Four Gate Private Select Cask No. 20 (Mash & Journey)

Neat. 2nd pour - let it sit out for a bit to open up. Super excited about this one. I have loved the Toasted MGP Ryes lately but they are usually 4-5 years. 8 years is getting pretty high up there for MGP, so interested to see what the finishing adds. On the nose, the age with the extra finishing gives the nose this dense atmosphere. Sweet oak, almost like a fresh pine. Toasted coconut is the main note and it’s quite delicious. There is this tropical element, not quite citrus, more like a pineapple. Vanilla frosting. Hint of chocolate. Pepper and chili powder. More and more fruits are coming through, stewed fruits. Gosh, impressive. Mouth feel is so thick and syrupy. That pineapple popped immediately upon the tongue but really darker up into the toasted coconut quickly. Mid palate it shifts to a dark chocolate but it lightens up back into the toasted coconut and a toasted marshmallow with a hit of that pineapple. The rye aspects emerge on the finish with rye spice and pepper. Getting more pineapple and a bit of vanilla. The finish is forever. Even the dark bitter chocolate comes back for a ride. The finish simple doesn’t stop. Now I am getting another wave of the pineapple. I’m going to knock it from a perfect score. The dark chocolate note I mentioned mid palate has this sharp bitterness that I don’t care for - like the dark Cocoa powder. It fades quickly and the finish is so incredible that it only slightly derails the experience. This is a ridiculous pour. This is a premium bottle ($224) but I think it may be my favorite rye in the collection. I’ll blind it after it opens up more but off memory feels more impressive than the Kentucky Owl and dwarfs the Down Home Toasted MGP Rye I adore. No other MGP rye stands a chance. Maybe the older Willer Rye I have has a chance. Maybe Cornerstone. Rarified company either way.