Whisky Neighbour

It has been a great year for whisky in my house in 2017. Most of the expressions I’ve had or picked up have been modest and actually quite affordable, so my list reflects this. Everything I pick here is available for under $80.00 Canadian. However, I would hold up this list against many, more expensive expressions I’ve tried and each one here is a bottle I have enjoyed and so has company. Consider this an easy shopping list if you have not tried these yet! Here are a few short tasting notes. Top Irish : Redbreast 12 Cask strength rating: ✮✮✮✮✰ Subtle nose with some caramel or toffee sugar, the palate is smooth with a bit of nuttiness, more caramel and some pepper, the finish has a bit of oak and vanilla, not long. Strong, but easy to drink this. Top Scotch : Wilson & Morgan Barrel pick of Caol Ila 12 year rating: ✮✮✮✮✮ This expression has smoke that goes on for days. When I pour this, my wife always knows! On the palate there is balanced peat, oak spice, and some hon...

Happy Friday! This is a quick post to compare two widely available American Bourbons; Buffalo Trace and Bulleit. I thought I would share my thoughts on these two, since I find a wide variety of opinions on the net over them and talking about them might help my readers understand my taste profile a bit better. Buffalo Trace is the name sake of Buffalo Trace Distillery. I believe it has been operating under different names for a very long time, possibly as far back as the end of the 1700s. I really have not researched enough to comment intelligently here, but suffice it to say, they know their stuff. Thet make a large variety of bourbons, including Eagle Rare, George T. Stagg, Van Winkle, Weller, and Blanton’s to name a few. They started releasing Buffalo Trace Bourbon by that name in 1999.  It uses a low rye mash bill. I understand it is their #1 mashbill. Here is a good site to read more if you are interested ( http://bourbonr.com/blog/updated-buffalo-trace-distillery-mash-bill...

In typical Alberta fashion, the weather flipped and we are now enjoying a warm fall day. This actually works out perfect for my blog and show, since I wanted to review a Bourbon next. In this episode I will pour and sip an industry standard - Maker's Mark. You can always identify Maker's Mark in a bar or a store easily by the shape of the bottle and the characteristic red wax top. I think Maker's was the second Bourbon I ever seriously tried and I have enjoyed coming back to it over time when the weather is nice or I'm looking for the sweet taste of corn spirit and the strong wood notes from new oak and southern aging. If you watch my review, you'll see I do not have a lot of flavours to attach to Maker's Mark. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy this. However, I do not find Maker's terribly complex. The nose is inviting with lots of caramel and candy sugars. The palate is very similar, but smooth for a young Bourbon. This might be a result of Maker's ...