Tastes

Act 7 Scene 1. High West sourced (MGPI) Rendezvous Rye whiskey blend, finished in French oak port barrels. 49.3 ABV. Beautiful deep auburn color. Vanilla and stone fruit on the nose. Warm cereal grain, plum, brown sugar and spices, fading into the grassy spiciness of rye, with a long lingering sweetness. Round and oily. Oak and vanilla and rye are all there, but wrapped in this fruit essence that smooths and gives it tremendous depth. A wonderful winter dram, a 5 star, but... High West takes a premium markup on rye it sources, blends, (in this case) rebarrels, and bottles. Marketing. I live in UT and love the product, except for the pricing. Their own whiskey... not so great. As more distilleries start making their own superior whiskeys, HW is going to be pulled down by their pricing and lack of distilling innovation and excellence. Take note.

Vanilla, corn, and a little charred oak. Sweet, light/thin, easy. It's the whiskey of my college days, easy to drink and find in any bar (or airplane) --Jack and Ginger is the fallback when you know they can't make anything more complicated. Drinkable, iconic, safe.

Caramel and vanilla and sweet grain on the nose. Thick viscous mouthfeel, rich, with sweet grain and fruit (maybe banana bread, but emphasis on the bread/grain part), and a little oak in the mouth. Sweet turns to spicy grassy rye finish, dry and warm, but not too hot. Will open up with a little ice or cold water. Not overly complex, oaky or smoky, but that's not a bad thing. I like barrel proof whiskeys, and this is a good one. Jim Murray's Whisky Bible named this the 2020 World Whisky (meaning all categories) of the Year. An over-shoot? Maybe, but worth arguing. Distiller taster probably underscored this, yet D readers seem to agree. As I've sipped this over several days it's grown on me and I'd put it in the top tier of full proof bourbons I've had in the last year. This is an elegant drink.

Light fruit nose; then fruit, spicy rye, tannic oak (I'm missing the vanilla everyone mentions), burned cereal, anise; followed by a long and not pleasant astringent finish. Not much corn sweetness here. Disappointing, even with some water/ice.

Cookie sweetness, light vanilla floral on the nose. Oak and tannin spice then corn sweetness and vanilla. Medium light body. Long spicy finish which is odd for a mashbill without rye. High proof is a little hot, but... an interesting wheated bourbon.

Sweet floral fruit on the nose; burnt sugar, leather and oat, cereal and fruit in the mouth. Rich and thick, smoky. Long finish. Great with a little ice melt. Imagine this with more time in the barrel.