Tastes

Rating: 19/23 N: Loads of rich, sweet corn, but also lots of herbal rye with mint and spiciness. It smells interestingly nuanced, despite its boldness. P: Rich and fairly full, with bold corn sweetness mixed with a restraining sour mash flavor that I really like here. Quite hot and spicy. There's a nice, big amount of vanilla and a lot of subtle nuance. F: Lingering spices and burn along with sweet vanilla. The vanilla decadence grows slowly, but the sweetness and other characteristics diminish. - Conclusion - This reminds me of Russell's Reserve Single Barrel Rye (17/23), which sounds obvious and dumb, but I find that the Rare Breed bourbon doesn't taste all that much like Russell's Reserve Single Barrel Bourbon. This is quite nice. Putting the two ryes side by side, this is clearly not as rich or full, which seems like what I'd expect when comparing a Rare Breed with a Russell's Single Barrel. This rating is easily a 16, but I don't think it's a 19 and I'm wary about going with such a high rating. Right now, I'm liking this better than Rare breed bourbon. It's way better than Redwood Empire Lost Monarch (15/23), so definitely not below a 17 and probably at least an 18. I'm thinking 18 or 19. Probably a 19. Coming back to this, I think that vanilla brings this across the line to a 19.

Rating: 14/23 N: A spicy heat with some clean malt and funky grain. Something a bit starkly bitter and then hints of tropical fruit and soap. P: They advertised smoke on the bottle, but I'm not really getting it. There's a lot of worty grain flavor going on here, with a surprising amount of heat and accompanying spices. There's some malty sweetness, but not a lot. There's some nuance to that worty grain, but it's not a delightful flavor. A little orange zest. Overall, this is kind of boring and also flawed. It has a very forgettable highland scotch profile. It needs more malt, some extra flavors, and less heat. I think that this would have been better bottled at a higher proof and the added water brought out the grain and made it more bitter. F: It's what I expected from the palate. Not a lot going on. The grain is still there. - Conclusion - I'm pretty underwhelmed by this. I can drink it fine, but it's not actually enjoyable. It's a flawed and generic scotch. This actually tastes like something I could believe was distilled by an enthusiast at home. For the rating, I'm thinking a 12 to 14. Giving this some nice swishing and air in my mouth, more of the sweet malty aromas come out, so I think not a 12. I'm thinking a 14.

Rating: 15/23 N: Sweet corn against a woody vanilla backdrop. There are some classic herbal rye scents going on here as well. P: A fragrant, floral, vanilla flavor, with herbal flavor and restrained graininess (notably, herbal, sweet, floral flavors- then more classic herbal flavors). There's some malty sweetness that also has a bit of tangerine and orange peel, but that's all quite light. F: A bit of bitterness and clean water, but it's also floral with plenty of vanilla. It almost wants some decadent orange, but I still do get some malt or something. - Conclusion- This is definitely better than Redwood Empire Pipe Dream (12/23). It's richer, fuller, and more interesting. There's more rye flavor as well. This is a lot better, though it's far from amazing. I actually enjoy this a bit though, unlike the Pipe Dream. Russell's Reserve 10 (16/23) is better than this, but not by a large margin. Honestly, I thought that this would be a 14, but it really could be a 15. It's a tough call, but I'm leaning toward a 15. I really like that decadent, complex rye character.

Rating: 12/23 I got a new haul of bottles, so I figured I may as well open one. I've been curious about Redwood Empire for a while, though I suspect that it's yet another attempt to cash in on the craft whiskey craze with juice from MGP. OK, it looks like it isn't all MGP, but some certainly is and none of it is distilled in-house. N: Rye really comes out here. This must be a high rye bourbon. Peanut shells, minerality, and cracker jacks make it through as well. Mild notes of vanilla and tannic wood. Not an amazing nose, but it's nicely balanced. P: Light with a burn that isn't harsh and plenty of minerality. Light cracker jacks come through. Hints of spearmint and some vanilla as well. A hint of cinnamon that makes me think a little of a churro. Maybe a touch of black pepper. The overall profile is clean and reasonably balanced, but it's also light and youthful. This might have a hint of cotton candy or bubblegum as well. Maybe even a light melon, oddly. F: There's definitely some spearmint here, but it's not at all overwhelming. This doesn't burn or taste weird. It's clean and smooth with some sweetness and a rich layer underneath. I'm not sure what that sweet flavor is exactly. Cracker jacks, actually. Nice, but not amazing. - Conclusion - This is young and light, as expected, but it's also interestingly complex and generally pretty tasty. George Dickel Signature (11/23) is richer and fuller than this is, with more bikinis spices (especially cinnamon) and vanilla. It's less balanced and nuanced though. This one also shows less burn without an obvious attribution. Plus, there's a bit more alcohol flavor here too. My immediate impression is that this is not quite as good as the Dickel. Still, I don't think that this is as low as a 10, so I'll give it an 11. Big, bold flavors aren't the definition of greatness, but lightness like this without anything excellent is not the way to go either. I could imagine a 12, but a 13 would be a tough sell. Hints of graham cracker and milk chocolate. OK, this is growing on me. But it's still a 12 for now. I'm now liking this better than the Dickel because there's more delicate nuance here and less sour flavor. Coming back the next day, this is still light, but my thought is a 12 and it could even be a 13.