Tastes

Not too shabby for a Maundy Thursday sermon writing session. Orange Creamsicle, black pepper, cherry cola, clove, a little old leather. A little hot, but it's barrel proof so no big surprise there.

If this was legitimately the product of a distillery screw up, then we have a prime example here of Bob Ross' philosophy that there are no mistakes, only "happy little accidents." This is the best Wild Turkey product I've had the pleasure to taste. The nose is invitingly fruity - cherry and navel orange - with the right amount of caramel sauce, vanilla ice cream, nuttiness, and spice. This is like dessert in a glass, but it's never cloyingly sweet, either. The palate is rich and expressive, just oozing goodness like pecan pie and ice cream sundaes, with enough spice to stay intriguing. They can forget to change the hose down at Wild Turkey every day and I'd be OK with that if this is the end result.

The makeup of the bottle alone makes it worth sampling - a blend of two different ryes make up 91% of the content, with some bourbon and actual added sherry. Not just sherry finishing in a cask - actual sherry. It's also bottled at 45% abv, which might help explain why this seems notably more rich and full than the average Canadian bottling. And, it IS rich and lush, with appropriately dark notes given the name of dried fruit and nutty grains. I'm reminded of whole grain flapjacks topped with a pat of butter and dried dark fruit simmered in maple syrup. Or maybe I'm just jonesing for some breakfast food - we report, you decide. Regardless, the sherry influence alongside the spicy-smooth, nutty rye base, with that hint of maple, is pleasant...until the rather bitter finish, which takes the edge off of an otherwise enjoyable whisky.

The first thing that hit me on the nose was butterscotch. Like, "holy butterscotch, Batman!" levels - rich, oily, creamy butterscotch, exactly like the hard candies in the bright gold wrapper. With that is coconut, floral notes, caramel, and a tiny hint of cinnamon. The palate is light and a bit fruity, with a less obnoxiously butterscotch quality, milk chocolate, coconut, vanilla, and an oily, but not heavy, body. This is a light, fresh, perfect-for-summertime whisky...but light doesn't mean insubstantial here. Plenty good neat, but I suspect it would hold up well on the rocks or with a bit of club soda for those times when you're really looking to go light and refreshing.

Two things right off the top: 1. I never thought I would be giving a Canadian Club product a better review than "I had this at a wedding reception because it was the only option, and I didn't die so we're calling it a win," and 2. The four stars is reflective of the versatility of this whisky...it's more of a 3 .5 or so for flavor, but read on and see why I'm rounding up. After seeing Distiller's high rating, and since their "Affordable Canadian" list came out right as I was thinking I should do a little boozy exploration of the Great White North, I figured it was worth a spin. For $20, you're hard-pressed to find a better rye whisky for low-key, casual sipping with some friends, or (best yet) making cocktails. The nose is sweet, with clove and freshly chopped dill; meanwhile, the palate somehow manages to be smooth, dill pickle-y, a bit spicy, and a bit sweet all at once without becoming a busy-seeming trainwreck. That's not a half bad balancing act. It's a little too smooth and easy for my personal rye preferences insofar as drinking neat goes, but I can already imagine how good this will be in my go-to summer cocktails - Manhattans, Old Fashioneds, and Sazeracs especially. I'd even venture a guess that a (sacrilege alert) mint julep would be pretty decent with this as the whisky base.

This is some good corn squeezings right here. There is a strong, bold mint character on the nose and palate, along with spice, a dry caramel, cherry, orange zest, grapefruit pith, slight chocolate, and an almost austere vanilla. Leathery, slightly dry and woody, and smooth...not too shabby.

First off, this is seriously hot - I expect a certain amount of burn from a barrel proof bottling, but this'll put some hair on your chest. I already have enough of that, though, so I might have liked this a little better at a lower ABV...maybe a nice, Bottled in Bond 50%? That said, past the George Jones "whoooo...white lightnin'!" Effect, the overall personality of this bourbon is sweet, giving, friendly, and approachable. The usual suspects are there - vanilla, caramel, woody oak, spices, some chocolate. I get some nice orange and cherry notes, too. Some cool water brings out an almost perfumed quality on the nose, but I don't think it helps much on the palate...it's smoother, but lacks some pizzazz. Maybe Jimmy Russell's freezer trick is the key here. One way or another, a worthwhile, if imperfect, bottle.

In my goodie bag from the Inver House tasting last week was a little bottle of this. Now, there were two strikes against Hankey Bannister already - 1. It's a bit anticlimactic to go from tasting some of the best single malts I've ever had to a cheap, bottom shelf blended scotch, and 2. I can't think of anything connected with "Mr. Hankey" without images of a giant, anthropomorphized turd coming to mind first. Thanks, South Park. That said, I had to give this a try because...well, you're reading this. You'd have tried it, too. The nose is actually quite nice - chocolate covered banana, coconut, a little bit of lemon. The palate is, sadly, less dynamic than the nose, but hardly bad - light, sweet vanilla, a hint of chocolate, some toasted almond slivers (like what you'd put in a salad), less of the tropical fruits than the nose, but there's a distinct hint of pineapple on the otherwise short and unremarkable finish. It's not bad by any means - there are worse blends out there. But, I'm probably never going to rush home to pour myself a dram of this neat, either...maybe a great pick for making homemade Drambuie?

I just got back from an overnight trip to Wisconsin, where I encountered this lovely dram. It was left for me as a gift from the previous owners of the house we just bought, and I do have to say it was much appreciated. The nose reminded me of bratwurst grilled on a rusted-out charcoal Weber - smoky, meaty, intensely metallic - along with fresh dairy farm notes. The palate is smooth enough to round out your "O"s, doncha ya know, with a lingering well-water finish. A real crowd-pleaser here, and the perfect pair for your Friday night fish fry at the Fraternal Order of Eagles Lodge!

I lost my notes on this, which I tried a while ago, but it left a distinct enough impression to merit recording what has stayed with me. The general idea that Dr. Lumsden and the crew at Glenmorangie pursued here was recreating a turn-of-the-century style malt...and, I do have to say, if they succeeded then I am a little envious of those living in 1903. The fresh, gently fruity and honeyed distillery characteristic is preserved, but it has a greater sense of substance here, as well as lovely autumn woodsy notes and a distant, sweet hardwood campfire. I would drink this again happily...and I'm not always the biggest Glenmorangie cheerleader.