It’s December 3, and I’m going to try a new rye whiskey every day this month. And while my rye game is not as weak as my Scotch game was this time last year, I’m always up for suggestions on good rye whiskies. And now that I have goals (it’s good to have goals), there are some key players I could use your help finding. Goals (abridged): 5 ryes. 4 stars. Readily available. (0/5) I want to taste the difference between any bourbon and any rye. First try. One of these must be an Empire Rye. I want a raunchy rye. I want the one that tastes like dill relish served from a pirates boot from princess Ariel’s human stuff collection. While still underwater. >>~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~<< This is the first (of hopefully many) releases selected, blended, and bottled by former master distiller for Four Roses, Jim Rutledge. This little guy has juice from Kentucky Artisan Distillery, Middle West Distillery, MGP Distillery, and New York Distilling Company. This bottle is responsible for my most recent liquor store friendship. Most amazing handlebar mustache I’ve ever seen in my life, truly. Nose is grain forward. Honey, oats, salt, rye. There’s a metallic note here that I don’t care for. Going with iron. Body is surprisingly sweet. Citrus, honey, melon, syrup. Finish is cinnamon, maple syrup. Bit of orange in there. This is art. With all the baggage and acclaim that comes with it. It’s less tasty than WT and twice as expensive. That’s not great. But I’ll be damned if this isn’t well crafted and interesting. Also, there’s a very real chance that this is true to what it means to be a rye, and my preference to WT is based on it not being so. The more I drink it, the less I am bothered by the metallic taste and the more I pick up those fruit notes. I really like this whiskey.