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Liquor Review: Canadian Mist

Published on November 19th, 2008 in Whiskey & Bourbon by Wade

Canadian Mist Ohhh, Canada! You have givien us so many things…hockey, the moose, that delicious bacon, women with hairy legs, that funny way you say ‘aboot’ instead of about, and so much more. Now we have another gift from our friends to the North, Canadian Mist. Canadian Mist is a very afforable blended whiskey. And much like the hairy-legged women, it’s something you can learn to enjoy, especially on those cold sober winter nights.

Corn and barley malt are used to make Canadian Mist. The corn is ground and mixed with water and spent stillage to extract the starch. Then the corn slurry is pressure-cooked to make more starch. The starch is what gives Canadian Mist its light taste. After that, it takes a little whiskey magic and a few secrets before the whiskey is ready to be aged. Canadian Mist uses the finest white oak barrels that are charred to impart a smooth vanilla flavor during aging process. Each barrel is filled and stored in a special temperature-controlled facility. This means the whiskey can mature year-round rather than simply in the spring and fall. As a result, Canadian Mist is more fully matured and smoother in taste than other whiskies. It’s also what makes Mist so mixable and equally enjoyable over ice or with water.

So how does Canadian Mist really taste? It’s hard to describe. There is no real upfront flavor when drinking it on the rocks. There is just a faint sweet, sugar-like taste, but once swallowed, all the other flavors come to the forefront. The overall flavor is a sweet, corny, whiskey, woody, barrel taste with an unfair alcohol burn. I say unfair burn because the flavor is so weak and not special. There’s nothing special to stick out and make you say, “Damn that was good whiskey!” The taste of Canadian Mist is just boring. It’s like getting a birthday card with nothing in it. I kept expecting something great to happen, but in the end, I just ended up throwing it down and cursing the person who gave it to me.

It seems to me that the people at Canadian Mist weren’t out to make a blended whiskey as much as they wanted to make whiskey flavoring for ordinary drinks. When Mist is mixed, it can give any regular beverage a whiskey aftertaste and kick. From Coke to water, it makes everything taste like someone was trying to make a crappy drink good. I suggest you try this in an Irish coffee (your choice of coffee and a shot or two of whiskey). This seems like the real reason they even sell this stuff. It tastes just right. With Canadian Mist’s price tag usually around $13, it makes a better accessory for coffee than cream or sugar.

Unless you have a lot of time on your hands, don’t expect to get drunk off Canadian Mist. Its says 80-proof on the bottle, but I’m willing to question it. After four shots, I started thinking that if I had three more shots, I might be able to get a weak buzz. That’s never good. So after I took three more shots I was exactly where I thought I would be. I was buzzed, annoyed, and wanting to drink something that could get the job done. At this point, I was thinking I’d rather have one of those hairy women, so I could have something better from Canada. Well, I awoke the next morning feeling the same way I felt the night before…unsatisfied and wanting something better. I had no headache or body pains, just a feeling of disappointment. I’m not sure if that feeling was from the Canadian Mist or just my everyday life, but the fact remains the feeling was there.

Canadian Mist is a good enough cheap liquor but something like Canadian Club or Crown Royal would be a better buy. If you are a serious whiskey drinker, you are going to want to steer away from this one and get something with more flavor and a lot more punch. As for everyone else (especially us poor drinkers), this is a good buy. You will be able to afford enough bottles of it to get you where you want to be. Plus, it would be a great party booze because of the low price. The morning after the party, you can get up, make a few Irish coffees, fry up some Canadian bacon, and enjoy it all with the girl with the hairy legs who ended up in bed with you.

Sipability – 5.5

Mixability – 5.5

Drunkability – 3.5

Hangover-ability – 9.0

Bang for the Buck - 10.0

Overall - 6.0