Gold Bar Whiskey

Happy Bi-weekly Whiskey Wednesday everyone! In an effort to advance myself in my 90 Fitness challenge at work (and save a bit of cash) I will be cutting back a bit on reviews, I hope that doesn't lead to a decline in quality photos. 

This week I've got something that we bought purely out of aesthetic curiosity, as it was certainly the most flamboyant bottle design I have seen since the likes of Skull Head, Kraken, or bottles of Tequila seemingly sold exclusively at ol' Lee's Discount. Gold Bar boasts several awards that are seemingly surreptitious in nature with no real other winners, along with a tag line of "Blended Whiskey finished in California Casks" - a note that - to anyone who has any semblance of knowledge in either whiskey or wine would know - implies a verbose translation of "cheaply acquired product". But, coming in at 80 proof and one of the most tacky yet glorious bottles you'll find, is it worth the cost, and what's the flavor like? 

Nose - A bit heavy on the alcohol vapors and very heavy in honey and vanilla, with no particularly lovely notes to stand out, but nothing too terrible either. It's just really... Basic.

Palette - very prominent honey and corn notes that are quite reminiscent to the notes you pick up in a 'Light Whiskey'; that is, even though it's quite heavy handed in it's flavor, it is at the end, quite gentle, with a very small hint of spice at the end, likely due to a low-rye content mash bill.

Finish - gone before it came, the flavor and any texture falls off with the taste, albeit there is a bit of a flat note that lingers a moment or two.

The experience - The bottle is just as it seems: A centerpiece for a shelf that wants to be unique. It's a very interesting bottle shape, and yes, that's no box, it's the actual bottle! The lid comes off a bit too easily after you break the seals up top, but fortunately the manufacturer had the insight to put a metal cap inside to seal the hole. Other than that, the entire gold bar experience is quite stale and meaningless, with no deep characteristics or flavors, it just falls really flat and feels quite uneventful. Where most higher end whiskeys will take you on an adventure of sorts, gold bar's journey ends wherever you set the bottle down. 

Is it worth the $45? Probably not unless you really like the bottle, then go for it, but if you want something that's more about what's actually inside the bottle, for the same price I'd recommend picking up a bottle of Talisker Storm for five bucks more.