On the palate, it's drying and bold, with a markedly fruity characteristic, suggesting red fruit, orange peel and vanilla. Dilution coaxes out a pleasing nuttiness, and dials the alcohol bite back to a pleasantly warming sensation.
Rather, gentle florals continue to waft into your nostrils as the denouement reaches its conclusion, an appropriately gossamer conclusion to one of the best little ryes I’ve seen in a long time.
The taste is thick and spicy with clove and an intense cinnamon note that builds up quickly, along with vanilla, honey, caramel, and brown sugar notes underneath. The finish is long, dry, and spicy. Very nice.
A molasses sweetness and tart fruit complexity adds further intrigue. It was intended as a cocktail rye, but there is no reason it shouldn't be enjoyed neat with a big ice cube.
Easily drinkable at this proof, well-integrated rye oil and grain sweetness, some cinnamon and dried apple, and the barrel rolls in on the finish. A neatly-wrapped package, and not crazy on the price.
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House Review
Nose:
Clove and lots of cinnamon. Rainy vanilla, gingerbread and a good deal of metallic rye spice. Theres some dusty leather. Overall, this is not a sweet rye. There is also virtually no
Taste:
Mildly fruity, lots of clove and a great deal of heavy rye spice. Oddly astringent and what little sweetness appeared in the nose is completely gone. Becomes bitter.
Finish:
Medium and mildly hot but not unreasonably so. Very spicy with a good deal of astringency.
Overall:
Honestly, I started liking this bottle but over time it really failed to appeal to me. It doesn't do anything in my opinion that Ritt Rye cant do and while it's good for the price, I don't really see myself rushing to buy another bottle soon. There's Ritt rye on my shelf for cheap rye nights and SAOS/HW Rendezvous rye on my shelf for nice sipping rye. To me, this rye doesn't sit in a category that really needs to belong. That being said, it's under $30 and there's really no risk in giving it a shot if you're curious. I'm not disappointed or lamenting over the fact that I bought a bottle. For all of those reasons, I'm giving this dram a 5 - it's perfectly fine. Not amazing but also not awful. For a $25-$30 rye, it could be doing far, far worse.
Score:
80
By t8ke
Our in house critic rates spirits on a scale of 0-10 (10 best) and is aggregated the same as external sources
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