Tastes

After reading the reviews here I wanted to try this. Unfortunately for me the lowest price I could find it for in my area was $37 before tax. It is a good whisky, a little hot, but with great flavor of honey, malt, vanilla, spice and and a hint of sweetness--which I think is typical of Irish whisky. It has a great mouthfeel, much heavier than a typical Irish. I admit that Irish is not my go to whisky. When I survey my purchases and empty bottles, they seem to be in a ratio of Scotch 20, bourbon 3, rye 2, and Irish 1. I like this Irish, it is really good. However, since I seldom drink Irish and this is very pricey in my area, I will probably stick with the more available Bushmills, Jameson, and definitely the wonderful Black Bush, all at a lower price. If this could be had for around $25 around here, it would be a regular purchase

I noticed this is currently rated a tier higher than The Irishman Founders here at Proof66. This is a blend of 20% malt and 80% grain, whereas The Irishman is a blend of malt and pot still whiskies. I was intrigued as to why the rankings were seemingly reversed as to what one would expect. The answer is this is a very expert blend. (Some well done and balanced Scotch blends are superior to several single malts---think Compass Box.) Poured neat, this is a light golden amber. The nose is slightly sweet, honey-citrus, and a little floral. Taste is vanilla, oak, some spiciness and a glow of heat on the end. These flavors are also on the finish, and they linger! It seems to me the longer I hold this whisky in my mouth to enjoy the balanced interplay of flavors, the longer the finish lasts. I am certainly glad I gave this a try. The price is fair as well, $25 in my area.

It is more full-flavored than many bottom and mid-shelf Canadians. The vanilla, butter-toffee and toasted oak flavors are well rounded and smooth. There is no real complexity or great depth here; but, I don't always require those. Sometimes it is nice to just have a smooth dram that is tasty and easy to drink, while my mind is elsewhere. It is a bargain at $17 for a 1.75.

Canadian Club is a very solid rye. It pours a very dark amber in the glass (caramel No40?). The nose is plenty of rye spice and vanilla/oak. It is true to these in the mouth and is very smooth. It doesn't have any strong swings one way or the other, so it works very well in any and all standard rye based cocktails. My son-in-law loves rye Manhattans and I often gift him a bottle of rye or strong rye bourbon. He seems to be the happiest with this Canadian Club 100% rye, no matter what price I have paid for the others. By the way, this can be found in the KC region for $14-$20. This would be a fantastic rye as the "house rye" for an upscale bar. It may not be your favorite rye style, but it should offend no one. I really prefer the a rye in the 60-95% range, but this is really good, very affordable, and is always in my home.

When I first opened and tried this dram I was a little disappointed. It had a pleasant honey-malt-ripe pear nose. It tasted of those as well, and a little heat on the finish followed by an unpleasant bitterness. Overall it was a little thin in the mouth, compared to nearly any single malt Scotch. I guess I should have expected that. The famous Irish triple distillation "for smoothness" will remove most of the fatty amino acids, etc. that will give body and additional flavor notes to the malt. (Charcoal mellowing in Tennessee whiskey does the same thing.) HOWEVER, after allowing the whisky to breathe in the glass several minutes, or the once opened bottle to rest a few days the dram became a much more pleasant experience. A sweet honey note to the malt was much more distinct now and the bitter note on the finish is gone. This is quite similar to a malty Scotch with no peat or sherry, although thinner in the mouth than most Scotchs.

Very Good!! I opened this bottle nearly two years ago, enjoyed a couple of drams with friends, put it in the cabinet and somehow forgot about it. Sometimes that happens to an old geezer like me. I rediscovered it today and was so happy to see it. It is as glorious as I remember it to be. Pours a dark amber in the glass and exhibits decent legs. Noses of malt, peat, and dark honey---think buckwheat honey. It has a great mouthfeel, the peat is burning fall leaves, and the honeyed malt lingers in the long finish. There is also a slight salinity in the finish. The flavors are strong and pure--if the bottle was not labeled Speyside, I could be convinced this was a Highland. The peat level is not as heavy as a typical Islay, I would say it is similar to Highland Park 12.

This is a superb rye, the rye brother of Knob Creek bourbon. It is a beautiful light brown in the glass.The nose is rye spice, fine leather, and a dark Karo corn syrup sweetness. these are all found in the mouth as well, with the addition of the ever so light hint of mint often found in rye whiskey. It is 100 proof, but drinks like an 86 proof. This is one of my favorite rye whiskies. Not sure which one I would choose to live with forever if stranded on a desert isle, but this would be on the short list.

This is a two-row barley single malt, first aged in small bourbon barrels, then finished in a variety of barrels to impart small hints of peat, sherry, port, etc; and then married in a solera vat. The result is a very tasty single malt with a very strong bourbon barrel influence of vanilla and a hint of corn sweetness. There are bits of honeysuckle, chocolate, old leather, a tiny bit of smoke, and of course malt---all tied together with that strong bourbon influence. This is quite good, and would work well as a bridge for a bourbon drinker to work their way toward traditional Scotch.

This vatted (blended) malt caught my attention here on proof66 a few weeks ago. "What an interesting name, have never heard of it" I thought. I checked for online reviews, found four or five and all were positive. I decided to give it a try if I could locate it. Finally found a source in NY that would ship and took the plunge. If my research on this is correct, this malt blend was the brainchild of the folks at the Craigellachie Hotel, where the Copper Dog bar is located. It is a NAS blend of 8 (or more) Speyside malts. Diageo is taking care of the marketing distribution and owns a minority interest. This vatted malt came in to existence in 2016. (The term "copper dog" came about because it was such a good friend to many distillery workers in past years. It was a length of copper pipe, a coin soldered to one end a cork in the other, the whole thing attached to a chain to allow it to be carried out of sight down a pants leg. When convenient, it could be dropped through the open bung of a barrel, taking a few drams of the owners whisky to be taken home, no one the wiser. I found a couple neat videos on youtube demonstrating these) ON TO THE TASTING: This vatted malt is in the price range of Monkey Shoulder and Naked Grouse, but apparently not as readily available. It noses of malt, honey-comb, vanilla. and a touch of ripe orchard fruit--peach I think. On the tongue these are all present with an overall butterscotch note. It is full flavored, soft in the mouth, and a very pleasant dram--but, not an outstanding dram if you are a long time Scotch drinker and are searching for stronger or more defined flavors. This is a solid "middle of the road" malt blend. That makes sense, for the Craigellachie folks said they were looking for a good mixer to compete for the customers who were not so much "Scotch drinkers," but mixed drink drinkers using spirits other than whisky. This is a solid blend. However, I drink my Scotch neat, and there are better choices for the same money for me.

Poured neat this offers a nose of malt, dark honey, hard biscuit and gentle spiciness. In the mouth these same flavors come across, along with a vanilla/butterscotch, the vanilla being very evident--probably due to the finishing of this malt in first fill bourbon barrels. There is the slightest hint of pepper on the finish, and the tongue remains filled with the overall flavors as if there may be some oiliness to the dram. The mouthfeel is more viscous than the typical Irish. Nowhere on the bottle or their web site do they claim triple distillation, so MAYBE it isn't and that accounts for the softer mouthfeel. It is an enjoyable dram and somewhat affordable in my KC area at $35. I will purchase again.