Tastes

Neat. Neck pour. KY-01 batch. Really enjoyed the Calumet 15 this year and excited to try its 3-barrel brother here. On the nose, simultaneously getting fresh banana nut bread and red velvet cake. Lovely. I can break apart both of these angles. The banana nut bread side has this nice spice to it. The red velvet cake angle has this nice moist chocolate and vanilla butter cream. I could spend an hour with just the nose. Mouthfeel isn’t creamy, just a step down. Milky. Very oily and coating though. Lighter than expected up front, lots of vanilla and orange. Bit of milk chocolate sneaking in too. The oak comes center stage mid palate. It’s a rich milk chocolate. On the finish brings a wave of caramel and a hint of banana. Decent heat on the legs. Again, vanilla and chocolate keep coming back. Got a bit of the orange again on the finish. The taste isn’t as decadent as the nose but it’s really good overall. The oak isn’t overpowering and there are these nice waves of lighter flavors. Comes across as a more consistent dram than Calumet 15 but both are just fantastic. Is this worth the extra $30? I think so on first impression.

Neat. 2nd pour - let it sit out for a bit to open up. Super excited about this one. I have loved the Toasted MGP Ryes lately but they are usually 4-5 years. 8 years is getting pretty high up there for MGP, so interested to see what the finishing adds. On the nose, the age with the extra finishing gives the nose this dense atmosphere. Sweet oak, almost like a fresh pine. Toasted coconut is the main note and it’s quite delicious. There is this tropical element, not quite citrus, more like a pineapple. Vanilla frosting. Hint of chocolate. Pepper and chili powder. More and more fruits are coming through, stewed fruits. Gosh, impressive. Mouth feel is so thick and syrupy. That pineapple popped immediately upon the tongue but really darker up into the toasted coconut quickly. Mid palate it shifts to a dark chocolate but it lightens up back into the toasted coconut and a toasted marshmallow with a hit of that pineapple. The rye aspects emerge on the finish with rye spice and pepper. Getting more pineapple and a bit of vanilla. The finish is forever. Even the dark bitter chocolate comes back for a ride. The finish simple doesn’t stop. Now I am getting another wave of the pineapple. I’m going to knock it from a perfect score. The dark chocolate note I mentioned mid palate has this sharp bitterness that I don’t care for - like the dark Cocoa powder. It fades quickly and the finish is so incredible that it only slightly derails the experience. This is a ridiculous pour. This is a premium bottle ($224) but I think it may be my favorite rye in the collection. I’ll blind it after it opens up more but off memory feels more impressive than the Kentucky Owl and dwarfs the Down Home Toasted MGP Rye I adore. No other MGP rye stands a chance. Maybe the older Willer Rye I have has a chance. Maybe Cornerstone. Rarified company either way.

Neat. Opened two weeks. Batch 33. Full disclosure, Batch 28 is one of my favorite pours of all time. This didn’t hit me the same way head-to-head but I haven’t given it the spotlight in its own sitting yet. On the nose, the MGP shines through. Butterscotch, graham cracker, honey. Also getting somewhere between a grape soda and a root beer. I sway root beer because the vanilla is emerging but I also can’t escape that grape. Getting this beautiful hint of chocolate and tobacco. This really darkened the more I sat with it, which is atypical for me. Usually I get the dark first and it lightens as I acclimate. Fantastically creamy and immediately leaps with flavor. Honey and maple up front on the tongue, so sweet. That grape soda is coming through too. So good. Root beer and the vanilla transitions to a beautiful chocolate. Oh it’s spicy too. Geez what is that. It’s like a Mediterranean spice. All spice? All spice and tobacco? Lots of fig there too. The chocolate, tobacco and spice are really hanging. Damn that is good. It’s so dynamic and each sip tickled my soul. I need to find more batches....

Neat. Neck pour. Bourbon Junkies’ Gulag Supplies pick. 104 proof. On the nose, white chocolate and strawberries. Powdered sugar. Hint of leather. Nougat. Pepper. Not much personality on the nose. Mouthfeel is nice and oily, super spicy. Lots of cinnamon and brown sugar immediately. Pepper picks up steam, this is a peppery and spicy gal. White chocolate again mid palate. The main event is the finish. The finish is rocking beyond expectation. Very spicy still, pepper and cinnamon with intense waves of caramel and fried elephant ears. Wow, that finish. I was on the fence on this one, but the finish is straight fireworks. For only 104 proof, that is quite unexpected. And the finish comes in waves. While writing this paragraph, yet another wave of caramel came through well after my last sip. That knock out punch in the finish is it’s only move, but it’s a really good move.

Neat. Neck pour. Quite excited to try this. I loved the Split Stave bourbon and I have been impressed with all toasted barrel finished MGP Rye I have tried to date. This is twice as expensive as those other toasted Ryes though. Nose is a winner on first impression. There is this great layer of fruits and melons and all this sweetness immediately. Lots of pineapple specifically. Definitely brings the MGP rye up a level. The dill or spearmint I typically get on MGP is deadened and replaced with sweetness and charred butterscotch. Beyond the citrus, it is quite dark. Toasted cinnamon roll covered in vanilla sweet cream icing. I was premature to say the spearmint isn’t there but it is a mint chocolate chip ice cream instead. This may be my favorite MGP Rye nose yet... Mouth feel is creamy and rich. Surprisingly, initial flavor is a bitter chocolate. It is surprisingly mellow mid palate. But then waves of great flavors come through. Mint, citrus sweetness slammed into a toasted marshmallow. The finish is the main event here. Pepper balanced with immense and morphing sweetness. Starts as a vanilla icing but ends back in the pineapple range. Ends with a sweet mint and rye spice. This process certainly transformed this rye. The rye spice, mint emerge in places but they are surrounded by so much sweetness that is not typical in a MGP rye. The nose and the finish are amazing. Despite its uniqueness, I wouldn’t say it is the best MGP toasted finish rye I have come across so that brings the score down a level when I consider the price. Still an amazing pour overall.

Neat. Neck pour. Just picked this up from the distillery two hours ago, time to enjoy it on the porch surrounded by my closest 100+ cicada friends that are making quite the ruckus out here. Oh man, it’s dark and my first nosing note was the oak! The oak on a New Riff! So excited to see them reach this mile Stone of a 6 year age statement. This is dark on first impression. Oak, malt, charred caramel and pepper. Starting to find a very nice floral layer and powder sugar sweetness. The nose is mostly subtle though. Only 100 proof and it smells lower than that. Mouthfeel is coating but not quite creamy. Very sweet on first impression on the tongue. It has this familiar childhood cereal flavor initially, I’m going with Cinnamon Toast Crunch. Transitions to a fabulous caramel and butterscotch mid palate. The rye doesn’t come in until the finish and it has a delicious malted milk ball and chocolate note with it. More floral is coming mid palate as I spend time with it, mirroring the nose. This is a deceptive rye. Either the malting process or the extra age really creates more of a profile I would associate with a bourbon than rye. The rye pops up on the finish but it’s honestly nothing more than the rye in a New Riff bourbon or a MGP high rye bourbon. I like this so much. I don’t want to overhype it, but for the $60 price tag this is a fantastic Sunday afternoon sipper. If it were more expensive, my score would go down. In the price range, this is one of my favorite ryes and one of my favorite experimental bottles.

Neat. Neck pour. “Apple Pie” from Justin’s House of Bourbon. This nose is crazy... I’m not sure if it’s crazy in a good way. I get the name “Apple Pie” and I am struggling to come up with anything else. It’s literally just cinnamon, apple, and crust. You know, I’d actually argue pear pie is more in line. There is a sourness. I’m almost nervous about the taste... Average mouthfeel. Just cinnamon and apple. Getting some nice rye spice and apple on the finish. Finish is decently long. My mouth even has the after taste of apple. This is nuts. It’s just an apple. The more I drink it, there is no pie. Just apple. What a crazy single barrel. A few months back I was provided a Peerless Rye in a blind flight and it did well. I finally pulled the trigger on my own bottle and it was clearly picked for being such an odd outlier. I’m shocked by how defined the apple flavor is but I’m probably not going to drink this again. I will send this out in samples and tastings to see what others think. I’m going to use it as an illustration of the apple flavor than a whiskey I want to drink. Weird.

Neat. Sample. Initial impression is that the finish is dominating this nose. Rum and cognac have equal footing. Rum is making this very sweet, hint of almond paste. Cognac is adding this grape undertone. Getting a low of powdered sugar, powder sugar in fried dough. Hint of milk chocolate. The nose is a bit fainter and even a bit hotter than I was expecting. Mouthfeel is viscous and syrupy. Initially I am getting a lot of root beer, very very sweet. Root beer again mid palate with a heavy blast of vanilla. The finish is all cognac, a faint concentrated ice wine. Subsequent sips I am getting more of this milk chocolate emerging in the front end and again on the finish. Huh. I like this less than I was expecting. I was expecting to be blown away due to my love of cognac finish, rum finish, and Four Gate. It’s delicious root beer, but that’s essentially it. I find tangents but I have to really look for them. I’m kinda relieved that I got a sample of this. Lovely taste but too expensive for a whole bottle.

Neat. Neck pour. Exclusive bottle for the Mash and Journey Whiskey Club. Nose is bright on first impression. Lemon zest, vanilla, hint of pine. Very clean, very fresh. Pepper starting to emerge. Little clove. It took a bit of exploring but getting this rye toast now. Rye toast covered in an unsweetened orange marmalade. Mmm, the mouthfeel is great. Super creamy. The glass is so oily and it is coating every part of my mouth and slowly running down my throat. On the taste, initially getting this combination of lemon, pepper and clove. Mid palate it brightens up fast and brings the sweetness. Orange marmalade. Gosh, maybe lemon meringue pie is better equivalent because the finish brings the crust. A buttery crumby pie crust. The finish then has a second wave that brings back the sweetness, lemon and vanilla. This is an interesting cask strength rye. It’s deceptive at ~124 proof for a rye because neither the proof or the typical rye flavors are aggressive for a cask strength. It’s also sweeter than the nose let on. Excited to revisit this one after some shelf time.

Neat. Neck pour. ADHD Whiskey’s personal blend. 65% light whiskey, 35% rye, 15% bourbon. I like light whiskey but it all tends to taste the same regardless of the barrel/bottle. Let’s see if Matt added some depth. It’s light whiskey with an added dimension of fruit. So butterscotch, light caramel, graham cracker honey all come through. Then I am getting a combination of blood orange and watermelon (this may be the first time I called out watermelon). The watermelon has been salted too. Not getting much else but it’s oddly refreshing. Mouthfeel is average. Very very sweet up front. Those fruits are coming through (watermelon, cantaloupe, honey dew) immediately accompanied by butterscotch. Geez, medley of fruits and honey mid palate. Butterscotch, honey and graham cracker in the medium finish. Butterscotch sweetness really persists. This is 107 proof and it is dangerously crushable. The melons were unexpected so the blend did successfully add a dimension to light whiskey. It is a fun pour and a good value too.