Canadian Club 9 Year Reserve

Canadian Club Reserve, 40% abv, aged 9 years. Imported & bottled in the US. Aroma is somewhat alcoholic, not much of a discernible aroma. Taste: medium amount of odd Canadian sweetness, some vanilla and mild rye spice. Minor used/charred white oak in the back end, very mediocre and immature taste, hard to believe its 9 years old. Very smooth and easy drinking. POINTS OFF: metal freaking screw cap would not properly close which TICKS ME OFF since the plastic cap on the regular Canadian club closed just fine. Cost 19.99 plus tax, 5 bucks more than regular Canadian Club. Overall Grade: C range Note: regular Canadian Club is just as good or slightly better in my opinion/tastings.

Unfortunately there really isn't much to talk about with Canadian Club Reserve 9 Year. The aroma is thin, with a mostly chemical, solvent-like aroma. It smells like an opened bottle of rubbing alcohol, with maybe a mild hint of charcoal briquettes. The taste is caramel and sugar, but saccharine. It has almost a cola flavor, which is probably why it's most often taken with Coke or club soda. The aftertaste is straight up unpleasant: bitter, burnt cookies. A hint of cinnamon spice. Vanilla Coke. There is a nutty character, but even that tastes synthetic on the palate. If you buy this as a budget selection, you will likely try it neat once, and then bury the rest in cocktails.

Nose: leather, cinnamon, spicecake. Palate: a little watery...cherry...and a spiciness that lingers on the finish. Water balances the nose nicely, makes the palate sweet and a little spicier. Overall: not a bad value, but not bold enough for my tastes. For only a few bucks more I recommend Canadian Club’s “Classic 12” expression.

Not overly complex the fruity notes are pleasant. Initially sweet then the spice hits. Not bad at all on the rocks. Nothing special here but you cant beat price of $28 for a 1.75L This stuff is always good to have for backup and for sharing whenever your friends that drink too much come over.

It has a nutty fruitiness to it on the nose. Very mellow and hints of citrus with, strangely, a bit of roasted marshmallow. The nose is nice. As most Canadian whiskeys, the palate is very mellow, slightly sweet with almond. Its certainly not complex and gets boring after your first few sips.

Surprising ly not bad in my hunt for bottom shelf bliss to save money. The nose is harsh, and burns the hairs out of your nose, but then the vanilla scent comes out. Wasn't anything special when tried neat, but on ice it seemed to sweeten up a bit and there was some caramel type taste.