It’s time for another deviation from scotch whisky. This sample comes from my NJ connection, Mr @PBMichiganWolverine. Whip Saw Rye is, obviously, a rye whiskey from a blending and bottling company called The Splinter Group. This particular whiskey is comprised of 76% rye, 21% corn and 3% toasted barley. It’s then finished for an unspecified amount of time in Pinot Noir and ex-Cabernet Sauvignon wine casks from Napa Valley and bottled at 45% ABV. It’s a wonderful, dark mahogany in color and makes some of the slowest-forming, fat legs and tiny droplets in the tasting glass. It’s also ridiculously oily and thick appearing. The nose reeks of cherries and wine grapes that have been dusted in Christmas spices- like nutmeg, cinnamon and black pepper. There’s a faint bell pepper bite as well. Toffee and charred oak reveal themselves if you wait them out. It’s very lively and tempting. The palate comes out of the gates as a sweet syrup. Cherry juice, grapes and light dill. The spices also warm the tongue while the syrupy-ness coats every corner of the mouth. It’s rich and inviting, but also biting and spicy- it’s the best of both worlds commingling together. The longer you hold it in place the hotter it gets and the spices begin to cut through the syrupy aspect and that’s a welcome sensation. The finish is the most lackluster part of the dram as it came across as short to medium in duration and even the warmth and spices fade rather quickly. All the reason to go in again, I suppose, but I only had a couple of ounces to work with. In the end, this is another example of a fine, balanced rye whiskey. I’m still on the fence when it comes to rye, so I’m not sure if I’d ever finish a full bottle if I bought and opened one. But, if rye is your jam, then I highly recommend this one. I think the availability is widespread and the price point is reasonable. Seek it out and try it for yourself. 3.75-4 stars, which may be a little low just because I’m not a huge rye fan- your mileage may vary. Cheers, my friends.