This is a good whiskey. In a lot of ways it tastes like a less smooth version of Crown Royal. Obviously both are Canadian whiskey. But Black Velvet is incredibly affordable. To me it has a predominant vanilla flavor with one hell of a bite. There is an odd, amost tar-like undertone that you wouldn't experience with a higher quality whiskey and it has a "flat soda" note. It's not perfect and the Black Velvet reserve puts standard Black Velvet to shame. But there's no shame in drinking one of the top 10 best selling whiskeys in the world.