Happy Sunday folks. Hope that you all are having a relaxing and invigorating day. I wanted to wrap up rye week tasting with some EHT rye. Harder to find at times than a holographic Charizard, and nearly as expensive once you do find it, I wanted to try this one last. Frankly I didn’t want to open it in the event the other ryes didn’t work well with my palate. Figured worse case I’d trade for something I do like if the earlier tastings went sideways or one just stood out so amazingly that I wouldn’t even want any other ryes. Once my glucose levels returned to normal from the AE rye I figured it was finally time to chop it up with the Colonel. The sniff is that of an apple pie fresh out of the fryer at the yellow arches. Hints of cinnamon, caramel, apples, and that puff pastry scent you find at the greasy-spoon spots that fry donuts along side the wings.....except somebody unwittingly sent Uncle June to grab the food. Now your friend or relative may be named differently but we all have that one person that you absolutely don’t send for food or drink because they always mess up the order. “Nephew, I know you gave me a Benji for that fancy water you drink, but man I got us two bottles of Old Crow and 60 cans of Hamms for the same price.” Yeah that one 😏. Well apparently Unc asked for black pepper on the pies, but I’m not mad at all. The pepper blends very well with the fruit and spice, and while it’s not as fragrant as the AE rye, I can already tell that this one is going to pack some character. First sip gives a generous burn on the tongue that transitions into the aforementioned apple, caramel, cinnamon, and pepper flavors with just a pinch of cloves. Much like eating a too hot pie, the burn ends but there’s this tingle that lingers on the tongue as a reminder that you should have let that pie cool or in this case that you’re drinking a rye. That’s when the citrus that Unc ordered finally presents itself. A faint but noticeable lemon kicker that reminds me of sorrel in a salad. Subsequent sips brought on additional flavors of rye, more cinnamon, a lighter caramel rather than the richer caramel flavor of the initial sip, and a subtle sweetness that falls just short of spring honey....all the while sending that reminder that you burned your tongue on that first bite....but damn is it worth. The AE rye is straight up syrup in a bottle and I can understand why it’s too sweet for some. Those that like the flavor profile but not all the sweetness will appreciate the EHT rye IMO. I didn’t run any water in this first tasting, and to be fair it’s fantastic neat, but I’ll probably add a couple of drops in the future to tame that initial bite just a bit. Plenty of flavor, not overly sweet, and a nose that I find pleasing. The Colonel rye retails for about $70 and roughly $50 more on the secondary....I’d gladly pay $100-120 again to keep this one around. May your glasses be filled with warmth and happiness. Enjoy the remainder of you day. ✌🏾