High n' Wicked 5 Year Kentucky Straight Rye

On the nose, we find caraway seed, rye spice, thyme, vanilla, fresh linen, and a hint of juniper berry. Hard to classify as either sweet or herbal; more of a “savory” aroma? Ethanol is extremely minimal. Palate is…very bizarre for a rye. Has some gin-like qualities as coriander and cardamom are prevalent, along with some orange peel. There is vanilla and graham cracker underneath, but you have to dig for it. No off notes, but what really stands out is how bland this is; where is the sweet richness or peppery spice? Not enough herbaceous notes to stand out in that category either, and no real wood presence to speak of. Extremely clean finish with generic berry, more coriander, and an earthy, mossy note. Finish is short and dry, and the mouthfeel is airy. I believe this is distilled by New Riff and as such I expected much better. Bland, lacking richness, and with an somewhat odd flavor profile, this misses the mark for me in a big way. It’s as if someone took a quality rye and stripped out all the things that make it great. At $70, it falls into the “WTF?” category on a value standpoint. Nowhere close to a rebuy. Disappointing.

Nose: it’s smells like one of those subtlety sweet ryes. Vanilla, Carmel and barrel spices with that hint of sweetness. Palate: vanilla and Carmel with brown sugar and rye spices. It’s subtle and really good. Finish: it hangs around with out any sharp edges. A great sipper whiskey. Easy drinker. Overall: it’s good. It’s not remarkable but if you offered me a pour I’m not going to turn it down. A solid rye. I came back to it after a pour some months ago. I was presently surprised.