Review #11: Kirkland Canadian Whisky



A Canadian blended whisky from Costco. I loved the first bottle of it I got a few years ago, before I started developing my palate, but sadly was disappointed by my second bottle.

Age: 6 years

Color: 1.0 deep copper

Strength: 40% ABV / 80 proof

Handshake (drops drying on the hand): nearly non-existent.

Nose: isopropyl alcohol and caramel

Palate: very light in flavors. Almost 0 ethanol burn on the tongue but a bit of burn going down. A bit thicker than water, almost oily viscosity. The mouthfeel is nice.

Taste: caramel leaning towards butterscotch, raw sugar syrup, cinnamon bark

Finish: cinnamon, and a bit of that isopropyl comes back

After-nose: light brown sugar and old books

Overall: This doesn't nearly nauseate me the way JD honey did. I recall the first bottle being great actually, but I was very disappointed with rebuying it after I started sipping neat for taste. I probably didn't ever drink it neat before. Off notes and missing Strength of flavor. The burn going down feels like heartburn and that's a bit of a let down at 40%

Rating: 62/100 - subpar, multiple deficiencies

Price: Around $20 for a 1.75L handle, so around $8.22 per 750ml.

Value (would I buy again?): ⭐ 1/5 - meh - good value for a party mixer, so I'll only buy again if I need a big bottle of a party mixer whisky.

Frankly, it's just not good enough to give a higher value rating. Whether to buy this is situational. Pretty good value as a standby well Canadian whisky for parties. As a mixer, good as a replacement for Crown Royal in Crown and Coke.

With water: the minimal flavors become more muted. The sweetness is still there.

On the rocks: more sweet and cinnamon spice, less of the off-notes

In a whiskey and coke: the whiskey contributes some spice and butterscotch but it's pretty subtle. basically a boozy coke. Not much to think about. Great for a party guest who wants to drink alcohol and prefers the taste of soda over whisky.

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