There's something strange about Black Velvet Reserve 8 year old. It is like Blue Velvet by David Lynch: there's few good spots but mainly it's just annoying.
Aromas balance between good and bad. The taste is actually decent and the finish is just too grainy and blended.
This left me a bit confused, just like almost every Lynch movie. Which isn't always bad. Better to be confused than angry, right?
Nose: First, the stingy alcohol and rectified spirit effects. Then it gets lightly fruity with lemon being the main factor. Everything fades away very fast and ends up almost completely scentless.
Taste: Gives heat very much. Peppery but mellow.
Finish: very quick with wood and peppers. Gets watery and uncharacteristic almost right away.
Balance: Black Velvet 8 yrs is decent whisky when compared to other cheap blended ones. Made me feel happy, yet blue...
A clarification. Bourbon is always made using new charred oak. There are a very few American whiskeys which age in used oak, but those whiskeys cannot legally be called "bourbon" or "rye". US whiskeys aged in used wood are just generically labeled "whiskey". An example is Early Times Whiskey, which is aged in part used oak and part new oak.
Sometimes you will see a brand labelled as Rye Whiskey which does not meet these criteria, such as High West 21 YO Rye, which is aged in used oak. Is this correct labeling? Not from my reading of the US Government's regulation. To the best of my knowledge that High West 21 YO Rye should be named High West 21 YO Whiskey, with a note somewhere on the label that it is distilled primarily from rye grain.
@Rantavahti, there aren't many Canadian malt whiskies, yet, and most of them are from Glen Breton, which usually gets so-so reviews. For recommendations for Canadian whisky from me, take a look at my Eleven Canadian Whiskies For the Desert Island list. I like all of those 11 whiskies quite a lot. Bourbon is only made in the US, by law. And the Canadian blended whisky style is seldom very close to bourbon, mostly because American whiskey almost always uses new oak, and Canadian whisky uses new oak only occasionally.
Yes, I can attest that @paddockjudge can talk Canadian whisky with you for any length of time you wish to give to the conversation...