Peerless Kentucky Straight Rye (24 Months)

Rating: 13/23 N: Alcohol, immediately. I get faint citrus and grain, but alcohol is by far the strongest initial impression. Some wood and light peanut (surprisingly) start coming in. OK, the balance is starting to come together. I'm still not happy about that alcohol character, but this is OK and shows promise for older offerings from this distillery. P: I get peanut with some wood, grain, spice, and harshness. I guess some mint too. And definitely just a big alcohol flavor. That part is a lot. There isn't a ton of complexity here and while there are some good flavors, the heart is harsh alcohol. This is certainly not as pleasant as the Peerless bourbon I tried. F: The alcohol harshness with some lemon, spice, and woody peanut linger. It's not a great finish. - Conclusion - This shows some good potential, but it's trying to drink. Frankly, I'd rather not drink it. I previously had a pour from a different bottle of Peerless and I really liked it (17/23). I don't know why this one is such a disappointment in comparison. I'm looking at somewhere around a 12 for this. Maybe my tastes have evolved or maybe there is some HUGE batch variation going on here. Side-by-side, I don't see a characteristic other than proof in which this beats Russell's Reserve Rye 6. I like a good dose of high proof to enhance my dram (see Jack Daniel's Single Barrel Barrel Proof), but the proof here just isn't having the transformative effect that it needs to. All of the other ryes I have on hand just strike me as better than this, unfortunately. There is just no way that this is higher than a 14. I'm thinking of an 11 to 14 most likely. I'm going with 13.

Nose: carmel, maple, heat Taste: almost medicinal. Citrus. Thick Delicious BUT hot. I generally prefer neat but this may benefit from a few drops to a cube

slightly astringent on the nose. same on palate, but mixed with rye spice & barrel sweetness. finish more of the same. consistent flavors throughout. not my favorite of all-time, but not bad either.