Here we have another Canadian whiskey, only this time everyone knows about it.  Most of the folks who read this review are probably already well experienced drinkers of Crown Royal.  If you fit that category I can understand this review boring you a bit.  After all, this stuff is everywhere, from almost everyone’s personal home bar to every single restaurant, bar, and club in the country.  It seems to me that when it comes to whiskey, the average Joe can only think of Jim, Jack, and this stuff.  Those poor bastards have no idea what they are missing, but that’s okay.  Crown is good stuff.  First, let’s talk about some Crown Royal facts, then we’ll see how it faired with the BoozeBasher crew.

    Crown Royal is distilled at the Gimli Distillery located in Gimli, Canada.  The distillery utilizes natural local grains, pure water from a local source, and the perfect climate that supports the distillation process.  Aside from Crown Royal, there is the Cask No. 16, Extra Rare, and Special Reserve.  Crown Royal is the baseline whiskey of the brand and is derived from a blend of premium whiskies.  The individual whiskies are matured in special oak casks, blended, and set aside for aging.  The result is a rich, golden-colored whiskey with a smell of fruit and vanilla that boasts a sweet oak and vanilla taste.

    I have to admit, I wasn’tsurprised that the BoozeBasher staff had mixed opinions for the taste tests.  First up was a pour of Crown on the rocks.  The taste of alcohol seems to overpower the whiskey flavor.  After the initial bite, we noticed a sweet floral flavor followed by a mild sour aftertaste.  Overall, it doesn’t seem like Crown Royal on the rocks lives up to the hype.  This may cause some controversy amongst Crown fans, but our consensus is that there are simply much better whiskeys out there for sipping over ice.  Are you upset now?  Do you hate us?  Well, I hope this makes you feel better. 

     The next test was performed with a splash of good old Coke, resulting in that mixed drink we all know and love.  These two liquids were simply meant for each other.  Crown and Coke is a great mix.  The mixture produces a good floral whiskey flavor with about half the bite of the pour on the rocks.  It’s quite tasty and refreshing.  In fact, this drink tastes so good that even the ladies tend to dig it.  No disrespect to the whiskey drinking ladies, but let’s face it, most women don’t like whiskey.  Nevertheless, if Crown Royal makes the ladies happy, then it makes me happy, because sometimes it makes them make me really happy.  I’ll end it there.

    After enjoying four drinks each mixed with Coke, loaded with at least a shot and a half, I was feeling great.  The drunk was very smooth and energetic but not extreme. While some of the BoozeBasher staff and I were out, I did my best to stick to Crown Royal in an effort to keep a pure drunk.  I think I can add about four more to the total count.  By the end of the night, I was pretty intoxicated, but I was able to function quite well.  Crown made a good showing in the drunkability department.  Even after the good drunk, the hangover from Crown was surprisingly mild.  I noticed just the typical hint of dehydration, but I was up and about pretty quickly the next morning.  I’ll have to highly recommend this stuff if you really want to get trashed while not risking death the next day.

    One of the only things that brings Crown Royal down is the price.  Let’s face it; it’s not that cheap compared to other whiskeys.  A 750ml bottle averages around $20.  That isn’t ridiculously pricey, but it would be nice if it were a few bucks cheaper.  Nevertheless, Crown Royal is pretty good stuff, and most drinkers tend to like it.  So if you have a few extra bucks and are in the mood for a good whiskey, why not invest it in a bottle of Crown Royal?

Sipability - 6.0

Mixability - 7.5

Drunkability - 8.0

Hangover-ability - 7.5

Bang for the Buck - 6.0

Overall -  7.5   

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    Tired of the same old whiskey you find from your friend’s personal bar to your favorite hangouts?  I have some good news by the name of Canadian Club Whiskey that I think many of you will appreciate.  So far, it’s been available in every liquor store I’ve visited, but most hangouts don’t seem to allow my new Canadian friend a place at the bar.  That doesn’t surprise me here in the South.  We are proud southern folk, but damn!  If we can start cheering for Georges “Rush” St-Pierre (who happens to be a mixed martial arts fighter from Canada), then maybe we can put the redneck juice aside for a while and try some of this stuff.  It will get you drunk just the same, and it tastes pretty good too.  Before I continue, here’s a little boring history and a few facts about this stuff.

    Canadian Club Whiskey was founded in 1858 by Hiram Walker.  The distillery originated in a town that was then known as Walkersville, Ontario.  Today, the same distillery produces the Canadian Club brand whiskey in Windsor, Ontario across from Detroit, Michigan.  Canadian Club blended whiskey comes in seven different varieties aged from five to ten years and distilled up to 100-proof.  It is a blend of corn-distilled whiskey and rye, malt, and oat-distilled whiskey.  This is a review of the Reserve, which is aged in white oak barrels for 10 years to a deep gold color and a strength of 80-proof.  Okay, are you still with me?  Well, hopefully this will wake you back up.  STRIP CLUB!  Since I’m going way back to the late 19th century, I’ll use the more politically correct word: GENTLEMEN’S CLUB!  Why am I capitalizing these words, you may ask?  It’s because I have the utmost respect for those beautiful ladies working hard trying to pay their way through college.  Okay, let’s stay focused on the whiskey.  Notice anything interesting?  If not, that’s just fine.  The word “Club” which happens to be part of the name of the Reserve has something in common with a thing we all love.  It’s not a coincidence, either.  Canadian Club Whiskey was the thing the gents drank while their wives thought they were hard at work.  Contributing to a bright, educated future for those young ladies is a noble thing.  I’m sure the wives would appreciate that.  Speaking of ladies, I’d like to think they trimmed the hedges back then, but I kind of doubt it.  I guess you can learn to love it if that’s all you know.  Well, it’s time for the tasting…no pun intended. 

    As odd as it sounds, the first impression of scent from the BoozeBasher staff ranged from dirty corn to spicy fruit mixed with corn.  When sampled straight, the general consensus was that the taste was much better than the smell.  The taste provided an immediate sensation of spicy fruit followed by a slightly sour aftertaste.  Overall, I thought it was surprisingly smooth without a strong, lingering aftertaste, but several of the crew members were not impressed and disliked the taste completely.  Canadian Club Reserve on the rocks rendered a similar result, but it felt more refreshing with the lowered temperature.  I personally recommend trying this stuff on the rocks before mixing because you just might like it.  When mixed with Sprite and Coke, the whiskey provided a unique, fresh beverage that is great for sipping.  It was a toss-up for the preferred mixer, but both of them took the slightly sour edge off and left a fresh, light taste of rye and malt with a hint of corn and spice.  This time, the majority of the crew agreed that Canadian Club Reserve gave much better results.

    After a long delay between the taste test and suffering through the worst case of stomach flu ever, I was finally ready to take on Canadian Club Reserve, one on one.  It was rough being sick for a week and having the bottle stare me down day after day, so I was ready to get at it.  I decided to used Sprite as the mixer because it happens to be my favorite from experience.  Just two rounds into the fight, I was feeling quite good, and knowing that I didn’t have to work the next day made me want more.  While drinking the tasty beverage and writing I couldn’t help but open a new browser and YouTube some Joe Satriani.  The air guitar was jamming to “Surfing with the Alien.”  My guitar skills seemed just fine until I made the mistake of watching that guy.  It made me so sick that I haven’t picked up my guitar since.  Several drinks later, I realized I was a bit drunk which was obvious to me due to a stupid grin I seem to wear, even when alone.  I decided to throw in the towel and live to fight another day.  Ten hours later when I awoke, I felt a little dehydrated but overall fine.  This stuff gave me a very clean drunk, but if you decide to drink a little excessively, I don’t doubt this stuff will treat you any different than the rest.  However, it’s only a matter of time before I find that out for myself, and I’m looking forward to it.

    To sum things up, Canadian Club Reserve is like a decent-looking, educated, middle class girl that has a bunch of rich, stuck-up, hot friends.  She tasted pretty good, she doesn’t treat you too bad, and she’s not high-maintenance.  Not to mention, she’s foreign too.  Compared to other similar whiskeys she’s very affordable, costing only around $17 after tax.  That reasonable price will buy you a whiskey that’s aged for 10 years to a reserve quality.  Canadian Club Reserve is pretty good stuff that is well worth its price to me, so I hope you give it a try.  Let us know what you think.   

Sipability - 6.0

Mixability - 6.5

Drunkability - 7.0

Hangover-ability - 6.5

Bang for the Buck -  10.0

Overall -  6.5    

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     Jim Beam Black is the 8-year-old elder to the regular 4-year-old Jim Beam.  If I could borrow a phrase from the great Ella Fitzgerald, “What a difference a day makes!”  Well in this case it’s, “what a difference 4 more years makes!”  Black has all the quality that the regular Beam has, but it takes all those qualities and raises them to the next level.  The difference between the two bourbons is like the difference between a pro exotic dancer and your grandma, unless your grandma is an exotic dancer, and in that case, good for her.

     Jim Beam Black goes through the same distilling process as the regular Jim Beam except for one easy-to-see, major difference.  It’s aged eight years.  That’s four more than the regular stuff.  Black is aged in new charred oak barrels and bottled at a full 86-proof, making a bourbon with its own distinct character.  I personally believe at some point in the extra four years of aging, a magical liquor fairy comes and embues Black with the power to overcome all the short comings of regular Beam.  The crew of BoozeBasher determined that the only reason the people at Jim Beam are still selling the regular Beam is to showcase how good the Beam Black really is.  If that was your plan, guys, good work.

    The smell when pouring out of a bottle of Black is one of strong sour mash, alcohol, and charred wood.  And the taste is more of the same.  It has a sour, woody taste when it first hits your tongue, then that mash flavor really pulls through.  It gives a slight burn, but right after the burn is gone, there’s an aftertaste that can only be described as alcoholic candy.  All of this makes Beam Black perfect for the morning.  I like to set the bottle next to my bed and take a swig when I wake before doing anything else.  It leaves my mouth with that clean feeling and really helps to shake that morning grogginess right out.  If you do the same, you’ll be ready for work, or another swig, in no time.

     I mixed Beam Black with the only other thing I know to mix bourbon whiskey with (besides ice), a little soda.  The only way I can describe it is with a except from the dictionary:

de·li·cious [di-lish-uhs] –adjective

Yes thats from a real online dictionary and I agree fully.  Nothing should be this damn good (excluding grandma’s pole dancing ability, again that’s only in certain cases).  The burning from the strength of the whiskey is gone, and all you have left over is that sour mash woody flavor, which makes this stuff really easy to consume.  After all, when you make a mixed drink, that is really what you want to be able to do.

     Another fun part about this booze is it carries a pretty good drunk with it.  Black is one of your strongest weapons in the war against sobriety.  I got a very clean drunk off this Beam.  It’s not a groggy tequila drunk feeling but a clear vision, slow-motion kind of drunk feeling.  The only real downside of Black’s drunk is, unless you are a drinking pro, you might not be able to gauge how drunk you really are until you are telling your problems to the porcelain therapist.  However, if you can control your intake, the next morning shouldn’t be too brutal.  I went a little into the excessive range and awoke in a pretty weakened state.  There was an horrible case of cotton mouth and a headache that made it rough for me to run and scamper about house.  It was well into the afternoon before I was able to drink again.  Not that it was a bad thing.  Even the best drinkers need a little time to recover.

     All the perks of Jim Beam Black can be yours for around $26 for a 750ml bottle.  If you like the regular Beam, Beam Black will be the reason you never buy the regular Beam again.  If you don’t like Jim Beam, give Black a try and see why so many people still come back to drinking Jim Beam Black.  If you ever needed proof that experience makes things better, then look to Jim Beam Black.  Who knows, maybe you should pull a dollar out and give granny a chance; you may learn a thing or two.

Sipability - 6.5

Mixability - 7.5

Drunkability - 7.0

Hangover-ability - 6.5

Bang for the Buck - 8.0

Overall - 7.0 

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