Basil Hayden's 10 Year Rye (Discontinued)

A buddy of mine managed to grab one of these from ABC before they sold out. He brought it over for us to see what the fuss is about and first thing I notice is the extremely low proof. In my experience most whiskey that barely meets the threshold to be called whiskey are watered down too far, but maybe I’m just an alcoholic that drinks too much cask strength and am judging this too fast. Ok so we crack the bottle and pour two glasses to finally judge it for what the liquid has to offer. The nose is nice with light rye spice, cinnamon, nutmeg, caramel and vanilla, but they are all very light. The taste is so watery, it’s really just a rye water with a bit of whiskey flavor and the finish is just non existent. Overall this is a disappointment and not worth chasing. Honestly this would be a great Houdini bottle. You know those stories all whiskey enthusiasts have where a nice bottle was left out around the wrong person and that person made it disappear in front of your eyes. I’d be happy to invite that person over to show me the trick on this one to make space for something else.

So much potential but watered down to 80 proof makes the taste be a tease and then all water to finish

So much potential.....so much water

it’s alright, not as full flavored as what i expected from a 10 year, but it’s growing on me