Four Gate Split Stave by Kelvin Rye (Batch 10)

four gate tall green rye spti stave white American oak, marshmallows and spice

Neat pour. Very sweet nose. Fruity and vanilla. Almost like the pit of the fruit rather than sweetness of fruit. Longer finish and the spice comes out. Great pour

Fantastic. I see what all the fuss is about.

Neat. Neck pour. Quite excited to try this. I loved the Split Stave bourbon and I have been impressed with all toasted barrel finished MGP Rye I have tried to date. This is twice as expensive as those other toasted Ryes though. Nose is a winner on first impression. There is this great layer of fruits and melons and all this sweetness immediately. Lots of pineapple specifically. Definitely brings the MGP rye up a level. The dill or spearmint I typically get on MGP is deadened and replaced with sweetness and charred butterscotch. Beyond the citrus, it is quite dark. Toasted cinnamon roll covered in vanilla sweet cream icing. I was premature to say the spearmint isn’t there but it is a mint chocolate chip ice cream instead. This may be my favorite MGP Rye nose yet... Mouth feel is creamy and rich. Surprisingly, initial flavor is a bitter chocolate. It is surprisingly mellow mid palate. But then waves of great flavors come through. Mint, citrus sweetness slammed into a toasted marshmallow. The finish is the main event here. Pepper balanced with immense and morphing sweetness. Starts as a vanilla icing but ends back in the pineapple range. Ends with a sweet mint and rye spice. This process certainly transformed this rye. The rye spice, mint emerge in places but they are surrounded by so much sweetness that is not typical in a MGP rye. The nose and the finish are amazing. Despite its uniqueness, I wouldn’t say it is the best MGP toasted finish rye I have come across so that brings the score down a level when I consider the price. Still an amazing pour overall.