That said, what can folks tell me about Canadian whisky? It's enough of a different beast that I'm not really sure where to start. Grabbed some Black Velvet the other day for $10. It's .. Interesting. Drinkable in a pinch, but I don't see myself buying it again. At least it tastes better than it smells.
I've been trying out a few boutique Canadian Whiskeys this year and have nearly given up on finding one I like. Due to the adults around me, I kinda grew up with (and are intimately familiar with) Black Velvet, Canadian Mist, Canadian Club, and Crown Royale. None of which are bad, but only Crown is drinkable neat, IMO. Mist isn't bad with soda or water, but Club and BV are really only for mixes, but they do mix very well. In fact, that's become my opinion of Canadian Whiskey over all. You want a Manhattan, an Old Fashioned, or a Whiskey Sour, grab a bottle of Canadian. I think, by and large, they're mainly Rye blends anyway, so that makes some sense.
Ok, that all makes sense. I'm primarily drinking my whisk(e)y neat or sometimes with ice, so I'm guessing the Canadian stuff isn't really for me. BV smells like someone dissolved butterscotch candies in rubbing alcohol, but I can imagine if it has something to balance it out it be much more palatable.
Macallan 15-year Double Cask tonight, sipped nicely with a good book.
Canadian is not my thing. It's the least regulated of the whiskies and has too much of closing undertone that muddies the flavor. Never been my thing.
Bushmill's is the fire water of Irish. I still prefer ye olde classic Jameson's for my Irish needs. Caskmates is a wonderful line, as well.
Since I'm just having a splash here and there neat (cocktails are off the table while J is pregnant, having them together has always had sort of a ritual quality to it, so it just seems wrong to have w/o her), I've been experimenting with grabbing various stuff, and the most recent experiment is the Bushmills. Of the two, I do prefer Jameson's (and the stout caskmate is quite nice, from what I remember).
Excellent choice on the Macallan...Hopefully getting an offer on a new job in the next week or two, whereupon I'll be getting something in that vein as a little gift to myself.