This is real whiskey. All Canadian whiskey is 100% aged (a minimum of 3 years) whiskey. People try to compare this to Seagrams 7 and other American blends. The main difference is Seagrams 7 is 75% neutral grain spirits. So it is basically whiskey “Flavored” vodka. That is not the case with Canadian blends like Black Velvet which are real aged whiskey and are not cut with NGS. At the end of the day this is honestly mediocre in most all ways. Light in color, light in flavor, and light in booze. Not much or any complexity but it makes a solid mixer. Which is its real purpose. I enjoy it mixed with ginger ale. This is a mixer, not a sipper. Cheers!