Jack Daniels Filled Chocolates Review

Today we have something simple, yet elegant. As I was beginning to check out at Mega Foods on Business 53, I was inundated with the presence of, what could be, a wonderful delight! I noticed a small black, envelope-like package that had the Jack Daniels label on it. After further reading, I discovered that this envelope was filled with Jack Daniel's Filled Chocolates. I could not resist the urge to buy them and took them home for further examination.

When you first open the chocolates, they are wrapped in a shiny black wrapper that must have taken someone a long time to design. Once you have removed that wrapper, there is a second wrapper that is all gold in color. It is made of the same material that Hershey Kisses are made out of. Anyways, the presentation of these chocolates is exquisite.

The taste is scrumptious as well. They really do have whiskey in these chocolates (along with other custards and flavors). They taste very much like a chocolate that you would get in one of those boxes that has 1.2 million chocolates in it, and you hope you don't get the one that tastes like tarter sauce? You know what I mean.

Overall, these chocolate are great. Again, found at Mega Foods on Business 53, they are placed exactly where they should be for impulse buyers like me. They were $3.29 for 8 chocolates. Not a bad price for something that you could just enjoy yourself or use as a stocking stuffer this holiday season, but a maybe a little high. If you get a chance to try these, let us know what you think! We would love to hear your impressions!

Overall Score: 8/10

Alaskan Duck Fart Shooter Review

Today is the debut of our first shooter. Some would classify this as a shot but for clarification purposes, the difference between a shooter and a shot is that a shot is normally constructed as a single serving of straight spirits, usually in the size of 25mL or 1 fl oz. A "shooter" is classified as straight liqueurs, cordials or mixed drinks served in a shot glass, sometimes poured so there is some kind of la

yered effect. Today, we have a shooter. It is known as the Alaskan Duck Fart. It has three spirits and is constructed in a layered fashion for the purpose of presentation. The ingredients list is as follows:

• 1/2 oz Kahlua coffee liqueur
• 1/2 oz Irish Cream liqueur
• 1/2 oz Canadian Whiskey

The shooter needs to be layered in the order above, starting with the Kahlua. After the Kahlua is in the shot glass, pour the second liquor, in our case O' Mara's Irish Cream, over the bottom of a spoon to slow down the rate at which it falls on top of the first layer. After the Irish Cream is in place, perform the same operation with the Canadian Whiskey on top of the second layer. After this is done, the preparation for the shooter is complete! Now to enjoy it!

We won't critique shots/shooters as critically, but as far as this shooter goes, its presentation is splendid! The layers form perfectly across each plane, causing the liquors to remain separated in the shot glass. This may take some time and some skill for beginners, but over time it will pay dividends during the get-togethers you will hold!

The smells is, well, take a guess. Some people prefer to not smell the shots/shooters before they take them, and the Young Connoisseur agrees. Smelling the shot before tasting it can ruin the whole experience! Combinations of different liqueurs can dramatically change the way a cocktail or shooter taste and smell is significantly linked to taste. Plus, this shooter probably just smells like whiskey anyway...

Now for the taste. At first, it tastes very much of chocolate, but then the end is much that of whiskey and Kahlua. The Irish Cream brings down the strength of the whiskey and Kahlua combined, but still has a solid body to it. This is a great shooter and I recommend it to all to try at least once. It is fairly popular amongst local bartenders, so just go ask them for an Alaskan Duck Fart!

Whiskey Sour Review

After being away for a while, we have returned with an basic, yet elegant review of one of the cocktails we all love (or most of us at least :)...), the Whiskey Sour. Sometimes when you go to a local bar, for us Eau Claire folk, The Pioneer Tavern, The Court N' House, and even your buddy's homemade bar, the Whiskey Sour that you will have made for you will include whiskey, Sprite and if your LUCKY, some sort of sweet and sour mix. These are fine and dandy when you want to go out and just "drive 'em home" but when you really want to enjoy this cocktail, those recipes don't always suffice. The Whiskey Sour we have here is made with the finest of ingredients available, without actually driving to the distilleries and orchards around the continent. The ingredients used are as follows:

• 2 1/2 ounces whiskey
• 1/2 ounce fresh lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 2 Maraschino cherries/1 Lemon wedge for garnish
• (We used 2x the amount of ingredients to fill the glass for this cocktail)

First, get out the fresh lemon and cut it in half. Juice the lemon with a hand-press-style juicer to create the 1/2 ounce of fresh lemon juice. Pour that juice into your lowball glass. Next, take 1 teaspoon of sugar and add it to the lemon juice in the lowball glass. Stir the sugar until it dissolves in the fresh lemon juice. Add ice to the mixture that you now have and add the 2 1/2 ounces of whiskey over the ice. We used Wiser's Blended Canadian Whiskey specifically for this cocktail. Now, for some cocktails, you are supposed to shake them in a Boston shaker but with this drink, we will stir instead of shake. Now that you have all of the ingredients in the glass and have stirred the drink, it is now time to enjoy.

To begin, the presentation of this cocktail is very nice. The dark golden color of the liquid clashes well with a lemon or maraschino cherry garnish. It looks great in a rocks glass, either short and stubby or tall and slender. Feel free to choose.

Second, the smell is very much that of whiskey. Because we used a blended whiskey, the flavor is very sweet and mixes well with the "sour mixture" we used.

The taste is very flavorful. The sour taste is very natural and fits well with the whiskey. Wiser's seems to fit very well in this drink and is among the best I have ever used. The drink does have that certain sour taste that brings out a small bitterness to it. Even though the drink smells sweet, it certainly doesn't have a very sweet taste. The Whiskey "SOUR" is meant not to be a sugary drink and it follows that concept very well.

If you like the Whiskey Sour that you get at your local tavern, then you may like this cocktail. It is not as sweet as one that has Sprite or sweet and sour mix but it definitely has more flavor. Wiser's De Luxe Blended Canadian Whiskey can be found ranging from $20.99-$28.99/1.75L/ in 40%ALC/VOL. This is probably the best whiskey sour I have had and with good reason. The fresh, natural ingredients really bring out the characteristics that a Whiskey Sour is supposed to have.

Appearance: 8/10

Scent: 7/10

Taste: 9/10

Overall Score: 8/10

If you have had a Whiskey Sour at your home, what whiskey do you use? What ingredients do you use in your Whiskey Sour? Let us know what you think with a comment either on this post or on Facebook. One person who commented will be picked at random for a free 750mL bottle of whiskey to use in their Whiskey Sours at home! Happy commenting!

Jack Daniels Single Barrel Review

I present to you today the newest member of our family, Jack Daniel's Single Barrel. This spirit is very prestigious in the whiskey community and carries a very big stick. The bottle is designed with simple in mind. The glass has a Jack Daniel signature below the label to add to its one-of-a-kind nature. It also has a small label on the front, only about 2"x2". The neck of the bottle as a great vintage design with a sturdy corked top to finish it off. The label around the neck has the inscription of what the barrel number is and the date. The spirit is a dark sort of amber/gold color with deep brown tendencies. When compared to the traditional Jack Daniel's, it is much more rich in color. When the cork is popped off, it smells of rich oak and honey. It smells significantly sweeter than the traditional Jack Daniel's. There are hints of smoke and oak that overpower the sweeter smells, so you get a "taste" of how long it has been in the maturation process. When tasted neat, it is a very smooth ride, more than I was expecting. At the exit, there is a little bit of a nice sting in the nostrils that adds to the flavor recognition. I was expecting some sort of small sting, as this whiskey is 94 proof instead of the traditional 80 proof. I really liked this whiskey neat as I think it offers a lot of flavor and a really nice level of intensity. Next, this whiskey was tried on ice, swirled around in the rocks glass to melt the ice just a little bit. I found that the whiskey became much smoother, but you lost a lot of the sweet flavors that were present when it was neat. The smoke and oak tastes were still prevalent but not as pungent. Lastly, this whiskey was tried with cola. Just kidding. I'm sure that this Jack Daniel's Single Barrel would taste wonderful in cola but I will not be the one to commit that petty crime. For a whiskey that is as prestigious as this, I would prefer to keep it by itself. Feel free to mix it with cola, if you get a chance, and post a comment in regards to what you think. If you are like me and do not want to do such a thing, then we will never know what that combination offers. Overall, this is a very good whiskey. It is one of the better American whiskeys I have had and it has a lot to offer, in both flavor and presentation. Jack Daniel's Single Barrel can be found ranging from $37.49-$47.99/750mL/ in 47%ALC/VOL. The value of Jack Daniel's is great when put up against other options for a small amount of difference in cost. If you are a whiskey fan and feel like treating yourself to something special for that once occasion, Jack Daniel's Single Barrel would sure be a good choice.

Appearance: 9/10

Scent: 9/10

Neat Taste: 10/10

Chilled Taste: 8/10

Overall Score: 9/10