Tastes

The best of the mid shelf. Rich, full bodied, honeyed, and fruity with a pleasant warming ethanol perfume. At $30 for the gift box that included the 50cL bottle of 12 yr sherried scotch and a tumbler glass, that's a steal.

How in the world a 12 year single malt with such flavor and character can sell for such a low price? Fruity, medium body, and chocolate, smooth. It's a must have on the shelf. Probably the best combination of flavor, smoothness and price in the entire liquor store.

Another excellent value. For the first few weeks this sat on the shelf, I was underwhelmed. But over time, the toffee, caramel, and chocolate notes really became a lovely thing to look forward to. With just a nibble of ice, the chocolate notes glow in the glass. Rich and thick. Girthy, if you will. And you will.

Like a lot of the Canadian Club line, it's not an exceptionally deep or complicated spirit, but if you need that, you're looking in the wrong place. Think of the spirit itself to act as a fairly pure vehicle of the long wood essence. The underlying spirits is fairly neutral so you get a lovely expression of undaunted wood and vanilla. It's smooth, but not nearly as much as the blended Scotch of equivalent age (Chivas or Dewars, for instance). A bit of old world meets new world. I like it. But only when I'm in the mood.

An absolute gem amongst the irish whiskys. Having only ever tried the mid shelf green label Tullamore, I didn't expect such refinement from this. It was creamy, smooth, rich, and velvety. I'm not going to proclaim it is the best, but it is well worth the step up in cost. The normal Tullamore goes for the modest $20 a bottle; the 12 year for about $46. Still a fair price for such elegance.

Not for me at all. It is well crafted, in a technical sense, but the finished flavor is so overblown, so perversely peaty, so off the chart char that it becomes the scotch equivalent of a hot pepper eating contest. It's a hot oil fire slathered in charred fish sauce.