The first time I met Gary in person was at the Bourbon Festival several years ago. He gave me a bottle of one of his personal blends at that time (this was in exchange for some Clark and Lewis, if I recall correctly). Today while looking in the cabinet ofr some scotch blends I came across a bottle of Black Velvet Canadian and did not think anything about it until I went to put the bottles away and realized this open bottle, about 2/3 full was that bottle Gary had given me a couple of years ago. I thought I would do some tasting notes here for your enjoyment.
Color: Orange-Yellow. Very light for bourbon, but darlk for a modern blend.
Nose: Very interesting. You can tell Gary has blended some bourbon and rye. There is a caramel sweetness with a little corn and the grassy aroma I associate with rye whiskey. There is a little cognac type fruitiness with just a little apricot? or very ripe peach? and I detect just a little smoke that indicates to me that there may be just a little Tennessee whiskey in here.
Taste: Very Fruity with a little fine tobacco and leather. Caramel and vanilla sweetness with a little cinnamon spice and a hint of liquorice.
Finish: Very clean and sweet. Not much wood in this whiskey but what little there is comes out in the finish with a touch of tannins just before the finish dissappears.
Notes: This is a very interesting blend made by Gary. I am not sure what he put in the whiskey. It seems like to me he was not sure at the time, but he may have decided simply not to tell because he thought it needed work. This is a very good blend or maybe more of a vatting since I detect no GNS in the flavor. If Gary makes whiskey like this on a regular basis, it has to be a great pleasure to visit his home and to share in his successes.