It’s December 16, 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. Send me your most intense contender. Goals (abridged): 5 ryes. 4.5 stars. Readily available. (3/5, WT101, Whistlepig 10, Whistlepig 12) I want to recognize 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 accidentally using the pour side of the crushed red pepper instead of the shake side but then eating your rotini anyway. >>~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~<< Three fun facts about this whiskey that I did not know prior to tonight: 1) I knew that Hotel Tango is veteran-owned, but did you know that it is the first combat-disabled-veteran-owned distillery in America? I did not! 2) This distillery is all about being “ready”. For instance, this bottle says “Rye, Ready to Drink”, which erroneously led some people in my life to think that this was one of those cocktails in a bottle. It is not. What I did not know before tonight was that on the back, this bottle describes itself as “Sazerac Ready.” Being a whiskey snob and NOT being very knowledgeable about cocktails, this erroneously led me to believe there was some bizarre connection between this juice and Buffalo Trace, or at least Sazerac Company. But no, pretty sure they just meant you could pour this whiskey in a cocktail if you wanted. 3) When researching fun fact 2, I went to their website. My volume was turned all the way up apparently, and I was not prepared for the bugle sound effect that nearly made me wet me self. It appears to only happen when you confirm that you’re over 21, like a celebratory thing. Nice touch! The nose is dill, maple. Leather. Oaky too. Smells like it’ll be an intense rye. Astringent. Body is tangerine, sugar, chocolate. This is actually lovely. That tangerine flavor is done perfectly. I mean the whole tangerine, rind and all. Finish is jalapeño. There’s a vegetable aftertaste that, when paired with a spicy mouth feel, leads you directly there. It’s jalapeño. Neat! I actually really like this. I shouldn’t be surprised, because HT consistently puts out solid stuff, but that nose had me concerned. I think the youth on that nose is overcome by their mixing expertise, delivering a solid, unique rye. I’m not quite ready to declare this as a forever shelfer. I think if they had a slightly older product (read: improved nose) or a good barrel finish (which they’ve proven they can do well) I’d be there. As it is, I’m calling this good but not great. Definitely would recommend to buy however, as I don’t think you’ll be disappointed.