Batch 003 is a 5-whisky blend comprised of an 18-year rye aged in ex-tequila barrels, an 18-year rye aged in ex-Speyside scotch casks, a 21-year corn aged in used American oak, a 17-year rye aged in Hungarian oak and a 25-year corn also aged in Hungarian oak that was bottled at 55.1% with a mash bill of 64% rye, 32% corn, 4% malted barley. Let’s see how this one came together. The nose starts with a lime juice drizzled over a veggie mix of grilled portobellos, asparagus and fried yucca that quickly fades to mix of blood orange flavored buttercream frosting, tropical fruits and candied fennel seeds then freshly baked pumpernickel bread followed by lemon meringues, ruby red grapefruit, and cinnamon caramel apples that transitions to a light minerality, black pepper and pine needle covered forest floors with high ethanol burn. The taste is a medium mouthfeel starting with lime zest over grilled vegetables of portobellos and asparagus before fading to creamy and sweet tropical fruits that then veers into a moderate sour and bitter spice that then fades to butterscotch candy, blood orange soda and wintergreen gum then fresh baked pumpernickel bread followed by lemon meringue, ruby red grapefruit, and sour apple candy that transitions to a light minerality, black pepper and pine needle covered forest floors with high ethanol burn. The finish is medium length with charred pine cones, grilled asparagus, portobello mushrooms, canned pineapple chunks, Granny Smith apple peel, candied ginger, spearmint and smoked butterscotch caramel. Overall, this is a complex rye that combines those tequila vegetal notes with earthy rye along with creamy sweets, tropical fruits, and sour citrus but leans heavier on those earthy bitter notes than I’d prefer and would have liked the earthiness dialed down to allow more of those fruits to shine through. Side by side with Batch 1, the flavors are very similar but the tequila cask adds some interesting smoky and vegetable notes, but those tequila notes also increase the bitterness in the profile that overpowers some of the fruity notes found in Batch 1 and seems less balanced. At $135, IMHO, I just don’t see the value in this one and there are plenty of better ryes out there for less.