Tastes

Castle & Key Distillery, Restoration Kentucky Rye Whiskey, 2021, Batch 3, Bottle #17680, aged 3.5 years, 52.5% ABV, 105 proof. Tasted neat. On the nose, sweet grain, peanuts, and a little floral vanilla. Light copper color and strong coating legs in the glass. Sweet maple syrup, vanilla oak, ethanol blast, and then leather and dry tannins. A little earthy/funky (acidic and macerated "green," reminescent of the whiff of fresh horse apples), and there's an acridc dry puckering effect in the mouth. That earthyvfunk bumps up against the grain sweetness. Finish is tannic and grassy rye and light spice. Dry and then gone fairly quickly. An interesting 65% rye with corn and malted barley mashbill, but the acrid tannins dominate the flavor. Usually I don't mind that, but as a rye this leaves me cold. It's good, but I'm not as sold as the staff reviewer. Ice mellows the tannins, but also flattens the rye spice. The funk seems more pronounced. Finally, I'm not a fan of/or impressed by the HEAVY faceted bottle with a metal year plaque, band around the neck, and large stopper cover. Too much like a heavy decorative decanter, hard to handle and pour. I'd rather a more functional bottle because I'll be recycling this anyway. REALLY! Then refund me the extra $5 that bottle jacked the price to $46. Now the price is more in line.

Single barrel, 95 proof, guessing it's aged ~4yrs. Tasted neat. Nose is sweet caramel corn and vanilla, whiff of spice. Dark copper color with good coating legs in the glass. In the mouth, oak and dry tannic bite, sweet burnt sugar, vanilla, and a little ethanol. Finish is sweet with some baking spice, quite compact and not very long. Not overly complex, but better than the old Benchmark #8. And a real value. A more interesting developed oak flavor than the Benchmard Bonded 100 proof, rounder, less ethanol, and more mature--that surprised me tasting these side by side. $5 more than the BIB, but worth it. Sip or mix this one without struggling over price.

BIB, 4 years, 100 proof. Tasted neat. Nose is sweet and baking spice, pepper, and a wiff of ethanol. Light copper color and coating legs in the glass. In the mouth, sweet, burnt sugar and vanilla oak. Coating mouthfeel. Touch of ethanol as it heads into a spicy grassy finish. Fairly long, tingling mint mouthfeel. It's not an overly complex bourbon, but a step up from Benchmark #8. At the price this is a really servicable quality bourbon at a higher proof point for mixing. The Benchmark Single Barrel 95 proof (4yrs?) is more interesting with a developed oak flavor--it's rounder, less ethanol, and more mature. That surprised me tasting these side by side--thought I'd prefer the BIB. The Single is $5 more than the BIB, but... It's a little better to sip.

Straight rye (95% rye, 5% malted rye), BIB, 4 years in oak, 100 proof. Tasted neat. Dark copper color and strong legs in the glass. Floral grape, strawberry, cereal, with a spicy grassy nose behind it. Light nose. And it stays light into flavors in the mouth. Sweet brown sugar, floral fruit, vanilla, and then the spicy rye, creamy leather, and tannic oak comes on. Not an overpowering vanilla oak and lighter mouthfeel overall. In the finish, rye spice, sweet grass, and a little ethanol, dominate. Soft flavors make this an easy drink, with tingling mint showing up in a long soft finish. I'm surprised how tame this is for a BIB 100% rye. The distillers have excellent control of a mashbill that so many others bungle. Great entry point for someone wanting to try rye, but also a rather heafty price point ($53). I'm a sucker for tall slim whiskey bottles (think E.H.Taylor and Stranahan's), but not necessarily for painted bottles like this one. With ice... will let you know.

Picked this up in a lottery purchase from the Utah Dept of Alcohol Beverage Services for $71. Tasted neat. Floral grain and corn, brown sugar sweetness, fruit, and smoky oak on the nose. Deep and aromatic. Great legs in the glass and a dark rosy copper color. In the mouth, smoky tannic oak, leather, burnt brown sugar, vanilla, fruit and baking spices. Huge flavors and an ethanol bloom. Thick coating mouthfeel. Finish is cherry, oaky dry, spicy, mint tingle and grassy rye. Big and brawny, this is a great bourbon with real depth. An ice cube softens and rounds out the tannins and oak, tempers the ethanol.

Mini bottle test for $4. Tasted neat. Golden brown and rather thin legs in the glass. Nose is vanilla oak floral and sweet corn, slight baking spice. In the mouth, big wave of vanilla and maple-flavored corn syrup sweetness. That gets tempered somewhat by baking spice and oak. Light/thin front-of-the-mouth mouthfeel, that moves backwards on the tongue in a finish that grows with citrus and spicier rye flavors, and ends very dry. I like the nose and don't mind the finish, but the thin vanilla-sweet mouth lacks depth and is not my favorite. Thins out more with an ice cube. This is a sweet bourbon, easy entry point for those venturing into the pool. Retasted 5/1/24: Similar reaction. Thin, sweet, don't even catch the rye or baking spices. Nothing to see here.