I made the mistake of opening this one a three weeks ago, after I’d already had two pours of Maker’s Mark BRT-01 and a pour of Laphroaig 10 Cask Strength. My wife had been out to a friend’s birthday party and I had spent the evening watching the terrible adaptation of A Wrinkle in Time with my kids. We had recently finished the book, which they loved. And honestly, the loved the movie, and I thought the book was subpar and didn’t live up to its reputation and the movie was abysmal. She got home as we turned toward watching the Netflix adaptation of Lemony Snicket, which we’d also read, and once the kids were in bed, I started to pour and watch. Now, the movie I chose for myself was called Possession. And that’s strange-ass 1980s movie that’s difficult to find on either DVD or Blu-ray and it was showing on the horror streaming service Shudder. The movie was about a marriage in dissolution for the first hour. Then the second, it becomes this creature feature, and there’s some weird undertone of East/West Berlin and spies, and it had that feeling of a David Lynch movie before David Lynch was big where you need to examine it closer and rewatch it to really get it, and it’s compelling, but you’re kind of trying to hold onto the plot and lost at the same time your first time through. All of that is my long way of saying, one of my favorite things in the world is to put on a horror movie and pour some whisky, but I can’t say that while the horror movie is playing, I’m making good choices about my pours or even paying too much attention to them. The Templeton 10 is an early whisky—in retrospect. It’s a first whisky of the night. I shouldn’t be a later whisky or a last whisky. This in large part is owing to how soft it is. Now soft here should not be confused with lightweight. I’ve been out of the game for a week and a half here because I’ve had a cold. Took a COVID test, it was negative, but for the first three nights, it was like little devils were poking tiny knives in the back of my throat. I couldn’t sleep. I don’t really get chest colds. I get throat colds. I don’t lose my sense of smell. I lose the ability to swallow. I lose the ability to speak. It’s a downer, and during that time the only alcohol I consume is 10% and goes by the name of NyQuil baby, can you dig? Big N, small y, big fu@king Q for all you Denis Leary fans. But now I’m back, and tonight, I polished off my Bruichladdich Barley Islay 2013 first, threw on 2016’s Terrifier, and followed the big Bru up with a doe of Templeton 10 Year Single Barrel Rye 104 Proof. The 104 Proof there is important to mention because when you crack this, it doesn’t drink like 104 proofer. It’s more like an 86er, which again doesn’t mean bad. Recovering from the cold, I’m not sure how much I trust my nose, but there’s this soft mixture of minty caramel. I get the sensation of skiing down the slopes of Zermatt to arrive at the lodge and throw back a few salted caramel Toblerone, if you know what I mean and on the palate these aromas become flavors with the addition of Toffee and bergamot. This is the whisky you want if you find Alberta Premium Cask Strength both alluring but too strong and too harsh, the whisky you want if even Wild Turkey Rare Breed Rye is a little too much, the whisky you’d like if you’re thinking while you drink Knob Creek Single Barrel Rye, there’s something here but it’s still a bit too much. It’s like adding an ice cube to those and letting it melt only it’s still room temperature after the ice cube melts. It is essentially a long deep French kiss of a rye, the kind of gentle lullaby put me to sleep draught you would like from a lover’s lips. Oh this is good and it’s strong, but it’s not so strong it overwhelms you. It’s the rye version of water lapping at a sharp stone until it smooths off the rough edges. Get what I’m saying? The most recent strong proof rye I’ve had was the Stellum, and this is better, though it’s subtler and a little more expensive and the finish here isn’t as lingering, but I’m not sure that matters. I think the subtlety here over the others I’ve mentioned results from the aging, since the others I’ve mentioned don’t bear age statements. I’m not sure I’d tell you to seek this out, but if you come across it don’t pass it up. At $85, it’s a little steep and I’ve got to level with you, with price increases these days, I’m about to tap out at this price point and retreat to known quantities that go for around $60. I’m tired of paying top dollar for whiskies that are good but not quite as good as the price tag indicates and I can’t guarantee that this won’t be that for you. However, if you’re in for a penny and in for a pound, this may come with its own surprises. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have to unpause the movie and see how Terrifier ends. My suspicion an hour in is that it’s not going to end well. But hey, I’ve had my dram and for better or worse, all road will lead, soon enough, to the land of slumber, aided and abetted by this, entirely cool and nicely minty customer.