Glutton for punishment that I am, I continued down the unforgiving road of blended Canadian whisky with another product aimed at the apparently whisky-starved rodeo market. “8 Seconds” (although the bottle label had me trying to pronounce “Sec8nds” for longer than I’m comfortable admitting) is the younger sibling of the 8 year-old “8 Seconds Black”. Like Pendleton, the website is rife with scenes from cowboy bars, rodeo imagery, and cowboy hats. The whisky? Apparently it’s aged in oak barrels, blended in “small batches” and has developed “elegant nuances”, of what, they don’t specify. But never mind that, we have pictures of hot girls on mechanical bulls!
Also, the bottle is very pretty.
Nose: Sweet. Soft, melty, buttery caramel. And… yeah that’s it.
Palate: Soft texture. Thankfully not ultra-sweet, although the overall impression is of cake-y baked goods. German chocolate cake frosting?
Finish: Short. Brown sugar melting away to reveal a core of pretty young, grassy grain whisky. Ends with straight vodka notes.
With Water: Dampens the aroma. No effect on the palate, maybe turns up the vegetal notes on the finish.
Overall: This is the first “blended Canadian whisky” that I’ve had (ever) that doesn’t make me want to wash my mouth out. That said, it desperately calls for ice and a bitter or acidic ingredient to balance the inherent sweetness. I would wager that if you wanted to make a cocktail that called for Crown Royal, you’d be slightly better off using this. I wouldn’t bother to drink it straight, though, especially with that vodka finish. Even so, it’s better than direct competitor Pendleton, in my book. I’m now curious about the “Black” label from 8 Seconds.
Please put out a review of Lot 40. I’m tired of people thinking we only have shite whisky. Not to mention everyone’s jealous of our hockey skills, and they’ll attack any weakness we seem to have.
Lol. Lol about the opening comments too Nathan.
Next week. 😉
These whiskies are not even available anywhere I’ve been in Canada. Not sure where you’re getting them from.
I suggest you try something from Forty Creek. One of the special releases. None as powerful as something like Booker’s, but all very tasty,
These whiskies are available in the US. As I’ve mentioned in several articles, we get a lot of slop with the Canadian name on it exported to the US – I’m not surprised it’s unavailable in Canada, no self-respecting Canadian whisky drinker would touch this stuff! I agree with your suggestion of Forty Creek, but all of the special releases are very limited here, and I’ve rarely seen any of them available on shelves. Lot 40 is another great Canadian whisky that’s available here, and there will be a review of it next week.
Probably because you dont have any rodeo bars (that i am aware of) or mechanical bulls in Canada. This be bull-ridin’ whisky!
I needed to pick up a bottle of Canadian whisky for a friend that was coming down to visit. The salesperson at TW strongly suggested this brand as it is very popular with the Canadian snowbirds. I had a glass with my friend and oh my goodness, it took every bit of fiber in my body to not make the “bitter beer face” and spit this swill out. I expected this to be very young and the normal overly sweet nose, palate, but not the weird chemical taste & after taste. If this is better than Ellington, Pendleton and I would guess Bison Ridge, I am glad I did not purchase one of those. I was happy to send this bottle back to Canada with my friend where it belongs. I know they must produce some good quality products up there so please let a few more come on down. No more cowboy whisky for me!
Thanks for a great site, I do enjoy it!
I love 8 seconds blended whiskey can only buy in USA
Had a liquior store bring in a case. I bought 3 bottles went bach a couple weeks later all gone. Comes in a pink box has a kerchief in the box and a little note about 8 seconds
A woman is diagnosed with breast cancer every 8 seconds
Very smooth blend
Scotch Noob needs to try this again.