Reviews

The nose is banana bread, raisins, oak, floral, grass. The palate has honey, grass, chamomile tea, licorice, baking spices, chili pepper. Thick and viscous. I've gotten through about a third of the bottle before deciding on a score. Not what I expected. It's quite different than a 95/5 MGP. But interesting and enjoyable for sure. The uniqueness factor is strong with this one. The only other rye that this reminds me of is the Gospel Straight Rye from Australia, which I vehemently disliked at the time. Wish I had kept a sample to see what the reminder is about.

On the nose apple berry scone, honey cinnamon roll, banana Runts, caraway seed, oak. Reminds me of something Old Forester. The palate is honey sweet with oaky spice. Cinnamon, clove, nutmeg go into the finish. Oaky apple juice make an appearance late as well. I think it's better than Old Forester Rye, but I'm not sure it's enough better to justify a significant price difference.

10 year old MGP 95/5 rye single barrel, bottled at cask strength. It's rare to see a drinkable whiskey in a novelty bottle, let alone a truly good whiskey in one. And at a bargain price to boot. Guess it's just another sign that the bourbon bubble has burst. This has a lot of the same notes as the Lasso Motel single barrel. Caramel, charred orange, candied ginger, eucalyptus, dill, polished oak, clove, apple strudel, vanilla. Haven't tried them side by side, but this one feels a little more woody and has a little less depth. Overall, great whiskey, fun bottle.

Barrel number 3 of 250, about 7 years and two months in the barrel. Caramel Apple Jacks on the nose, with a little bit of Bazooka bubble gum and peanut shell. The palate has the same notes, plus cinnamon and little oak on the finish. It’s a crazy good value at the 32.50+tax I paid. I think I like it better than the recent 10 year Knob special release, but you can’t go wrong with either. Hopeful this is an ongoing trend of well-priced tasty special releases.

Noses nut medley with peanut and almond, powdered sugar, praline, vanilla, oak. Palate is caramel, something slightly fruity like a little bit of Cherry Capri Sun, cinnamon, generic nut, oak, vanilla. Lengthy finish. It's not super exciting, but it retains some Knobbyness while being better than the standard release and priced well. Good enough that I'd be interested to see what edition 2 has to offer.

Batch 3, bottled at 56.9ABV. The nose has a lot of the woody Armagnac notes along with tobacco leaves, grape skin, apricot, and burnt caramel. There's a slight vegetal note, but it doesn't register as something recognizable from the rye. The palate starts with juicy red fruits - berries, cherries, then brings the rye spice, including cinnamon, allspice, pepper, mint. The spices coat the palate and linger for some time. The empty glass somehow smells like tobacco leaves and reminiscent of its namesake, but like Bill, I didn't inhale.

On the nose walnut, rummy banana, vanilla toasted marshmallow, oak. The palate is sweet caramel up front, then leans into the oaky notes going into the finish. A smidge of cherry vanilla cola comes out on the finish. The empty glass is quite peanutty. Good bourbon, er Tennessee whiskey, but not one I would overpay for.

On the nose dried fruit - more date than raisin. Dried mango. Dried orange peel. Toffee. Varnished wood. The palate starts with toffee, then the dried fruits, nutty Christmas cake, followed by some baking spices and old leather, cherry pipe tobacco. It's a pretty spicy finish, but the fruit and the toffee and the leather linger on.

The finishes are strong on the nose. Cherry and vermouth stand out. The herbal note is there, whether from the bitters or rye, or both. The palate follows suit with lots of cherry up front. The spicy rye is felt on the mid-palate, followed by the vermouth note going into the finish. All seem to come back with the finish. This is a really well-made finished rye. Another winner in my rye tastings lately.

The nose is full of sherry - berry, raisin, dark chocolate, also banana, but the sweet rye lurks in the background. Citrus and burnt sugar. Slight herbal note. The palate starts with fruity sherry notes, then pivots into rye territory with sweet citrus, carmelized herbs, vanilla, almond liqueur? Really enjoyable whiskey. 4-4.25 range.