Rossville Union Barrel Proof Straight Rye

As a barrel proof MGP rye, I already have a good idea of what I am getting into with this one...let’s see if it lives up. Herbal nose with wintergreen, lemongrass, dill, ginger snaps, clove, and biscuit. Nose is powerful with zero (and I mean zero) ethanol which amazes at 112 proof. Outstanding. Palate opens with shortbread cookie, clover honey, butter, hops, and apricot. Flavors are punchy as hell and nicely balanced. Abrupt transition to the finish (normally a sin for me) but somehow works here; Finish is heavy on mint, anise, white pepper, and coriander. Lasts a good long time. Mouthfeel is resinous. The tasting notes above don’t do this justice, because damn this is some delicious stuff. This is no Pikesville or Rare Breed rye; you aren’t going to get warm snickerdoodle cookie here. This is an botanical rye and near the pinnacle of the style for me. I can’t remember if I paid $55 or $65 for this but it doesn’t matter because it’s a hella rebuy either way. Looks like MGP saved some of their good stuff for themselves. Winner.

Recommended from a friend, not sure if he had the barrel proof or not, but seeing both side by side (and also purchasing 3 other barrel proof products at the same time), it seemed right to grab this one. MGP can always do no wrong. Lots of cut grass, mint, and cinnamon on the nose. It sounds cliché, and it honestly should be. With MGP behind this product and no other smoke or mirrors, this is what I expect and what every good rye should be. The color is also nice and medium, with what I believe is an average 6 year age. The alcohol definitely burns while smelling, but this could also easily be rye spice working along with the high proof. The taste starts off with that easy grassy, oaky, vanilla body, but only takes seconds while moving around the mouth to become incredibly spicy and hot. Sure, the proof is ruling over a bit here, but caramel and sweet wood sugars still easily come through. The finish is a fire-breathing cinnamon, but with plenty of backing sweetness. This is an easy win of a buy. It's very rare for a barrel proof version to be worse than watered down, and this holds up and I'm certain improves on the watered down version. It even tastes like the age is higher than it is, which is always a great thing to have with rye whiskeys. As a matter of fact, I would say that a longer age would be the only improvement here. Great gem.