Grand Traverse Islay Rye

I was fortunate to have the opportunity to grab a couple bottles of this very limited release from Grand Traverse Distillery, located in beautiful Traverse City, Michigan, my home state. Islay Rye is a rye whiskey made from 80% Michigan grown rye and 20% peated malted barley from the U.K. There is no age statement, but per the distillery this is a hair under 5 years old. This is a single barrel that is only available at their 4 tasting rooms in Michigan and only sold in 375mL bottles. Bottled at 45% ABV, non chill filtered and natural color of copper/amber. The nose starts off with heavy rye and oak. Time is really needed here. Warm rye bread/caraway seeds. A good amount of mint and dill with some sawdust mixed in there. Apples, pears, cinnamon and some vanilla. Lots of butterscotch and some caramel. No real smoke to it like you would expect, but some earthy notes. Cardboard, toasted coconut and a distinct fennel note. A little sweet citrus comes through, oranges with dark chocolate. More butterscotch and a slight bubblegum note. Spice cake, and for the briefest of moments I picked up on curry powder or turmeric. Nice complexity, but needs more of a peaty presence to justify its name. The palate starts with spicy rye, but not too intense. It’s not so much peat smoke as there is a charred wood sensation with burnt out embers. Oak, mint and dill. Slightly floral/ herbal. A little malted barley and more warm rye. Toasted coconut and cardboard. Cinnamon, clove and butterscotch. A nice whiskey for such a small distillery. Light to medium bodied mouthfeel that is mouth coating but fairly dry. The finish is medium long, dry with rye, mint and toasted oak. This is a very drinkable rye. While I feel the peated barley content should be in the 30-40% range to help add the smoky component I was hoping for, the barley that’s in there surely helps to temper the rye. At $50 for 375mL, I can’t say it’s really worth the price, but given that it’s a single barrel release that only comes around every few years, I’m glad I bought 2 bottles. I’m especially happy that I only had to drive an hour to their closest tasting room, vs the 5 hours it would have taken me to get to the distillery! A solid 4. Cheers