“Straight Corn Whiskey (100 Proof)” -a new poem by Luke Austin Daugherty- Copyright 2016, All Rights Reserved and the photo and words. No reproduction by any means without the author’s written permission.
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As always, thank you for reading and sharing my blog! I am an independent poet, author, and singer/songwriter and I have my own ebay business to keep me as flexible as possible. But, writing takes time and if you appreciate what I do, if you have been moved or made to think by my writing, OR have just enjoyed something on my blog, please throw a buck or two in my tip jar! Your kind contribution may buy me a cup of coffee out at my next writing session. Click my easy paypal “tip jar” link that follows and THANKS! -Luke
Under $10 Canadian Whiskey Taste Test: Canadian Mist vs Black Velvet vs Canadian Supreme -Picture by Luke Austin Daugherty
As a lover of whiskeys of all stripes, I thought it would be fun to do a “shootout” between several cheap Canadian blended whiskeys. I set a top price of $10 a bottle (5th) to ensure that only low-brow, bottom-shelf swill (I use those terms as a terms of endearment) would be included in the battle. Though I have a deep appreciation for fine, expensive whiskeys, I tend to agree with this sagely quote…
“There is no such thing as bad whiskey. Some whiskeys just happen to be better than others.” -William Faulkner
So, having set the terms, I picked up three bottles from as many sources over the course of several weeks. The three whiskeys tested were:
-Canadian Mist: 80 proof, medium color- I actually grabbed that bottle at Meijer in Plainfied, Indiana with a clearance tag of $6.99 under it, but realized that I was actually charged $9.99 on the receipt a few days later when I pulled the bottle out for my taste test. The Mist website is http://www.canadianmist.com/
-Black Velvet: 80 proof, light in color- I paid $9.99 at Parsley’s Package Liquor Store in Plainfield, Indiana. It used to be only $8.99 until the ownership recently changed hands. You can find out more about Black Velvet at http://www.blackvelvetwhisky.com/
-Canadian Supreme: 80 proof, medium color- (not to be confused with Windsor Supreme Canadian) I grabbed this bottle at Red Barrel in downtown Bloomington, Indiana after playing a singer/songwriter gig down there earlier this month. It was only $7.99 and found on the farthest, dusty corner of the lowest shelf in the store. I found very little about Supreme online, so this bottle may have been on Red Barrel’s bottom shelf since the olden times. Here is one of the few links I found relating to Supreme http://www.barnonedrinks.com/tips/dictionary/c/canadian-supreme-canadian-whisky-2044.html
I invited a good friend and connoisseur of cheap booze, Rob Monninger, over to my house to participate in my cheap whiskey shootout of the ages. We did a “blind” taste test. I gave him three glasses without him knowing which was which. Then, I recorded his feedback and ranking. I had my wife give me the three anonymous glasses when it was my turn and I wrote my own feedback and ranking. We also listened to a couple great jazz albums on YouTube for background music. See the links for our Shootout Soundtrack at the bottom.
Rob Monninger and Luke Austin Daugherty at the Under $10 Canadian Whiskey Taste Test- Picture: Angela Daugherty
Our personal rankings for the whiskeys and aroma(nose)/flavor(mouth) notes are as follows. They are ranked in each person’s order of favorite (#1) to least favorite (#3). Also, we ranked each individually according to our own subjective 0-5 scale of taste and had other various whiskeys on that scale for the sake of general comparison.
Rob’s Personal 0-5 Whiskey Ranking Scale:
0 = Jim Beam, 1= Calvert Extra 2= Evan Williams 3=Jack Daniels 4= Jameson, Johnnie Walker Red Label 5= Johnnie Walker Black Label
Rob’s Taste Test:
1st Place: Canadian Mist- nose: woody, mellow
mouth: sweet bite in a good way, woody aftertaste
3 out of 5 on flavor ranking scale
2nd Place: Black Velvet- nose: not much noticeable, very light aroma
mouth: sweet, crisp flavor, woody aftertaste
2 out of 5 on flavor ranking scale
3rd Place: Canadian Supreme- nose: sweet
mouth: lacking development in flavor, smooth, no real aftertaste,
1 out of 5 on flavor ranking scale
Rob’s Wrap-up: All drinkable, but nothing remarkable
Luke’s Personal 0-5 Whiskey Ranking Scale:
0 = Calvert Extra 1=Evan Williams, Jim Beam 2= J & B, Old Overholt 3= The Glenlivet 12 year, Great King Street 4= Johnnie Walker Black Label 5= The Glenlivet Nadura
Luke’s Taste Test:
1st Place: Black Velvet- nose: slightly woody, warm, sweet/lighter, almost a sherry casked aroma
mouth: crisp with nice, fading finish. Sweet aftertaste
2 out of 5 on flavor ranking scale
2nd Place: Canadian Supreme- nose: oaky, smell the cask, the most aromatic, but, gets harsher when swirled prior to smelling
mouth: Smooth, but lacking complexity. Slightly woody. Medium finish.
1.5 out of 5 on flavor ranking scale
3rd Place: Canadian Mist- nose: unpleasant, thin, rubbing alcohol-esque
mouth: spicy, gets in the nose, burn stays in palate then finishes dry, fairly smooth, tastes better than it smells
1 out of 5 on flavor ranking scale
Luke’s Wrap-up: Nothing to write home about here, but all enjoyable enough if you want some whiskey and only have 10 bucks. All are serviceable in cocktails as well and make a tolerable whiskey and coke.
In summation: Interestingly enough in our subjective worlds, my last place was Rob’s first place. More importantly, we had a great time!
![PhotoGrid_1469329178605[1]](https://lukeaustindaugherty.files.wordpress.com/2016/07/photogrid_14693291786051.jpg?w=615)
Your kind contribution may buy me a cup of coffee out at my next writing session. Click my easy paypal “tip jar” link that follows and THANKS! -Luke
