Rating: 17/23 I had this previously and liked it, so I bought a bottle. I heard that Corsair's new Dark Rye staple isn't as good, so I'm glad that I got this while it was still available. N: Rich and sweet with some buckwheat and chocolate. Some herbal character that include a touch of dry reeds and also mint. A touch of dusty earth as well and also some mild malt. It reminds me a bit of Balcones Rye, but more integrated, coherent, and refined. A bit of a dry grainy layer coming out of the earth. P: Mmm! Rich, sweet, yet still rye. Lots of malt, which has a bit of a buckwheat character to it and integrates nicely with dry reed and grain flavors. Some spices come out, including a bit of bite. Black pepper, white pepper, ginger, and maybe a faint hint of chili pepper. The earthiness is there enough to make the palate interesting, but not enough to make it challenging. There's a bit of a creamy 50% dark chocolate flavor here providing a rich base. Faint floral hints coming off of some rich vanilla. Definitely some herbal character, but not a ton of it. Enough mint to refresh and remind that this is a rye, in spite of all of its maltiness. F: The earthy and spicy flavors linger the most. There's some chocolate and vanilla left as well. - Conclusion - This is a bit unusual, but mostly in a good way. It's rich with plenty of potential to appeal to both fans of rye and fans of malt. I'm thinking that this is at least a 16. It isn't amazing though. An 18 is probably as high as I can imagine this being though. Eh, I'm thinking a 16 or 17. It's a bit of a toss-up. The argument in favor of a 17 is that there's a lot going on here. On the other hand, a 16 is supported by how strange this is. I think I'd put this above Pikesville (16/23), but it's probably not quite as good as Whistlepig PiggyBack (17/23) and is just kind of competitive with Russell's Reserve Single Barrel Rye (17/23). It's a tough call, but I'm thinking a low 17 for this.