Traveller Whiskey (Buffalo Trace; 45%)

You may have noted a period of inactivity on this site! Well, that is frankly because I’ve been very busy the last couple of weeks tasting and reviewing American whiskeys not available in Canada for stories destined to appear in — you guessed it — American magazines. Regular service will resume shortly, but in the meantime please enjoy this review of a whiskey I suspect will arrive on Canadian soil before too long.

This new Buffalo Trace release, a ‘collaboration’ between the distillery and musician Chris Stapleton, is a bit of a puzzler in that the name is spelled with two Ls, the British/Canadian way, but the word ‘whiskey’ uses the E, the American way. The curiosities continue on the back label with a reference to ‘whiskies,’ again the British/Canadian spelling. So is all this a hint that the whiskey could be a blend of American and Canadian spirits, the latter perhaps from parent company Sazerac’s Old Montréal Distillery? I think it just might be.

Medium gold in colour, the aroma is attractive but simple, with fruity pear notes combining with oaky vanilla and a bit of caramel. This minimalist theme is continued on the palate, with a sweet and  biscuity start, vanilla, baked pear, caramel, and a hint of baking spice on the mid-palate, and charred wood notes dominating the finish.

When I first sampled this, I was very much unimpressed, but that was also after a day sampling high-end, complex bourbons and ryes, after which the relative simplicity of this whiskey simply let it down. With a fresh palate and an improved attitude, however, I can see this for what I suspect it is meant to be: a whiskey meant for mixing or pouring over ice, intended to satisfy the casual drinker but unconcerned about appealing to whiskey connoisseurs. In short, it’s perfectly fine, but nothing to impress a sophisticated palate.

73 (US$40-$44)