Yukon Jack Original 100 Proof

After a forced hiatus in the hospital with pneumonia (Mrs Old Dude had to come to terms with the reality of my mortality) I’m providing a review on a liqueur I would not have previously considered. This is marketed as the “black sheep of whiskey” (a moniker which is quite apropos), however IMO this isn’t a whiskey at all... it’s more of a liqueur. Yes the base juice is some type of Canadian Whiskey but it’s not self evident. The nose, body and finish all scream FOOLED YOU! I typically drink my whiskey neat but the overpowering orange and honey sweetness make this virtually impossible to enjoy unmixed. The body is much more like orange flavored Delsym cough syrup, thick and slick except it’s sweet... blech. So why this review? One of my IHOP buddies says he wanted to help with my recovery, I think his motives were far more fiendish. I decided to take the highroad and resolved myself to find something to mix this whiskey imposter with without choking and retching. Conclusion: This is NOT a good whiskey, in fact it barely qualifies as a whiskey... but it makes a really good hot tea toddy. When I’m sick with a cold, flu, whatever, I drink tea toddies, normally with a bit of brandy. I’m English, tea toddies make me feel better, and if you have enough of them you don’t care how bad you feel anyway. I use Bigelow black tea, make it hot and strong, let it steep and add a shot, no honey or sweetener - jeepers this stuff is sweet enough. This isn’t good for nothing whiskey, it’s a good for one thing whiskey - a hot toddy. Because of that one reason I’ll give it 1.5⭐️ but I have to deduct .5 ⭐️ for basically impersonating a whiskey. So for now it’ll be resting comfortably on my bottom shelf (with the rest of my liqueurs) until the next time I’m feeling under the weather, and it won’t move until then...

The nose has something a bit savory and a bit sweet, but overall not a huge amount going on. I can sort of imagine I'm getting a bit of honey and pepper on the nose, but it's not terribly apparent. The palate is surprisingly thin and the flavor is surprisingly dry. I do get quite a bit of pepper in here, but not in an overly harsh way. It is certainly warming though. The herbal character of the pepper is a bit rich and goes well here. There is something sweet and oily as well rounding it out that I assume is the honey. It narrowly avoids tasting like rubber. I can't say I'm a fan of this, but it's interesting in a way that isn't just code for "bad" and it isn't a terribly challenging profile, so it's easy to imagine that it could actually be mixed into something. It's not terribly complex but the profile does generally work and it is vodka after all. It could do with a bit less harshness and a bit fuller mouth feel for sure though. Frankly, I don't think that I need a honey pepper vodka in my life. The herbal character is the most interesting and best part of this, but it also invites in a couple of unpleasant flavors.

The nose has something a bit savory and a bit sweet, but overall not a huge amount going on. I can sort of imagine I'm getting a bit of honey and pepper on the nose, but it's not terribly apparent. The palate is surprisingly thin and the flavor is surprisingly dry. I do get quite a bit of pepper in here, but not in an overly harsh way. It is certainly warming though. The herbal character of the pepper is a bit rich and goes well here. There is something sweet and oily as well rounding it out that I assume is the honey. It narrowly avoids tasting like rubber. I can't say I'm a fan of this, but it's interesting in a way that isn't just code for "bad" and it isn't a terribly challenging profile, so it's easy to imagine that it could actually be mixed into something. It's not terribly complex but the profile does generally work and it is vodka after all. It could do with a bit less harshness and a bit fuller mouth feel for sure though. Frankly, I don't think that I need a honey pepper vodka in my life. The herbal character is the most interesting and best part of this, but it also invites in a couple of unpleasant flavors.

Rating: 9/23 Oh, right, this is the one with two entries on distiller. That doesn't matter for this tasting, but I thought I'd lament that fact to spare myself from trying this for a little longer. It's quite harsh and there ain't much richness or depth, but there's sweetness and citrus. Cointreau immediately comes to mind, but I think I actually already compared them side by side and found that Cointreau was better in every way. I think this time I can detect a bit of honey since there is some bitterness mixed in. Perhaps that's what I've been attributing to citron and/or lime so far. If it is, that's 20% my bad and 80% something that should have been identified as a risk before sending this product to market. I really wish that something here tasted like whiskey. I mean, it has Jack in the name, but there's actually no indication of whether it's made from whiskey at all. I definitely suspect vodka. It's not awful, but not very good either. I'm going to make a boring call and maintain my previous rating. The long finish definitely has something artificial to it, so I might bump it down next time.

Rating: 9/23 Oh, right, this is the one with two entries on distiller. That doesn't matter for this tasting, but I thought I'd lament that fact to spare myself from trying this for a little longer. It's quite harsh and there ain't much richness or depth, but there's sweetness and citrus. Cointreau immediately comes to mind, but I think I actually already compared them side by side and found that Cointreau was better in every way. I think this time I can detect a bit of honey since there is some bitterness mixed in. Perhaps that's what I've been attributing to citron and/or lime so far. If it is, that's 20% my bad and 80% something that should have been identified as a risk before sending this product to market. I really wish that something here tasted like whiskey. I mean, it has Jack in the name, but there's actually no indication of whether it's made from whiskey at all. I definitely suspect vodka. It's not awful, but not very good either. I'm going to make a boring call and maintain my previous rating. The long finish definitely has something artificial to it, so I might bump it down next time.

Shots with my dad. Having a taster to be fair. Nose is ethanol, honey sweet, and “whiskey-notes” Taste is sweet and hot up front, then fades to a spicey, citrus, sweetness. Finish is sweet and sour. This liquor definitely works to keep you warm in the hoary north. Not a supper but I can appreciate the shot.