Canadian Club Chairman's Select 100% Rye

Sourced (just if you're curious) from Alberta Distillers (makers of Alberta Premium and a host of 100% straight ryes being sourced and bottled by the likes of Whistlepig, etc.,.), which is handy since both CC and Alberta Distillers are owned by Beam-Suntory. And yet, surprisingly, the taste profile is not all that close to what I'm used to from Alberta Distillers. But, so: standard (artificial) colour; big, pungent bubblegum/clove on the nose, mint, dill and pickles, caraway, rye. Cinnamon, a bit of tobacco. Big licorice (which seems to--rather unpleasantly--take over the proceedings if you leave the bottle open for more than a week or two). Just a tiny bit of the maple/butterscotch sweetness you expect from Canadian whisky. Burnt caramel, dark rum? Taste strikes an interesting balance between what I expect from a straight rye and a Canadian whisky--peppery, spicy heat, bubblegum, dill, ginger, bread, brining spices, honeycomb, butterscotch, maple. A hint of sourness and the growing licorice. It would benefit from a bit more age and, say, a 5% or so ABV bump. And don't let it sit for too long or the whole thing gets overtaken by a rather aggressive, not-so-nice perfume-y, artificial licorice sweetness. But particularly for the price (sub-$30 in Canada), this is actually a pretty serviceable sipper and an even better cocktail whisky (though cut the sugar in your old-fashioned recipe). Definitely one of the "new breed" of Canadian whiskies that actually takes the word "rye" seriously, and that's worth something.

Top value for the money!