Tastes

Glass: Glencairn, rested 15 minutes. Color: Medium amber. Nose: Caramel and dark fruit. Palate: Cinnamon, clove, baking spice. Finish: Long length with medium heat. Splash: A delightful minty note appears. Overall: 8.5/10 - This bottle may need some time to breathe, as the minty note only appears with a few drops of water. If it was present from nose to finish, this would easily be a top 10 rye for me.

Glass: Old fashioned at a bar, neat. Color: Light amber. Nose: Sweet with some fruit & floral notes. Palate: Fruity and floral with some (peat?) smoke. Finish: Short with medium heat. Splash: No new flavors are revealed. Overall: 8/10 - This is a nice pour that deserves to be reviewed in a glencairn.

Barrel house 1-09 Barrel# 24-02685 Bottlling date 3.14.24 - Pi Day Proof: 135.7 Glass: Glencairn, rested 15 minutes. Color: Medium-dark amber. Nose: This is apple pie. Apples, caramel, graham crackers with a fair amount of pie spices. Palate: Big clove and baking spice, with some of the apple pie from the nose just beneath the surface. Finish: More warm than hot, but the length is impressive. It just won't quit. Splash: Some of the spice from the palate is calmed, but no new flavors appear. Overall: 9/10 - This lives up to the hype. I had lazily chased this for a while before lucking out at a store that had 4 bottles on the shelf, with no limit. It's not quite a daily drinker at 135.7 proof, but it will make some killer cocktails or hold up to a large ice sphere.

Received a blind sample from a friend. Glass: Glencairn, rested 15 minutes. Color: Medium amber. Nose: Caramel, apples and some graham cracker. Palate: Lots of cinnamon red hots and some sweet clove notes. Finish: Medium heat, but the finish just goes on and on. Splash: No new flavors are revealed. Overall: 8/10 - This has classic bourbon written all over it. Would stand up nicely to some ice or vermouth. The finish just won't quit.

Received a blind sample from a friend. Glass: Glencairn, rested 15 minutes. Color: Medium amber. Nose: Caramel, apples and a hint of nuts. Palate: Some cinnamon and clove, but not as strong as expected. Finish: Medium length with medium heat. Splash: Minty clove notes appear that weren't there before. Overall: 8/10 - The nose is the star of the show, but a splash brings out some nice notes.

Received a blind sample from a friend. Glass: Glencairn, rested 15 minutes. Color: Medium amber. Nose: Caramel, apples and graham crackers. Palate: Dry oak tannins and a note that's hard to place. Almost like rubber. Finish: Medium length with mild heat. Splash: No new flavors are revealed, but dry oak is diminished. Overall: 7/10 - This is a fine dram, and I suspect that it's been in oak for a while. The proof doesn't seem particularly high but the odd note in the palate makes me curious.

Glass: Glencairn, rested 15 minutes. Color: Medium amber. Nose: Stone fruit and herbs, some minty notes. Palate: More herbs and mint, without the fruity notes from the nose. Finish: Medium length with very little heat. Splash: The minty notes really shine. Overall: 8/10 - I'm not a big rye drinker, but this was a pleasant departure from bourbon. It's MGP 95/5, but the minty notes are really pleasant without being too forward. For a budget rye, this was impressive.

Glass: Glencairn, rested 15 minutes. Color: Light amber. Nose: Faint caramel and vanilla, not much else. Palate: Some clove and baking spices, pretty mild. Finish: Short and barely warm. Splash: No new flavors are revealed. Overall: 3/10 - This was gifted to me in an airplane bottle and I hadn't gotten around to trying it until now. It tastes young and low proof, with minimal effort, the basic description of a well bourbon.

Glass: Glencairn, rested 15 minutes. Color: Medium amber. Nose: Grassy, with some spearmint & hints of vanilla. Palate: Cinnamon and clove with more spearmint. Finish: Medium length with medium heat. Some oaky notes finally arrive. Splash: Spearmint notes really take over. Overall: 8/10 - This is an enjoyable, affordable rye thst has pleasant spearmint notes throughout, and would probably stand up well to cocktails. I haven't tried any other Whistlepig expressions, but this entry level offering makes me want to sample more.

Glass: Glencairn, rested 15 minutes. Color: Medium amber. Nose: Jammy fruits with cherries, raisins, apricots. Some caramel and graham crackers. Palate: Cinnamon red hots, some baking spice. Finish: Long length with medium heat. Splash: Cinnamon gives way to clove and more baking spice. Overall: 8/10 - A solid sipper. Fruity notes in the nose don't carry over into the palate or finish. Purchased as part of a bundle with Remus Repeal for $175 so not priced individually.