Woodford Reserve Straight Rye

This is a beautiful, if tame, rye. It's woody and spicy with just enough sweetness. Woodford really nailed it here. Fruits, honey, and maybe even a little vanilla serve to temper the peppery initial bite. Worth every penny.

The third and most recent edition to the standard lineup, this is also the distillery's first wide release of rye whiskey. They promote it as a "sipping" rather than mixing rye, but I was quite disappointed in it. Perhaps it was just because my senses were exhausted at the end of a long day, but I got very little out of this expression. Its nose is faint and demure, with a young bourbon character rather than the bold, spicy rye impact I'd expect. The palate is more of the same, with light simple syrup and honey flavors with just a bit of rye. This is a kiddie-pool or training-wheels rye, inoffensive but not close to worth the $40 sticker price. Go for Old Overholt any day of the week, even as a "sipping" whiskey.

Tasted while camping and didn’t take notes. Recall it being very bland and uninspiring.