tannins, and sherried barrel remnants. Vanilla creme, honey syrup, stewed apples. Lots and lots of salt rock. Clynelish 14 is one of the brinier, saltier Scotches. Buttery and creamy. The smoke is more mild tobacco than full-on peat. Tannins, barley, heather, sherry and a citric bite.

Straw yellow color. Very oily look. The nose is very soft and friendly: buttery cream, but with just a touch of lemon drop; vanilla and green apple. Some vegetation: barley and hay; broccoli, but also potpourri. There is a soft caramel bulk candy note that only emerges when you really stick your beak deep into the Glencairn. The flavor is coffee grounds right at the front; earthy and rustic. Almonds and walnuts. A second wave of vanilla creme, with a tart/bitter citrus bite. Lots of cut fruits from a bowl: apple, pear, apricot. Caramel and toffee. Sherried wood that adds a richness and a bitterness. The finish is alternately bitter and sweet. Getting some of that coffee grounds, potting soil and tobacco ashes. The sherry in the wood really manifests itself in the finish, and it lingers. Ribbon candy spice. That apple and pear don't quit. Artist Blend is a very pleasant Scotch that has lots of soft tree fruits, puckery sherry, sweet candied flavors. It's not the most complex Scotch but it's plenty enjoyable.

Quick eval: A little salty; is that the Sea clouding my brain? Lacquered wood. Caraway seeds, very bitter in the middle palate. I don't know if it's rye, but there is a very bitter aspect. And yet, there is an unusually buttery finish that's unexpected. I wonder if this quote-unquote "smoothness" is what's getting this relatively pedestrian Bourbon so much goodwill. The finish is a little bit of caramel/marzipan. Some hay and black pepper. But there is a flavor that I am not sure I can identify -- Metallic? Mineral? -- that is just slightly off in the finish. It is a decent Bourbon: overpriced for what it is and doesn't quite close the deal.

Dark caramel color. A very thick and oily look. It adheres to the sides of the glass like a sticky mountain range. The nose is alternately sweet and spicy. There is a sugary sweetness that starts it off: cherry, toffee, maple syrup. Vanilla?: it's just the hype man here. With a longer draw, the spices poke out: black pepper, rye, and red pepper flakes. A little bit of dry cinnamon. When you really jam your beak in there, you get something approximating the plastic white bucket we used to use when I painted dorms in college. The first sips of the palate is very brown: cinnamon, oak, caramel. It's very apropos for the first month of autumn. I swear I'm getting brown leaves. The rye profile comes off as bitter caraway seeds. Which opens up the portal so some spicy business: red pepper flakes, smoldering matchsticks. Even though it's only 100-proof it brings the heat like Josh Allen on 3rd-and-12 out of the shotgun. (Trips left, McKenzie in the slot running a drag; Diggs running a post; Gabriel Davis in the seam; Dawson Knox sitting down just past the sticks. Sorry folks: Go Bills.) The finish is a beautiful array of spices: pepper flakes, spent matches, rye bread. Blunted by a those caramel candies from the bulk food section. (With the little white part in the middle.) Peanut shells without the peanut. Knob Creek 9, man. It's the best of both worlds: it's affordable, some might say a bargain. But it's chock full of flavor that can stand tall in any glass. It's great neat, in a cocktail, in a rocks glass or a Glencairn. It's the Platonic ideal of Bourbon for the workin' man. This should be a staple on every bourbon aficionado's shelf, just in case.

For a New York State bourbon, holy cow!