Arbikie Highland Rye 1794 (2020 Release)

A bit different for a rye but nothing special, the nose isnt good, taste is better

So I was browsing through The Whisky Exchange looking through their sample list and deciding on a few, when I stumbled on what appeared to be a Scottish rye. My mind immediately raced, “There is such a thing as a Scottish rye?”, “What does this taste like?”, “Are they waging a rye war on American rye?” and then looked at the bottle to see what the price was and a mouth dropping aww/horror overcame me when I found a sticker price of 184 dollars!!! No way am I going to take a flier on a Scottish rye for 184 dollars; however, when I came back to the sample it was more justifiable price at 10 dollars, which made the decision easier and so in the cart it went with a few other interesting drams. I looked up more information on this and found that it’s from a farm to bottle distillery in the Scottish Highlands whose distillate is comprised of a mix of Arantes Rye from Drummies field, Odyssey Malted Barley from Blue Bear field and Viscount Wheat from Deil’s Knap field that was matured in charred virgin barrels for five years and bottled at 96 proof. That’s certainly some interesting enough information and I really like the idea of farm to bottle distilleries, but let’s see how this first sabot round of Scottish rye tastes in this possible upcoming rye war. On the first nosing it smells like freshly painted walls with new carpet. After about 10 minutes the chemically plastic aromas start to fade and it opens up to reveal fresh chamomile tea brewing with lemon and orange wedges, then freshly baked pumpernickel bread, hot summer sun soaked hay bales, transitioning to spices of cloves, cinnamon, sage and charred oak chips with a light ethanol burn. The taste is a light to medium mouthfeel starting with light vanilla caramel sweetness then chamomile tea with lemon and orange wedges, pumpernickel bread, slight minerality, hot summer soaked hay bales, before spices take over with cinnamon, nutmeg, and slight toasted oak note with light ethanol burn. The finish is short to medium length with chamomile tea, roasted caraway seeds, stewed caramel covered cinnamon apples, toffee, nutmeg, and espresso. This is not a sweet or overpowering rye, it’s light, easily drinkable and nicely balanced with herbs, tea and oak mingling together. The nose can be a bit off putting at first but gets better with air, but the palate and finish are where this whisky really delivers and brings those interesting flavors. In comparison with Jack Daniels Single Barrel Rye; they are both different with Jack Daniels leaning sweeter, but are both around the same caliber. The main difference is the original retail price for this was an astronomical 184 dollars and now appears even more ridiculously priced at 240 dollars from Cask Cartel compared to the 50 dollars of Jack Daniels Single Barrel. I’m sure the farm to bottle part adds more expenses which will result in a higher price for the product, but I still think it’s nowhere near worth those prices. Perhaps in a few years I will change my mind, declare Scottish ryes the epitome of ryes and pay up for this rye like I do for Octomore bottles. As of today though, if there is going to be a rye war between America and Scotland, the Scots better get their pricing down or quality up as there’s no question that the better rye goes to America with Jack Daniels Single Barrel easily deflecting their sabot off with the American rye armor without even needing to pull out the barrel proof secret weapon. Nice try Scotland, but for now I’ll just be happy with my sample for 10 dollars and stick to the mighty American rye.