Elmer T. Lee Bourbon, 45% ABV, $45 USD Nose: Black cherry, cinnamon, brown sugar, caramel, whipped cream, and a big cream corn note. Taste: Cherry, corn, and brown sugar again, with honey, vanilla, pepper, and tobacco. Finish: Medium/long, cherry and corn notes linger. Thoughts: Not the most complex bourbon, but it’s very well balanced. Its got a unique profile. Really enjoying it! Hard to find … Continue reading Elmer T. Lee
Orphan Barrel – Barterhouse 20 year old Bourbon, 45.1% ABV, $100 CAD Nose: Black and Maraschino cherries. Big oak, toasted bread, almonds, and some vanilla. Taste: Heavy oak, very rich cherry (cherry pie filling), caramel, and an almond/marzipan thing going on. Finish: Medium to long, oak and cherry notes linger. Thoughts: 20 years of oak dominate the whisky, but it works here. I really like the cask influence. … Continue reading Orphan Barrel – Barterhouse 20 year old Bourbon
Baseball and Bottled-in-bond Bourbons… doesn’t get much more American than that! Except I’m in Canada, and I’m watching the Blue Jays. I’ve had these two bottles for a while, and the Henry McKenna came in a swap with /u/lecheconcarnie nearly two years ago. Realized I could do a three-way BiB multi-review, so let’s see how they fare! (both the bourbons and the Blue Jays… I’ll give updates … Continue reading Bottled-in-Bond Bourbon & Blue Jays Baseball Bonanza
Back in June, TWS held a tasting event with Brown-Forman at JOEY in the Eaton Centre. This was a joint event with @MaltCollective on Instagram, and was a great evening, enjoyed greatly by the 20+ attendees who were there! The team at JOEY brought out some amazing food and the service was second to none! A huge thank you to the animated and knowledgeable John Breckon … Continue reading Brown-Forman Tasting Event at JOEY
The Old Fashioned has been my go-to cocktail for as long as I’ve been into whisky. I love the sweetness and easy drinking flavour it delivers. I make all my old fashioned’s right in the glass, no need for special mixing shakers. Pre-made simple syrup also makes the process easy and convenient (1 cup of water, 1&1/4 cup of brown sugar. Heat in small pot … Continue reading 5 Old Fashioned Recipes and Reviews
2023 UPDATES UNDER EACH ENTRY BELOW Given the popularity of our post on The Best Scotch $100 Can Buy (LCBO 2017) a number of TWS members discussed the best American bourbons and ryes you can find at the LCBO for a reasonable price. We settled on $61 as the cutoff point to allow Wild Turkey Rare Breed to qualify, as we wanted a barrels proof … Continue reading Best Bourbon/American Rye Under $71 at LCBO
In my experience I’ve found a few drops of water really open up and benefit these whiskies, and therefore all my notes are with water added. (Approximately 3-4 drops for a half ounce pour) Blanton’s Gold, Bottled 9-19-14, Barrel 829, Warehouse H, Rick#29, 51.5% ABV, $100 CAD Nose: Brown sugar, sweet corn, vanilla, toffee, really nice cherry, cranberry, and pomegranate thing going on. Fruit hard … Continue reading Blanton’s Gold, Booker’s Bourbon, & Jack Daniel’s Barrel Proof.
Like most of us, I read about and watched reviews on combining W.L. Weller 12 and Old Weller Antique (OWA) to get something that resembled a Pappy Van Winkle. I was interested. I had a few OWA ($35 CAD), and won two Weller 12’s ($46 CAD) in this year’s Sazerac lottery, so I figured I’d try it. There are a few different recipes circulating, some … Continue reading My Poor Man’s Pappy experiment
Yesterday marked the annual Spirit of Toronto tasting event at the Roy Thomson Hall. An absolute must for the whisky enthusiast, Spirit of Toronto offers an all-inclusive experience with a wide range vendors and expressions. This was the second consecutive year I attended, and once again I had an amazing evening. One of the best features about Spirit of Toronto are the Masterclasses offered each … Continue reading Spirit of Toronto 2017
My wife and I recently had a great weekend in Windsor visiting the Hiram Walker Distillery, Canadian Club Brand Centre, Wolfhead Distillery and just hanging out with good company! We spent the weekend with some friends and he has a fantastic, growing collection of whiskies that he picks up in his business travels. Our weekend also involved a lot of great food including flaming cheese at Santorini’s … Continue reading Some NDP Bourbon Reviews
