Rating: 10/23
I threw this into a bunch of mixed drinks in order to get rid of the bottle as quickly as possible, but even that didn't work too well. Finally, I'm on to my bottle kill tasting.
N: Rye with a bit of meat. It doesn't smell like a super young rye, but I suspect that's because low amount of rye is masked by the other grains. I get a bit of mint and floor polish. Not much going on here and it doesn't smell really good either.
P: Like the nose, this is pretty flat. I get some herbal and vegetal flavors from the rye. It tastes a little bit young, but not too bad. It's actually a bit better than when I first tried it so it could either be just a different palate or maybe the air was good for this. I do get a bit of meatiness from the alcohol though, and a bit of minerality further increasing the lightness. So there's a bit more complexity than before, but it's still flat and bland with some off notes.
F: The off notes of alcohol and meat linger, along with a faint hybrid of mineral and floor polish. There are faint herbal notes, but not too much. This is probably the worst part of the experience.
This is still a really disappointing rye. It didn't even make a great mixer because it is fairly light. At its best, there are genuine flavors that make me consider giving it a 12, but I often find myself thinking of it in 10 or even 9 territory because of the off notes. At least it isn't harsh though. I think I'm going to settle on a 10 to 11 because it isn't all that bad, but I really would rather not ever drink it. It might be comparable in quality to Ezra Brooks, but that's as generous as I think I can be. I think I'm going to go with a 10 this time I would consider raising it up to an 11 if I ever tried it again (but I hope I won't).
20.0
USD
per
Bottle
Create Account
or
Sign in
to comment on this review