A dear friend brought this bottle by during a visit. Until I tasted it, I'd never even heard of it. Tasted neat in a glencairn after a few minutes rest. The pour is an apple juice clear pale amber. the nose is vanilla, ethanol, and slight oak. My nose says young and thin on this distillate. Since the bottle does not have the word straight or an age statement, there's no real knowing what's in this 90 proof juice. On the tongue this is light, sweet and simple. Simple as in "not complex". It's not bad. Enjoyable even. It tastes better than the nose suggests. It is inoffensive in every way. Kind of like the Wonder Bread of rye whiskies. This is actually a good choice for someone who's new to rye and whiskey, or whose palate isn't compatible with the often spicy and big "traditional" rye whiskey. In fact, when I think of this as a Canadian whiskey it all seems to make more sense. I think it's more in line with a Lot 40 than an Old Overholt bottled-in-bond. For what it's worth, I think I like the fruitcake of Lot 40 more than the vanilla of John Drew. I definitely like the price a lot more. At the $50 MSRP this is a hard pass. At a $35 sale price its worth tasting if you're adventurous. It faces extremely stiff competition from Old Forester, Templeton, WT, or Rittenhouse. In fact the list of competitive rye for $35 is pretty long. This is definitely not in the class of a Pikeville and really isn't competitive at MSRP. Low marks on the value scale, but if soft, sweet and approachable is the target then this will find the bullseye. I haven't tried it yet, but I don't think this is a candidate for a traditional Manhattan. Maybe better in a sweet Old Fashioned. I'll experiment a little. As I understand it this is distilled in Canada and shipped to Florida where it is branded and bottled. The story of this 90 proof whiskey is on the back of the bottle, but I'm not sure how much of it is marketing or how much of it is relevant to the flavor profile which is what I'm focusing on. There probably won't be another bottle of John Drew on my bar. It's worth tasting if you are in an establishment that carries it. If you are turned off by big, spicy, bold rye and want something simple, sweet, and dessert-like then maybe it will be a fit for you. Average in taste, behind on value, but interesting in origin. Like Templeton The Good Stuff, John Drew is going to end up being my liquor candy fix... until its gone.