WHISTLEPIG Straight Rye Whiskey

Whistlepig 100% Rye Whiskey, 10 Years old. 100 Proof - $65

Hand bottled at WhistlePig Farm in Shoreham, Vermont.  Product of Canada.  WTF?  Sounds confusing.  This is "found whiskey."  Distilled in Canada from an unnamed source, very mysterious.  Basically these WhistlePig people bought some barrels of rye whiskey from a Canadian producer and aged/bottled it for us to enjoy.  I read that they plan to eventually grow the rye themselves in Vermont and distill the whiskey.  Can't wait, though I guess I will have to wait another 10 years or so.

Smell - Very nutty quality to the aroma.  Oddly I cannot really smell much rye, which I was expecting as this is 100% rye.

Taste - Nutty, nutty, nutty.  Spicy almonds, maybe pistachio.  More like an almond had sex with a pistachio and created this mutant offspring.  Nice licorice flavors and spicy rye.  De-fuckin'-licious!

Finish - The spice stays on the tongue for a good two minutes at least, as do the nutty flavors.

Score - 91

Only 1000 cases produced, so good luck finding a bottle.  I'm sure there are a few out there. If you live in SoCal check Hi Times Wine Cellar in Costa Mesa.
Worth a splurge for it's uniqueness.

Cheers!

The Kentucky Mule

Rather than post a review this week I thought I'd share this tasty cocktail. The Kentucky Mule is just a Moscow Mule made with bourbon or rye instead of vodka.  Read about the  Moscow Mule here.

If you do not have these sweet copper mugs for you bar I highly recommend investing in a pair(s).  They keep the drink super cold and are just fun to drink out of.  We picked up ours on Amazon.
Just 4 ingredients - Fill the mug with ice, 1-2 shots of a mid priced bourbon or rye (we used the Elijah Craig 12  year, about $24), then fill the rest of the mule mug with Ginger Beer and add some lemon or lime.  Very refreshing on a warm day, especially to reward yourself after building a garden, tree house, or a dog house for your dog/husband to sleep in.
Cheers!

W.L. Weller 12 Year - A "Wheated" Bourbon

W.L. Weller 12 Years Old, Buffalo Trace Distillery - 90 proof - $24

This, as well as all Weller products, is a "wheated" bourbon. Most straight bourbon is distilled using corn (at least 51%) , rye, and barley.  William Larue Weller (1825-1899) was allegedly the first distiller to produce straight bourbon using wheat in the mash bill instead of rye.  Substituting wheat for rye makes for a sweater, less spicy, less dry bourbon.

The nose has very pleasant aromas of maple, vanilla and caramel.  After 10-15 minutes in the glass the maple smell is more prevalent.
The whiskey coats my palate with everything in the nose.  I can also taste what I always like to describe as the 'bark' from the center of a Butterfingers bar.  Kind of a toffee/caramel flavor.
The finish lingers with sweetness for a good 30 seconds.
Absolutely delicious.  For me, this is every bit as good as the Van Winkle 12 year for less than 1/2 the price.

In the short time that I have been enjoying American Whiskey (about 6 months), I have tried about 40 different products.  This is by far my favorite for under $25, and one of my go to pours.  Damn!  I finished the bottle.  Looks like a trip to Costa Mesa in my future, or perhaps I will have them ship a few bottles.
92/100 - Highly recommended

High West Double Rye

Park City, Utah - 92 proof - $34

Yeah that's right, Utah - Home of Mormons, the Sundance Film Festival, and a high percentage of porn addicts.  High West does not distill this product.  This is a blend of two very different rye whiskeys from two different distilleries "back east" as the label puts it, so Kentucky and/or Illinois/Indiana.  One of the rye's is a 2 year old, 95% rye and 5% barley.  The other is a 16 year old, 53% rye, 37% corn and 10% barley.

Aromas - I get the rye smell, which smells like sarsaparilla/root beer to me, though very subtle.  Minty.  Evergreen/pine tree, some gin like aroma.  Very "forest" like.

Taste -  Wow! Everything described above on the aroma comes through on the taste buds.  If there is such a thing as a refreshing whiskey, this is it.  I always drink my whiskey neat, and that's a good thing because on ice I could suck this down like iced tea on a hot day.

I look forward to trying the other High West products.
Would absolutely pick this up again.

92/100 - Buy it.  Drink it.  Buy it again.