High West A Midwinter Night's Dram

one of my favorite port finished ryes

High West is one of my favorite distilleries out there. Their Rendezvous Rye was my previous favorite rye, with the caveat that I've probably tried somewhere in the range of 10 ryes (compared to dozens, if not hundreds, of scotches). A Midwinter Night's Dram is High West's most coveted and highly rated product, and essentially is a variant on Rendezvous. At $120 a bottle in my local liquor store, it's an expensive variant on the $60 original. After taking that already stellar rye, which blends together 16- and 6-year old sourced whiskies, High West finishes the result in port pipes. That extra finishing, and a few extra percentage points of ABV, are the differences between the two products. The bottom line is that this is a sweeter and (slightly) more nuanced version of Rendezvous. The nose opens on a rich caramel note and then proves itself to be perhaps the best winter holidays dram one can buy: pine, rye, mint, syrup, and gingerbread! High West might as well come to our house and decorate the tree as well. On the palate, I can immediately see the family resemblance between this and Rendezvous Rye, because there are many of the same notes of cappuccino and citrus, but with an added layer of dark chocolate croissants and ciruela. Credit for that last tasting note goes to my wife, who actually knows what that is! The texture is spot-on thanks to the reduced dilution and the finish is also longer. It remains citrus and mint-heavy, but the gingerbread from the nose makes a second appearance. Why doesn't everyone finish their ryes in port? @PBMichiganWolverine - you were right when you recommended this, thanks!