J.P. Wiser's 10 Year Triple Barrel

Another in my series of 50ml minibottle tastings, neat, and $2.50. From the Wiser website: "An award-winning blend of corn and rye distillate, aged in 10 years in new white oak, once used American bourbon, and used Canadian whisky casks. This whisky is at its best when sipped neat or on the rocks." Light orange copper color and average coating legs in the glass. Nose is light--dry sweet grass, vanilla, citrus. In the mouth, butterscotch and werthers hard candy, with a little oak (very little for a triple barrel?) and a small astringent ethanol burst. Light thin mouthfeel. In the finish, a citrus astringency shows up with rye spice and a tingling mint mouthfeel. Pleasant, but not rich. Kinda a sweet and sour flavor profile. No bad, but not deep. Don't know why it makes me think of Old Grand Dad, but without the 100 proof kick. Orange color and citrus overtones? Still... Worth the price of admission.

The fact that this Canadian blend came in a plastic bottle made me slightly uneasy, but let's not jump to conclusions. Notes of honey, burnt sugar and mild spices emerge from the glass, and there are hints of breakfast cereals, pastries and custard. Not the most complex nose, but not off-putting either. On the palate, Kellogg's Smacks, caramel and baked apples with cinnamon suffer from the low ABV, this tastes a bit thin. Milk chocolate, butterscotch and soft tannins remain in the short finish. To be fair, you can drink this neat - I honestly expected much worse. RATING: 2.7/5.0 stars ≙ 76 pts → SUBPAR [+]

Strong orange peel and caramel on the nose. Quite sweet on the palate and a little spicy. Kind of bland compared to the nose but by no mean unpleasant. Not much going on with the finish either, but again it does taste good overall. I'll try it again with a bit of water and see if that brings the flavour out a little more. It is a step up from other offerings at the same price point though. Will probably keep a bottle of this stocked for making mixed drinks.

Apples and cinnamon on the nose with vanilla. The palate is sweet with more apple pie and vanilla ice cream... a bit of nougat. The finish is smooth, slightly peppery and hints of candied oranges. This definitely hits above it’s price range. I will be buying it again. I recently had a bottle of Aberlour 12, a d I can’t help but feel like the two whiskies are cousins — the two share so many similarities that if you wanted a budget version, the Wiser’s would be it!

Aromas of butterscotch, orange peel, vanilla, hay, nutmeg, and coriander. Silky and somewhat oily in the mouth. Palate shows more butterscotch, nutmeg, vanilla, and orange peel – with additional notes of cedar and white pepper. Finishes smooth and medium-long. 3.25/5.00 – Quite Good (neat)

Like most J.P. Wiser's very clean flavors. Caramel and fruit. It has some bite for an 80 proofer. I wish it was non-chill filtered. It does still have the classic Canadian metallic flavor, but overall worth $30 usd.