Whisky review : Crown Royal Limited Edition, bottled @ 40%

Whisky review : Crown Royal Limited Edition, bottled @ 40%

-1st Crown Royal
-Odd bottling

Nose:  creamy, spices, wood dust, hot, spirit notes, cedar sap, cardamon, nice thick nose that revolves around spices, broken raw sugar, caramel, medium bodied.

Mouth: Sweet, spicy, chili caramel, very hot spices, eucalyptus, wood. Very tingly dry on the tip of the tongue. With water added, more dry sweetness, bitter notes, sap, sweet spices, floral,

Finish: bitter notes, waves sugary wood...bitter dry. Yeah...still flat. A few more floral notes perhaps ?

B for the taste. Very nice nose but fall short on the mouth. Leaves much to be expected. Far from being the best canadian I've had. Far behind the Dark Horse but closer to the Alberta Premium, perhaps not as ''robust''. I'm not sure I'll give Crown Royal a second chance after this...
A for the price. Good price (35$) at the SAQ and the LCBO (38$). Not bad for sure, but yet again, not great. Perhaps save this 35$ and buy a 30$ bottling of Dark Horse or even the CC Sherry Cask.
C+ for presentation. Royal packaging is simply put : cheesy. Feels weird while holding....

Whisky review : Bushmills Black Bush (NAS), bottled @ 40%

Whisky review : Bushmills Black Bush (NAS), bottled @ 40%

-a cheap and great whisky

Colour:  medium gold, light bodied, very juicy. The colour indicates the probable absence of caramel.

Nose: very fruity, barley sugar, corn syrup, sweet, light straw, mashed apples and pears, white and yellow fruits, green apple paste.

Mouth:  Light, fresh, sweet, apple drink, not a very complex yet very refreshing whiskey. Some harsh notes, the grain spirit probably. This one can really benefit from added water. Water will tone down the grain and unleash more sweet floral and fruity notes. Very nice sipping whiskey at great price !

Finish: sweetness, fruits, not a very long finish. The experience here is on the palate.

A- for the taste. Not complex but very well rounded and balanced. A very nice sipping whiskey ! Highly recommended.
A+ for the price. At 37$ (LCBO)....it worth every penny.
B for the presentation. Lonely bottle...and not much info on the labels. 

Whisky review : McClelland Islay (NAS), Bottled @ 40%

Whisky review : McClelland Islay (NAS), Bottled @ 40%

-Cheap
-Produced by Bowmore

Colour: dark coppery gold, medium bodied, long legs

Nose: thick caramel, wet pennies, eucalyptus, iodine, light smoke, very similar to Teacher's or even a light Laphroiag. Not as thick as a Bowmore for sure. Hints a dark chocolate...but vague. Dense sweet smoky chocolaty nose. Very interesting.

Mouth: Sweet, iodine, smoky, touches of light peat, spirit ripples, more peat, no much peat nor sweetness. Vanilla, honey, peaty. Touches of Tar, tar chemicals.

Finish:light peat, sour, red tea, iodine, medicinal herbs, more eucalyptus.


A+ for the price. for 35$ (SAQ and LCBO) it's a good bargain.
B for the taste. At this price, it would compare to the cheaper Islay Mist 8 years Old. This is a palate malt, it's not a very complex Whisky for sure. It's not bad per se, but not great by any means. It's nice for the first contact then it changes to a robust cheap single malt.
B for presentation. Regardless of the pseudo-painting on the tubing, it still looks cheap.