Notes:  Produced by Philadelphia Distilling which produces a number of other products including Blue Coat Gin, Vieux Carre Absinthe,  XXX Shine Corn Whiskey, Penn 1681 Rye Vodka, and this, their XXX Shine Salted Caramel Corn Whiskey.

Appearance: Gold caramel colored like a Amaretto or other liqueur, somehow the caramel coloring people use for coloring kind of looks the same in terms of the type of color even if the depth of color is different. It just looks like a bad fake color no matter how dark or light you color something.

First Impression: Odd but not completely off putting as such. Caramel,toffee, tootsie roll and salty smells underlaid with sweet corn whiskey scents make for an odd combination but not nearly enough warning for what was to follow.

Taste: On its own it is almost unspeakably ghastly – Sweet “caramel”  ( read artificial plastic tootsie roll waxy caramel) with the sea slat makes it taste like a salty charcoal briquet with the underlying bite of the whiskey. It leaves a sickly sweet salty caramel finish that clings like grim death.

Drinks: Tried it in a Manhattan – couldn’t face any other experiments after that.

Bottle: Clear glass short cylindrical with jug ring on handle ( looks like a jug or beer growler). Black paper labels with a patinated copper color for the lettering and designs. Rather hard to read because of the lack of contrast.

Other: I’m sorry but I just don’t get the whole flavor idea for this one is putting it mildly. I had to convince the other person who tasted it I wasn’t intentionally trying to poison her – that I just needed a second opinion to make sure it was as bad as I thought.

Final Thoughts: I love some of their other products, and I am friends with  their distiller so it would be diplomatic of me to say I just don’t get this product – but I honestly can’t say that – I find it loathsome .

Website: http://philadelphiadistilling.com
the main website but very much just a placeholder with no real information

http://shinewhiskey.com is the website dedicated to their unaged whiskey products with some information and recipes