Woodford Reserve Straight Rye

Another score in a surprise 25% off sale, because there's no way I'm going to spend the asking $65 for bottle of unknown-quality rye! Nose is rather muted, and time doesn't do much for it either. Just as I think I start to get a bit of cherry and chocolate, I find my nose too far into the glass and then I've once again gone nose-blind from the alcohol. After a few minutes (and from a safe distance) I get fresh-cooked caramel and vanilla, with a chaser of powdered cacao. The palate is nicer, and a pleasant change of pace for a rye. It doesn't clobber you in the face with mint and cinnamon, instead leading with what I can best describe as grown-up sweet tea: It's got a bite to it, but it's sooo smooth and sweet that you'll keep going back for more. The middle turns dry and the mint finally arrives, but it's more along the lines of a compliment to a nice fruit compote than the typical rye experience of chewing a stick of Wrigley's Spearmint gum. The finish lets a bit of heat appear before dropping a medium-fade and leaving a vanilla goodness behind that lasts a few minutes. This is a pretty good drink. Totally different than CR Northern Harvest Rye, and much better than Sazerac. It's even slightly better than my favored rye, the Beam Pre-Prohibition. Unfortunately, that very slight improvement of flavor comes at three times the price of the Beam, and that's all that keeps this from being my new favorite rye.

Love the aroma and taste. Not a fan of the strong alcohol on the finish.