We’re riding the line between Weirdosland and Flavoured Country right now, and this week we wander into Black Cherry gulch. Gulch being apt as it’s the grossest sounding place name I can think of without Googling.
Red Stag is a line from Jim Beam which also offers such other palate-bangers as “Hardcore Cider” (I love cider, but I don’t know how you’d make it hardcore short of putting it in a porn) and “Spiced Cinnamon” (cinnamon is a spice, so it’s Spiced Spice. I think she was the seventh Spice Girl, she liked meth). All asides aside, the website isn’t much more than a home for about 40 cocktail recipes and a promo video that looks more like a pink deer bleeding over downtown rooftops than anything to do with booze.
The website is out of the States where they have different marketing laws. Here in Canada it says very clearly “FlavoUred” on the bottle, the Canadian spelling, not American, to adhere to our laws. On the website, they call it “infused with natural black cherry flavor”. A quick search online says that “natural black cherry flavour” can contain, in order: ethyl alcohol, glycerin, water, propylene glycol and natural flavor.
Yes, in “natural” flavourings, some non-specific “natural flavor” is the *last* ingredient. I know, I know, it’s mixed into bourbon, which is a psychoactive toxin, but I’m just making a point about what words mean, and what they apparently do not, at all, mean anymore. Caveat emptor, ymmv, etc. Here’s what we thought:
colour
Dan – yellowy brown
Simon – synthetic brown
Goran – amber
nose
Dan – fruity teen perfume, cherry
Simon – cheap hallowe’en candy, “purple”, hairspray & lip balm
Goran – cherry, strawberry yogurt, fake cherry
neat
Dan – cherry cough syrup, simple syrup
Simon – like hot cough syrup
Goran – vulgarly sweet, overwhelming cherry & cinnamon
finish
Dan – cherry candy, corn syrup, liquor
Simon – thick & coating
Goran – short finish, liquor
splash water
Dan – n/a
Simon – better, much better, sweet lessened, some bile
Goran – n/a
splash Coke
Dan – sweeter Cherry Coke
Simon – n/a
Goran – sweet black licorice
Verdict: If you really need a whiskey mix that doesn’t taste like whiskey, sure. Might be a good shooter if you’re already wasted. Otherwise, steer clear & don’t spend your money on it.
Red Stag Kentucky Black Cherry Bourbon Whiskey – 40% 200ml – $8.95 – Kentucky
Try it? No. Buy it? No.
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