Hillrock Estate Port Cask Finished Double Cask Rye

Deep and rich. Beautiful color. I get cedar and tea on the nose and taste. This is quite a unique offering and I’m not in the mood everyday for it, but after a few warmup tastes, moving to this usually hits quite nicely. This isn’t for everyone and is pricey, so you may want to taste before the splash.

Picked this up while at the distillery doing a tour/ tasting. Delightfully smooth

The port cask finishing for this rye creates a strong, and unusual taste profile. I like it a lot, it just adds a lot to the typical tastes you would find in a rye. The nose has a lot of that classic rye spiciness, along with some more fruity flavors, presumably from the port cask. It has a strong flavor on the palate as well with the spice from the rye a little more muted than it comes across on the nose. Those fruit flavors in the smell really take over on the palate, and I think out of everything I can pick out raisin as a specific flavor. The finish has a good amount of smoke to it that compliments the spice and fruit flavors from earlier. Hillrock Port Cask Finished Double Cask Rye has a lot of the characteristics of a classic rye whiskey, and the port cask finish is a neat addition to the style.

Port is imperceptible on nose and palate. There’s no indication it’s a port finish on the bottle and I wouldn’t be surprised if it wasn’t. To be clear, I ordered the port finish online. There is some misaligned sweetness that I’m attributing to the port, but it is not harmonious with the rye. This is too young for me too. Grainy nose and palate. All that said, as a distillery focused on estate growth and production, I’m okay with it. From a value perspective, it’s not a deal, but I’ll support the cause.