Excerpt: Licorice, bitter mint, and caramel come along for the ride. It's heavy and substantial, the kind of whiskey that holds up to a cocktail while still being sippable neat.
Excerpt: The finish is warm with lingering spices balanced by sweet hints of honey, chocolate, and caramel. It’s good, but I wonder how it would be at cask strength?
Excerpt: he higher proof plays well, giving this a punch of flavor the old yellow label didn’t have, and at a good price. It’s Manhattan time! Value Pick
Excerpt: It does taste a bit better, but they try to position it as a totally different product when in reality it seems to be the same old Jim Beam Rye with a little less water in it.
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House Review
Nose:
Spicey and loaded with clove. Cinnamon, maple, some piney flavor, mild nuttiness.
Taste:
Spicey and warming. Mild metallic, plasticy notes. Molasses and cinnamon swoop back in. Not hugely sweet but well balanced. I can see this being great for cocktails, much like Rittenhouse Rye BiB
Finish:
Medium and not as hot as the palate would have led me to predict. Spicey still and satisfyingly so. Mild sweetness here but the spicey is the name of the game thats only backed up by maple and the molasses.
Overall:
This goes for absurdly cheap around me. Im not sure what Id take in a fight between Rittenhouse or this since Ritt is a bit pricier by a few bucks but both are great. Id love to try some cocktails with this one as well to compare. All in all, as long as you keep your expectations in check (a L is $26), it performs well for what it was meant to do. Id drink this as an everyday rye for the price and what it brings to the table at that price.
Score:
5
By t8ke
Our in house critic rates spirits on a scale of 0-10 (10 best) and is aggregated the same as external sources