Gibson's Finest 12 Year Old

This whisky, as other Gibson's whiskies, is distilled at Hiram Walker in Windsor.

Nose: I get some caramel, and I pick up a fair bit of corn and some fruit like plum. There's vanilla and there are bourbon notes which come off this nose, as well as some oak in the background. There's a light touch of bitterness and sourness detracting from the nose, but they are quite light - however upon multiple tastings I found that it dominated too much. Like the other Gibson whiskies, there's lots of creaminess to this nose. Amidst all else going on I nearly missed the rye which is sitting obviously in the middle of it all lightly directing the show. I find the nose doesn't improve with time but grows a bit stale and bitter, which is too bad. 77%

Taste: Thick, creamy and slightly sour with a citrus backdrop and a good kick of oaky vanilla and a touch of maple-like woodiness. At the end some dusty rye and spices kick in - clove and even a bit of allspice. The sourness/acidity is intriguing as it is a bit different and doesn't go too far in one direction. There is a bit of bitterness right on the end - it isn't horrible and I can't decide whether I like it or don't. Tasting this whisky was odd - the first time I drank this I was quite impressed, but the second time and third time it appeared bitter and out of balance, and even upon comparing with Gibson's Sterling I found this to be inferior. 75%

Finish: At first the spices take hold for a reasonable length before there's some light dryness and oakiness remaining in the mouth, along with a touch of rye. The length and weight of the finish is quite decent, but the flavour could be improved. 80%

Intrigue: This is smooth, thick, and easy drinking other than the touch of bitterness here and there. However, the whisky is a bit of an enigma to me - the first tasting was very impressive (probably would have come out in the low eighties), but the second and third time there was a lot of bitterness , staleness and it was way out of balance - and tasting beside Gibson's Sterling I found this to be inferior upon two tastings. I've never had such a different tasting experience two days in a row, even after conditioning my palate the same way each time. However, I'm standing with the scores from my two later reviews. 75%

Weighting the nose 25%, taste 35%, Finish 15%, and Intrigue 25% the overall grade is 76.

*I realized I would never have time to upload all my Canadian whisky reviews to connosr properly, so I've been importing the tasting notes in bulk to expand the whisky base on connosr. For more info on the whisky (with similar tasting notes), see my post at whiskywon.wordpress.com/2014/04/…