February 4, 2010

Seagram's 7 Dark Honey Arrives for Review

Last week, we posted about Seagram's 7 Dark Honey, positing it was Seagram's' attempt to hit the same "I don't like whiskey" market that Beam seems to be targeting with Red Stag.The folks at Seagram's were kind enough to send us a bottle of the stuff for us to try it out ourselves, and based on our initial tasting, we have to say we weren't too far off the mark. We're trying to get better about turnaround time on reviewing the products we receive, so we'll post our initial thoughts here and hopefully be able to come back with some thoughts on how to mix it.

The bottle itself is interesting, a boxy affair with subtle honeycomb graphics climbing the outside. When we smelled it, we got a mixture of wheat and sweet, more on the sweet side, like the smell of the milk in your bowl after your morning Honeycombs cereal. There were other smells in there too - obviously the tang of alcohol, accompanied by molasses and a hint of cinnamon.

The cinnamon flavor carried into the taste as well, with a nice balance of cinnamon and the namesake honey, and a long sweet finish. We didn't taste much by way of whiskey flavor hidden in the honey, but the overall taste was pleasant enough that we kept sipping, which seems a good sign.

Overall, we think it would add a nice sweetness to drinks that would otherwise overpower whiskey novices (we're thinking the Liquor Wife would enjoy a Manhattan using half Dark Honey and half whiskey - sacrilege to cocktail nerds we're sure), and it confirms our original thought that this could be a "training wheels" whiskey for novices and the less adventurous. Plus, at $15-$20 per bottle, you don't have to break the bank to do it, which is also pretty sweet.