Reservoir Rye Whiskey

I am shocked at how good this is! A very approachable rye. Dark berries on the nose and the palate.

Nose: Freshly-cut grass clippings, sweet hay, petrichor on hard-baked red-soil roads. Parchment. Crisp and light with a little spice and fruit – mango, tangerine and strawberry. An unexpectedly light and sprightly rye nose that is very agreeable. With time a little vanilla note is detected. Palate: Again, very grassy and slightly herbal in the arrival. Light lemon zest and some aniseed. There is, however, little development apart from a slow increase in spice notes and an almost effervescent citrus presence. The texture is OK but nothing special. Finish: Medium. Mild spice and lemon trailing into the sunset. A slightly unusual rye whisky with a strong focus on citrus. The nose is the standout attraction and it is refreshingly unusual. The palate, however, does not quite rise to the same standard, being abbreviated and shallow with no progress. I’d attribute this entirely to youth and it would be interesting to taste this if it were given a few more years of maturation in larger casks. Adding water destroys the nose, subtracting all the distinctive aromas and rendering it more like an average rye, although some of the grassy notes remain. On the palate, water unleashes black pepper, hot capsicum and salt (and a little balancing sweetness). It does tone down the bright lemon focus but on the whole I preferred this one neat. An interesting whiskey but like the Reservoir Wheat I just rated this is overpriced here. It’s almost worth the money, but then I think of all the very good scotch whiskies I could buy instead. Tasted from a 30ml sample. “Above Average” : 82/100 (3.25 stars)

Drain pour. I do not recommend it. Glad we only got the 375 ml.