Buffalo Trace

I'll put my hand up straight away and state up until recently, when I didn't want to drink vodka, my spirit of choice was a nicely aged Anejo Rum of some variety.

Waitrose had Buffallo Trace gathering dust on their shelf for £18, so I gave it a punt following the reviews on here.

Cracked the bottle and the first glug had a nose overwhelming of cherries with maybe just a little wood underneath telling your nose that this isn't some cherry liquer. The spiritous bite you get from a bottle of Jack wasn't there, indicating this was something a little less in-your-face.

First sip was dazzling- much less sweet than Jack Daniels, Jim Beam or indeed Maker's Mark. There's cherry flavour, but not the 'one note' sickliness of Jack- more layered with a little heat of that fruity flavour you get from a fresh, light-roast Kenyan coffee (rather than the burnt-to-a-crisp black sludge you get in the big mugs from Starbucks) I found a certain smokiness too, as well plenty of warmth from the alcohol. In the mouth it was smooth and oily in a pleasant way- indeed, there were actually proper 'window panes' when I swirled the glass.

On swallowing, the finish I struggled to place what the actual flavour was lingering on the back of my tongue, then worked it out as an almost licorice flavour- Which sounds wierd when I think about it, but it worked well with that other flavours.

I found that a couple of ice-cubes* let melt a little shortened the finish a great deal, but trimmed the cherry flavours and alcohol to allow more of a smokey/wood combination to come through, which was highly pleasant to sip at while reading a book in the peace and quiet.

In truth, I think I've found my new 'go to' day-to-day whisky. It's that nice.

• I know some people get "upstage" about this kind of thing, like leaving the band on cigars and such- but it's my drink and if I want to drink it through a used sports-sock I will ;)

Find where to buy Buffalo Trace whisky