Smoke Wagon Malted Straight Rye Whiskey

Lovely. Malty, cereal and non-overly sweet on the palate initially to really highlight the wonderful barley. Then the spicy, hot, rye finish. Fun.

Fairly intense and smokey. Reminds me of scotch. Ok but not a regular drinker for me.

Apparently MGP started their malted rye in 2013, so there is a possibility that this could be around (or at least contain) 9 yr old whiskey which along with the unusual mashbill, makes me intrigued. Let’s see how it checks in: Aroma has a lot of familiar rye notes of lemon pepper, spearmint, rye spice, and caraway seed, but there’s a few more interesting notes as well starting with a leafy herb (Oregano? Thyme? Sage?), croissant, butter, and a candy note which at first I couldn’t place but then presented itself as red Twizzlers. Ethanol is low for the proof, which is nice. Palate is…kinda wild. Ok, stay with me here; take traditional rye flavors of mint, lemongrass, pepper, and grain, and dunk them in chocolate. More of a clash between the herbal and sweet than say a barely legal 51% rye, but with more intensity of both flavors. Weird but good. Rushes quickly toward the finish without much mid-palate action. Finish takes a more traditional rye path with a lot of white pepper spice, mint, and tannic oak. There is indeed a malt note which lingers underneath and manifests in a way which is less malted milk ball, and more malt liquor/beer. Mouthfeel is grainy, dry, and abrasive, which makes me rethink the notion that this might be comprised of older whiskey. Repeated sips of my tasting pour had me thinking I had sanded my tongue. Normally I don’t write this much about mouthfeel, but this was a serious flaw for me and a real detraction and I can’t help but think that some more softness and body would have worked wonders. Overall a somewhat likable oddity, but that isn’t enough to truly impress. Went from a great nose, to a decent palate, to a lousy finish. At 79.99, there is just better whiskey (and better rye whiskey specifically) readily available. Not a rebuy.

Nose: I get honey and baking spices up front. Followed by brown sugar and caramel. Palate: a slight honey note, rye spice turned way up. Black pepper, touch of fennel Finish: long lasting Overall: this is a terrific rye. It’s spice, earth and sweet. It’s very vicious and mouth coating. Whatever they are doing at this distillery in the desert it’s working. This is delicious.

Excellent - really quite exceptional. Batch 1a 58.07% ABV Bottled September 20, 2022