Canadian Club 1858

So its been a long time since I had any Canadian whisky so I thought I would try some to see where it stacks up. Expected it to be bad from memory but hey its a new day so here we go. I nosed this so many times looking for anything resembling whiskey I almost hyper- ventilated. All I get is some watered down diet ginger ale splashed with witch hazel. Oh and there is an off note too, kinda like cod liver oil. I debated even sipping it. Braved it out and got more ginger water/alcohol with some bitter oak. Finish is mercifully short, dry and bitter. I don't see how they can even call this whiskey its brown vodka. This was a 50ml for a buck........would rather lite the dollar on fire. Still have a Canadian Mist 50ml to try, that will have to be another night cant take any more. Overall I'd call it undrinkable and good luck mixing with it. 20/100 sorry if ive offended any canucks

I had a pretty good idea of what this was going to be before I bought it. I was inspired to make this purchase after watching Don Draper drink this stuff on Madmen. I figured that if he can habitually sip this for over a decade, I can get through a single bottle. Nose: The big note is something like a Vanilla Coke or a Rootbeer float. Other than that it's dusty corn and a bit of rye spice and herb. Extremely grainy and young. Maybe a bit of orange peel. It's ever so slightly floral. Not too bad actually. Palate: Sweetness coming in the form of corn notes, but not like a bourbon. It's really a one-note pony. It's all vanilla. Outside of that, there's a medicinal quality. Not like an Islay Scotch though. It's simply reminiscent of the aftertaste of some non-flavored syrupy medicine. Rough. Finish: All rye spice. More vanilla, some herb, and a dash of pepper. Very boozy. Thankfully, it's over pretty quickly. Whisky must have come a long way since the 50s. I'd expect better of a multi-millionaire like Don Draper because this is a downright uncomfortable experience. Even the Crown Royal Bourbon Mash was more tolerable and considerably more interesting. I know I'm being harsh on something that is clearly intended to be used as a mixer. But hey. I've had much better experiences from the bottom shelf. This tasting was akin to ripping off a bandaid. I was dreading it after my first few tastes but am glad it's out of the way. It makes Johnnie Walker Red taste like a high-end blend. It was only $13, so I'm done complaining. Instead, I think I'll go brush my teeth with hydrogen peroxide and try to forget that any of this happened.

Good ordinary whisky