Dr. McGillicuddy Hot Cinnamon Fireball

[cowdery]

Peppermint schnapps and domestic brandy have long been the most popular distilled spirits in the Upper Midwest.

[OscarV]

Yeah, out here in Jackson County, the birthplace of the Republican Party, there are schnapps floor displays at all the stores because bow deer season started on the 1st.
Also brown vodka from Canada.

[ILLfarmboy]

Yeah, out here in Jackson County, the birthplace of the Republican Party, there are schnapps floor displays at all the stores because bow deer season started on the 1st.
Also brown vodka from Canada.

Quite popular around here too. In the same vein, as a teen I worked for a farmer who, in the winter, would take a slug of Blackberry brandy (Dekuyper brand) or sometimes Mogen David before going out to check on the livestock.

[AVB]

It's sold all over Pennsylvania and has been for some time. I'd be willing to bet that it was made for the US market and not the Canadian one.

It sounds like a product created for the Canadian market and I would not assume that "corn whiskey" means the same thing there as it means here, nor would I assume that this corn whiskey was made here and flavored there.

It's enough for me to keep up with the Americans, let alone those nutty Canadians.

[cowdery]

You've got the Hot Cinnamon Fireball in Pennsylvania? Does it say "corn whiskey" on the bottle? Or is it labeled as Schnapps? It's the small print that matters, where the product must be identified as to one of the regulated types. Schnapps isn't a regulated type. Most schnapps are, technically, liqueurs. That's why this "flavored corn whiskey," which Gary said was not labeled "schnapps" is interesting.

[CorvallisCracker]

I've seen it in stores here but being not interested did not look closely at the label. Next time I will.

I do recollect that it was in the bourbon section. I don't usually spend any time in the schnapps section.

[Gillman]

It's 33% ABV here by the way. It is called on the label, Flavoured Corn Whisky. At the bottom, it is called also "Whisky Shooter".

Gary

[cowdery]

"Flavored corn whiskey" would be an American designation, although the spelling shows that at least that version of the product was made for Canada, which doesn't mean it isn't also sold here. Even here, flavored whiskeys can be 35% abv (40% would be the floor for an un-flavored whiskey), but not 33%. Heaven Hill recently released two flavored versions of Georgia Moon, so flavored corn whiskey is not unknown here.

[Gillman]

Interesting. Why would they go under the 35% by two percentage points, I wonder? Clearly this product was formulated with U.S. regulations in mind, but why not (for Canada) keep to the same strength? I am not aware of any disinhibiting Canadian regulation, although I should probably check.

This is actually a good product, very good, provided IMO it is cut 50/50 with any good whisky (bourbon, straight rye, Canadian). It smells like sugared cinnamon red hots, a very pure clean smell of that. It could be cut as well with vodka, but a well-flavoured whiskey does a lot for it.

Gary

[cowdery]

The mystery to me is why use corn whiskey at all? Would the product have tasted any different if it had a GNS base?

Even if they needed a Canada-specific label for the English spelling differences and, presumably, the required French, you are right that a different label is one thing, a different product formulation is something else.

Curious.