I’m generally not a fan of flavored whiskey.  However, I won’t pass up the chance to try one.  After all, you can’t know if you dislike something until you taste it.  Enter Tap 357 – a Canadian rye whisky blended with Canadian maple syrup.  Here’s some info straight from the producer:

The cask-aged 3-, 5-, and 7-year old blended rye whisky used in TAP 357 is produced at the oldest distillery in Western Canada, where it is distilled four times then matured in a combination of new, second-, and third-use bourbon barrels. 

TAP Whisky’s Master Blender Michel Marcil then blends these whiskies and adds pure Canada 1 Light maple syrup from the Quebec area.  It’s then married for a period and bottled at 40.5%.

The nose is dominated by maple syrup, which is accentuated by notes of vanilla extract, baking spices and spice cake.  Taste-wise, we’re talking maple.  Lots of maple!  Loads of maple!  The whisky is expectedly very rich, but not cloyingly sweet.  Rye spice compliments and cuts through.  Creamy vanilla and oak spice add some depth.  The finish features creme brulee and light maple syrup.  

The maple nature of this whisky doesn’t taste artificial.  Of course it doesn’t.  The producers are using real maple syrup.  Maple syrup is generally a note I pick up in Canadian whiskies, so it feels natural to use it to flavor the whisky.  Like I mentioned earlier, Tap 357 is rich, but not cloyingly sweet.  It leans strongly on the maple syrup side, but has just enough other flavors to keep things interesting.  Does this mean Tap 357 is the first flavored whisky I actually like?  I believe so.  Nicely done!  8/10

Thanks to Tap 357 for the sample.  As always, all thoughts and opinions are my own.