Not as bad as you might think, and surprisingly versatile for mixing.
Notes: A new flavored version of the venerable ( est 1951) Canadian Whisky Black Velvet , this is a toasted caramel flavored whisky produced by Constellation Brands
Appearance: Gold amber yellow in color, appears to be a younger whiskey compared to a lot of bourbons, standard color for a Canadian whisky.
First Impression: Heavy caramel and toasted/caramelized maple scents with cinnamon, maple syrup, butterscotch overtones.
Taste: Sweet,thick entry with a very much toasted/caramelized caramel flavor with some cinnamon,whiskey,vanilla and oak char notes to it.
Drinks: There are a number of cocktails listed on their website. Actually the whisky was fairly easy to mix with and showed a surprising amount of versatility for something that you would expect to be less than easily mixable. Probably also good for cooking especially for pecan or pumpkin pies, glazes or desserts.
Bottle: Bit of an updated redesign from the standard Black Velvet bottle. CLear glass with a sharper shoulder angle,ever so slightly tapered body to a flared angled bottom. Labels are silkscreened clear plastic with reversed colors from the old paper labels with the banner “Toasted Caramel ” near the bottom of the label. Neck wrap and screw off cap are somewhat the same
Other: Almost qualifies as a whisky liqueur, think of it as a toasted caramel version of some other whisky liqueurs and you won’t be far wrong in terms of sweetness and basic style.
Final Thoughts: I didn’t want to start a review with “not as bad as I expected” or some such as I like to try to be impartial till I taste anything but given the experience of the vast majority of flavored whiskies which we have tried it’s hard not to have some involuntary preconceptions, happily it exceeded my minimal expectations. For a shall we say economy whisky it was OK and as a mixer for people who like the sweet stuff I can recommend it as one of the more drinkable flavored whiskies out there. While too sweet for my personal taste I am sure it will be popular with the younger crowd.
Website: http://www.blackvelvetwhisky.com