Pendleton 1910 12 Year Rye Whisky

Cough syrup aged for 12 yrs. Tastes artificially sweet. Might work for cocktails but never straight.

Pepper on the nose, with some sweetness on the palate. Some dill and oak on the palate.

I am very humbled to be given this as a gift from my brand new sister-in-law, having been the officiant between her and my brother-in-law and having the greatest pleasure of joining them as husband and wife. I was very humbled to hear of their research by reading my reviews to determine my likes and dislikes, and then driving all over the tri-state area to find me a much more overpriced bottle (which is no longer relevant). However, I'm much happier that they settled here, on a rye whiskey from a country who actually knows and appreciates how rye whiskeys should be made, and where something as high as 12 years aged is nothing to them, but unheard of for American ryes (at least under $150). One of these days I will find a cask strength Canadian rye that still has good age to it, but god help me it probably won't be in America. Still though, even with all the water added, this should still be a great tapestry to the rye grain's flavor. The color is fairly dark and slightly lighter than I would expect from 12 years in a barrel, but this is almost certainly from the low proof and all the water added, as well as not knowing what types of barrels were used here. The scent here really reminds me of brandy, as I get a sweetness and even a tiny note of raisin. There's also a moderate amount of vanilla, and thankfully still some classic cinnamon candy. There's a slight vegetal note that does have some cut grass to it, but also a tiny floral notes that is also confusing me. Of course, the body is extremely light, as expected for the proof. The vanilla is the first flavor to emerge, and it hits quite hard, which really overshadows the spiciness of the rye itself, which is only tasted a tiny amount near the finish. The finish is pretty dry, which also distracts from the classic flavors of the rye. There's more barrel character that also rides through the finish, but this time it's more about wood spice than sweetness. Now, I don't believe I've had any other Pendleton products (at least neat), so I don't know if sweet and dry is what they set out to establish here, but as that's what I found here, it was definitely disappointing as a classic rye whiskey. I'm not sure if the high age is how the flavors ended up arriving here, but this does reinforce why I like younger ryes so much; maximum age that I've enjoyed thus far for rye is 6 years. Since I like the harsh, cinnamon, vegetal notes of younger rye grain, I do attribute the long resting in the barrel of this bottle to be at least a major part of why I dislike it. Still, it has a flavor unique enough from all other rye whiskeys that I own that I'm sure it will find it's place. In this case, I probably wouldn't even buy the cask strength version (if that exists), but would rather have a lower age (and also still cask strength).