Tastes

Holy God this is so much darker than I expected. I imagine I've had plenty of scotches that have been partly aged in French Limousin casks, but considering such a large portion of this offering features it, I'm expecting to be hit by a different flavor entirely. What's more exciting than all of that, though, is just being able to find a cask strength of any Ardbeg, so the flavors I already know from Ardbeg are expected to be much more up front and flavorful here. The color here is much darker than I have seen of traditional Ardbeg 10, so this already tells me that the French Limousin contributes such a large portion of a new flavor and color. Past salted fat and seaweed notes traditional of the peat, I get a large amount of oak on the nose that splits the line between sweet (caramel and vanilla, like that of a bourbon barrel), and fruity (grilled tropical or berry fruits with plenty of char, typical of raw, European oak). The oak lends the first flavor notes, giving a sweetness bomb that is very unexpected and almost unwelcome for what Ardbeg traditionally provides. The sea salt and other ocean flavors stay put initially, but the oak definitely mellows out any of the harder smoked meat notes also typical of the Ardbeg 10 year. The fruity notes that I got on the nose are trying to surface, but never quite get past the proof, which, although is very pleasant for a cask strength, does provide a slight spiciness that rules over most of the finish. In addition to this, the earthy, salty shores also join the finish in flavor. Well, this may be the best scotch I have so far in my collection. The difference here that cask strength and the extensive French Limousin aging makes is not necessarily different, but stacks so well with the traditional flavors of Ardbeg 10. This offering turns out to be much sweeter than I would have expected, which ends up taking away some of the more familiar smokier notes that I appreciate from the base Ardbeg spirit. Still, this particular scotch really does hit all notes typical of smoky Islay, sweet Highland, and grainy Speyside, that is very approachable for a lot of parties regardless of the cask strength.

This is definitely surprising that I've never properly rated this. In the world of well bourbon, really the only competitors are Jim and Evan. Both standard 80 proof offerings are watery, sweet, and great for mixing, with slightly different flavor nuances between them. For Jim Beam, the "upgraded" version would be the Black edition, whereas ironically, the "white label" is Evan Williams' improved batch. Unless it's been used unknowingly in a cocktail that I've had, it's been years since I've had this bonded, so to revisit it now is somewhat exciting. The age is medium to medium-low for bourbon standards, and the color reflects this somewhat. It's very translucent and closer to mead territory, which I would guess is due to the age and not the proof, since the proof is slightly higher. Knowing this is a moderately high corn mash bill, I'm a bit shocked that the spicy rye is the most noticeable on the nose. The barrel notes (caramel and vanilla) are also present, although lacking somewhat. It's the sweet corn that I actually have to search for, leading me to hope that there is a good focus on the rye and proof here. The initial flavor begins as slightly floral and focused on oak, but the rye quickly starts to seep into the gums. There isn't a lot of rye to begin with, so it doesn't penetrate too far, but the cinnamon and baking spice really paint a picture of quality grains. This is where I would expect the corn to take over and make things sweet, but instead I get a hit of bitterness that most definitely comes from the charcoal filtering (boo). This makes things circle back to the cheek burning rye notes for the finish, while trying not to focus on the dry, tannic central mouth feel of filtered whiskey. As is the most common conclusion with this product, there's a balanced flavor that just so slightly breaks through the ceiling of being a cocktail-only bourbon, but most of what this whiskey is is enjoyable due to the extremely affordable price point. Priced anything above $20 and you'd lose a lot of support, but this is still a great step up from the "black label" without having to shell out 1.5 or 2 times as much like some distilleries demand. The biggest bummer here is the charcoal filtering, but this is pretty easily looked past, again, with a great deal having been scored.

110.7 proof, barrel/bottle S/N 160503107. Barrel name: Lime Sherbert; with natural notes of candied lime & shea butter. Signed by Master Distiller Caleb Kilburn. So, at the conclusion of Operation Gateway 2021, Master Distiller Caleb Kilburn of Peerless set up a booth during our "morale day" to sell his products and provide free samples. After speaking with him for several hours and convincing the single barrel ryes to come out (as well as one single barrel bourbon that he opened for tasting only at my drunken request), I was very well happy to buy anything since he offered to sign any purchase. As a thank you to our mission team for our efforts, I was able to purchase this single barrel for $90. I may have drunkenly shared this with almost everyone on the mission, so I may have forced him to give the same discount to everyone that may have only been meant for me. I hope this was not the case, but either way, I'd like to thank Caleb for supporting the military by filling them with a generous amount of free whiskey samples, myself included, and for being such a great conversationalist to me as I babbled on and baked in the heat. Same great depth of color with a strong caramel note as the standard small batch. The oak leads the nose, slightly more charred and aged than the last small batch I had, which also imparts a buttery note from the wood, which may be the shea butter note that was noted at the distillery. There is a hint of candied lime that I know for a fact I only get as a placebo and wouldn't normally smell if it wasn't presented; this is more closely represented by the grass and cinnamon of the fresh rye grain. The initial flavor focuses more on the rye grain than the oak, with the baking spices and bread coming together on the tongue, and the cinnamon and deep mint penetrating into the gums, all happening at the same time. It definitely has no different flavor notes than the small batch I had, just occurring at different times and intensities. The finish still has a medium spice to it, and a slight buttery note not unlike an oaked chardonnay, but this is as close to a shea butter note that I've gotten, especially because I'm pretty sure that I've never consumed shea butter in my lifetime. No lime or even citrus notes to speak of. Another big thanks to Caleb for this fun experience; I may not have made it through 20+ light beers, but I feel like I won the evening in my own way. I would disagree with the tasting and profiling notes of this particular single barrel, but I'm still happy to add only my 5th signed bottle to my collection, and for having scored it at such a nice price. I would not ever recommend purchasing a Peerless single barrel for $135 MSRP under any circumstances, but if that doesn't seem to matter to you, I would certainly recommend finding a way to try all single barrel options (distillery seems the best way to do so), before making such a large summed purchase. Peerless will always make great rye whiskey, but will remain off my shelf (with the exception of this unique experience) until the prices drop near agreeable levels, and the little remaining pretentiousness of the brand finds a way to dissolve itself.

111.5 proof, barrel/bottle S/N 150616105. It's been quite some time since I've actually been to Peerless, but I remember being furious because, at the time, they did not produce a bourbon and yet were still allowed on the Bourbon Trail. Since then, although I was plenty convinced that they produce absolutely fantastic rye whiskey, I always associated the brand with being pretentious, and more concerned about sales and celebrity endorsements before any standard customers. This half drank bottle that I now own was the result of me stealing it during a morale event at the end of a mission, but I'll get to that later. I had forgotten how every product that Peerless produces is barrel proof, and if that isn't one of the best decisions a distillery can make, a better one is unknown to me. This also contributes quite well to the very deep, woody, caramel color that is also in the glass. The rye on the nose is in the middle of the road, both aged down to a pleasant cinnamon as well as still having young, brighter notes of grass and bread. Great charred barrel notes of caramel and vanilla are also easily present, suggesting new barrel use each time, which I can't remember to confirm or not. The oak is the first flavor here, but the first available note from it is more on the raw side of things. This moves into some cocoa powder, refined rye bread, fresh cinnamon and other baking spices, and a herbaceous medley that never comes to any one specific thing. The rye does a great job of getting into the gums, as any good rye whiskey does, but so does the younger notes of the oak and grain, so the finish isn't as spicy as I would have liked. Peerless is no doubt a creator of absolutely fine rye whiskey, and being one of the very few choosers of sweet mash AND predominantly being a rye distillery, they are definitely a landmark that is worth visiting. However, $90 MSRP for a bottle of rye is not worth it, not from them or any other distillery that I've ever discovered. Given that all I paid for this was a "talking to" from the mission OIC, I'd say everything turned out a pretty standard issue win for me.

118.2 proof. Prior to a tour of the distillery several days ago, the only product I recognized from James E. Pepper was the Old Pepper rye in the tall, clear bottle, and always thought it to be rather overpriced for such a young rye. Today, with much more knowledge gained from the facility tour, I know now that that same bottle is their single barrel variant of this, the 1776 rye, but it is still steeply overpriced. Once I learned that the 1776 rye was an extremely small blend of only 6 barrels, I knew the single barrel was not needed, but the proof was still worth it; at $50, this seemed like an easy deal. I tasted the standard 1776 rye at the distillery, and now I'm hoping that there are more flavors to be discovered from the barrel proof version. For a #3 charred barrel and only 3.5 years spent in it, this whiskey has impressive color, while still a lighter body; think molasses that has been pretty heavily watered down. The scent can be picked up from several feet away, and as another surprise, it's actually sweet oak that's at the forefront, being a mix between floral notes of toasted oak, and classic vanilla and rum-sugar-sweetness from a more heavily charred barrel. There are grain notes, though, but the rye noses as if it's been aged and mellowed out for quite some time; usually 3 year rye whiskeys still have a potency of the cinnamon and herbaceousness. I believe the rye in this is not malted, so that may contribute to the less spicy notes. The initial flavor begins as mildly sweet oak, but the rye grain is also distinguishable at the same time, except through the gums instead of the tongue. There's a lot of the floral side of rye that comes out for most of the middle taste, which does help complement that sweet (but not overly so) flavor of the oak. The young age of the grain can't be ignored, however, since there is a raw element that contributes none of the traditional rye spice that is less than welcome. The finish is close to a sickeningly sweet area with some more toasted oak notes, but a few breaths and some time do allow some cinnamon and mint to make themselves known. I am slightly shocked that I dislike the barrel proof version over the standard 1776 rye. I'm attributing that to the barrel proof allowing more of the young, unmalted rye notes to pass through, which make it less focused on spices and herbs, my go-to notes for a rye whiskey. Having said that, the flavor of the grain itself is very fresh, which I always expect of rye whiskey from MGP. This is a neat alternative to the majority of similar rye whiskeys out there, and more special knowing that 95% of the mashbill is rye (a very proper rye whiskey mashbill indeed), so you know the flavors you're getting are all base essences of the rye itself.

Finally. Not so much an excitement that New Riff is finally getting around to anything particular, but instead that I finally have possession of the product that I paid for quite some time ago. It was really quite an unprofessional process that was needed to get this bottle, but that's not really important on this platform. Focusing on the product itself, and I am very excited that this is the one that came out (or at least, was released early). All rye whiskey should be no less than 90% rye, so 100% can't be argued, and with all of it being malted rye, this is a significantly rare, delicious creation. 6 years is a perfect baseline age, and although 100 proof is my personal bare minimum, I'm hoping it allows some of the grain flavor to shine through. The color does have dark brown depth to it, more than you'd seemingly find from just a 6 year, but New Riff has been known to have much darker whiskies than seen traditionally, no matter the proof or age. Some traditional rye notes pop on the nose, like grass, cinnamon, mint, etc, but they're all a slightly more savory version. Although chocolate is not traditionally considered savory, the scent of cocoa with none of the sweetness and is also present. I would attribute this to the slightly longer age, because I also get good oak, vanilla, and caramel notes. The initial taste gives off the brighter notes of the rye, with cinnamon and herbaceousness moving around the gums. Fairly decent charred oak is also present, thanks to the couple extra years of aging to traditional New Riff. What seems like it would be very standard so far isn't so as the finish approaches; add some air, and you realize that you'll get no gum burn with this whiskey. This is a factor I love from malted rye as opposed to traditional rye, in addition to also letting more flavors of the grain get unlocked without dealing with a spice bomb. I do wish that the proof was higher, because this would mean more grain flavor detected from the presence of less water, and would make up for the total lack of burn whatsoever. The finish is nothing but malty grain, with the charred oak sweetening this up just so slightly. This has definitely been a great entry from New Riff into a proper rye, especially a malted rye. Nothing very exciting or uniquely done (this is more one of the old riffs), but I'm glad it is what it is, because a 100% malted rye is rare enough to find as it is, so enjoying the grain for what it can be should be all your focus is on. I'm glad I acquired this, even though a hoop amusement park was built for the specific purpose of watching me suffer just to get this bottle. It was certainly less special to find out that this was just an early release for the distillery club members, but I am hoping that we at least got a good deal from it. Unfortunately, this whiskey is only worth it for what I got it for ($60), and not a dollar more, so here's hoping that the distillery club just got it earlier, and not cheaper.

I've had this before and remember liking this, but now have a bottle for my birthday for a proper rating. I think having a standard 80 proof entry, barrel strength entry, and now a 101 bottle is a huge, obvious copy from Wild Turkey, and ultimately unnecessary in the end anyway. The flavor profiles are different enough, sure, but just experimenting with the amount of water you add to your flagship bourbon seems like a noticeable cash grab. The color is pretty moderate, and even somewhat darker than the typical 80 proof version, where I wasn't expecting to see such a difference. The scent has quite a bit of citrus and some lesser florality to it, but is not bright due to the oak also playing in. Chocolate covered orange peels is a specific note I'm getting, with great vanilla and a little less caramel from the respectable barrels. Upon first taste, it's much more evident that this is a wheated bourbon, much more so than the original. The high sweetness is the initial flavor, but it's not sugary like concentrated corn can be. The oak comes through next, both with the deeper notes from the char, but also a good baseline wood essence. There's a small amount of citrus here, but not as much as was on the nose. The finish is mild to medium, with the oak leading the charge. For talking shit on the choice of 101 proof, this is honestly a perfect proof to represent Maker's Mark. As with most iterations of higher proof flagship whiskeys, I believe this should be the typical purchase if you wanted Maker's Mark, because the flavors come through so much better than the watery 80 proof, but is still very approachable for novices. In the end, it's not very unique, but is tasty; as a gift, there's no argument here, but to purchase for myself, I can see me having a pretty hard line on how it should be priced.