White Owl Whisky

Truly terrible. A "white whisky" whose unique selling point is that it's not unaged spirit, but *actually* aged whisky... which has then been coal-filtered to remove its color. Unsurprisingly, filtering out the color also strips away any flavor, leaving something that resembles a poor vodka. It's clear. It smells of citrus soda (perhaps the color affects my perception?), grain, and a faint hint of butterscotch-caramel. It's your typical Canadian profile, but worse, as it also has a distinct paint-thinner quality. It's strangely sharp yet incredibly bland. This contradiction persists in the taste, which is somehow both watery and sharp. Raw grain. Fire. Artificial butterscotch/caramel. Vanilla ice cream. If zero stars were an option, I'd give it. White Owl is genuinely revolting; it amplifies all the inherent weaknesses of Canadian whisky as a category and makes them even more pronounced; it doesn't even mix well.

In my opinion, it presents as a very filtered, young rye whiskey, which is its core identity. I feel the producers are transparent about this. I concur with those who compare it to vodka but with subtle notes of sweet scotch whiskey. I think its greatest strength is as a component in cocktails. To me, it's straightforward, and I find myself really liking this lightly flavored, filtered whiskey in a simple highball.

This is genuinely the worst whisky I've encountered, and I'm very let down after it was suggested to me. Upon opening the bottle and pouring a glass, the initial smell reminded me of rubbing alcohol. The first taste was very bland, tasting of cheap alcohol. I understand it's an inexpensive whisky, but I expected something palatable, not something I'd want to discard.

People often criticize White Owl, but in my experience, that criticism isn't warranted. It's a very dry, peppery rye, and while a vodka quality is more apparent when you smell it, it's less so on the tongue. Definitely give it a shot if you enjoy the heat of rye or are seeking something distinctive.

Truly awful. I don't understand what promotional hype I fell for when I got this. It's only good for mixing, and even then, superior spirits exist for that!

It has a mild flavor and good texture. I wouldn't call this an excellent whiskey for sipping, but rather one suited for mixed drinks.