Riverset Straight Rye Whiskey Barrel Strength

Heavy apricot sweetness

123.4 proof. Bottle number is 14, but there’s no mention of a batch or anything, so I haven’t any idea whether it’s the 14th bottle ever or the 14,000th. It does say it was hand selected for Texas though, so I know I’m special. On the nose oak, caramel, rye, peach, citrus peel and pear; soft but complex. Rich and spicy on the palate, with flavors of caramel, cinnamon, vanilla, raisin, oak, black pepper, rye. Spicy finish. Hot, but not overly so, particularly for the proof. Full bodied. Quite good really. @twostal

Tasted blind: neat in a glencairn Nose: this amazing nose smells just like a melted root beer float, also getting a mixed bag of different citrus peels Palate: sharp zing of red pepper flakes, cinnamon, and faint oak Finish: delicious cinnamon gum

Took a flyer on another $40 rye. This particular single barrel is 116.4 proof, aged 5 years, and the sticker says hand-selected by Thirst Wine Merchants. I'm not a fan of the language used to describe where this comes from. I'm fairly certain it's sourced, but the label says "distilled in Tennessee and bottled by..." I initially bought this thinking they were the distiller. The spirit itself has a very fruit forward nose and palate, similar to the last rye I tried, the Smooth Ambler Contradiction Rye. Apple and peach are prominent, the peach always nice to find in a whiskey. A little rye herbal spice shows up on the finish. This has a stronger herbal rye spice than the barely legal ryes, but it's not an herbal powerhouse. Overall, I like this, and don't want to nitpick, but there's a somewhat unpleasant note of what comes to me as new carpet on the nose, and an aftertaste that I liken to that of Diet Pepsi. The artificial sweetener aftertaste is something I note in ryes occasionally, but it's particularly noticed here. I appreciate the higher proof and it doesn't seem all that hot considering the proof, but I prefer the Contradiction, which is also a hair cheaper, so this is not likely a re-buy for me. *Also, this doesn't compete with Pikesville at the same price range and same ballpark for proof. *Update: after some initial "off gassing," I'm no longer picking up any new carpet smell, but still getting a little of the diet soda note on the finish. I'm pretty pleased with this - giving it a quarter point bump. Update 2: spending more time with this, there's a little something on the back end that reminds me of Willett 4 year. This has more caramel and vanilla up front, but the fruit and finish share some similarity with Willett. I'd take back some of what I said above, but I'll leave it up for posterity's sake. Maybe one day I'll learn to wait before reviewing, although there's also something to be said for demonstrating how a whiskey and one's impression of it can evolve over the course of a bottle. I don't want to get ahead of myself (more) since I have a lot left in this bottle, but this may in fact be a re-buy.