April 2016

Yellow Rose Rye

/ / Review, Rye Whiskey / ,

Yellow Rose Straight Rye Whiskey
45% ABV
$35
Website
yellowrose-straight-rye-whiskey
What the Bottler Says:
Yellow Rose Straight Rye Whiskey is hand selected, blended and bottled in Texas. Enjoy whiskey as it was before prohibition with this small batch limited production spirit. Made from 95% rye, this whiskey is a true American classic perfect for fine cocktails.

COLOR: Copper, amber.
NOSE: Mild vanilla and pine with hint of brown sugar.
PALATE: Slightly sweet, spearmint with mild pepper and maple.
FINISH: Medium finish with less pepper than other rye whiskey’s.
COMMENTS: One of the best rye whiskey’s ever! Makes for the perfect Old Fashion or Manhattan!

What Gary Says:
Nose: Young and brash, bright rye spice, orange zest, and subtle fresh pickles.
Palate: Creamy mouthfeel, softer on the palate than the nose, mellow, light fruit, orange zest, bit of spice kicking into the finish.
Finish: Fairly short.
Comments: Interesting rye whiskey – on the nose it screams MGP high rye (which I suspect is its origin), but on the palate it was out of sync for me – feeling a bit more like a “barely legal rye”. While the nose is brash and sharp (as you expect in a rye), the palate is much more mellow and soft; lacking that rye kick, although it picks up in the end. It reminds me a bit of Dickel Rye with how mellow it is on the palate, and I like that – although that is 2/3 the price of this, so not sure I’ll rush out to grab a bottle.
Rating: Stands Out

What Richard Says:
Nose: Minty, floral sweet, grassy, and fresh. Classic (relatively) young MGP rye. We smell it so often that if we aren’t careful we all begin to believe that MGP’s rye is what all rye is supposed to smell like just from the numbers of bottles of their rye on the shelves.
Palate: Herbaceous and minty sweet.
Finish: Slightly bitter and rather short.
Comments: Ah…another in a long, long, LONG string of bottlers giving us their particular slice of MGP’s stock of rye whiskey. There is nothing wrong with this particular expression of MGP rye. Rather, it’s that this rye is becoming so ubiquitous that it’s hard for newer bottlers to stand out. My advice…if you are going down the MGP rye route you need to do something to the damn whiskey to give it your own stamp. “Blending” various barrels of it just doesn’t cut it anymore.
Rating: Average

We would like to thank Yellow Rose Distilling for sending us a sample for review.

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Yellow Rose Blended Whiskey

/ / Other Whisk(e)ys, Review / ,

Yellow Rose Blended Whiskey
40% ABV
$35
Website
yellowrose-blended-whiskey
What the Bottler Says:
Yellow Rose Blended Whiskey is a fusion of character just like Texas culture. A perfect blend of southern charm and rustic cowboy ensures a smooth drinking whiskey with plenty of heart. Our blended whiskey is fuller flavor than typical Canadian blends due to a higher bourbon content.

Still easy to drink and slightly sweet, Yellow Rose Blended whiskey is great on the rocks or as a mixer

COLOR: Deep gold
NOSE: Light aroma, fruity banana with caramel
PALATE: Sweet with banana
FINISH: Medium finish
COMMENTS: Full flavored blend that is still easy to drink

What Gary Says:
Nose: Very light, faint sweetness and a bit of wood & alcohol.
Palate: Sweet but thin, with just a hint of oak & fruit.
Finish: Fairly quick.
Comments: I set my bar lower for blended whiskey than bourbon, and this managed to limbo in just under my expectations. I definitely didn’t get the fuller flavor they mentioned. On the nose, my mind drifted more towards cleaning chemicals than whiskey. To be fair, I like to sample something multiple times over a period of time, and I threw my notes out from my first go (as I think the pollen-apolypse we experience here in Georgia every spring was throwing me off). Maybe it would grow on me, but for the price point I don’t think I’d give it a chance.
Rating: Average

What Richard Says:
Nose: Banana Mama cocktails on the beach in Cancun.
Palate: Smoked honey drizzled over a fruit cocktail with bananas foster on the side.
Finish: Sweet and mellow with a hint pepper.
Comments: This was a surprise. I really expected it to be awful. When I see “blended whiskey” I tend to think of Seagram 7 or something equally awful. This is a bit too sweet for my taste but it is very easily drinkable and not offputting in the least. $35 is a bit steep but I wouldn’t turn down a glass.
Rating: Stands Out

We would like to thank Yellow Rose Distilling for sending over a sample for review.

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High West 14 Year Light Whiskey

/ / Other Whisk(e)ys, Review / ,

High West Very Rare Light Whiskey 14 Years Old
46% ABV
$99.95
Website
14-year-bottle-_-web
What the Bottler Says:
Come see the light! High West Distillery, Utah’s first legal distillery since 1870, releases a limited edition 14-Year Light Whiskey. Beginning March 19, this special bottling is available exclusively to visitors at the High West Distillery at Blue Sky Ranch, followed by a roll out at the High West Saloon & Distillery in historic Old Town Park City on April 16.

“At High West, we believe education leads to appreciation so we wanted to shed some light on this rarely discussed type of whiskey,” says High West founder David Perkins. “This is a spirit that’s not likely to be available again for a long time.”

Light whiskey denotes a grain spirit that’s been distilled at a higher proof than a straight whiskey — between 80-95% alcohol by volume (ABV) versus less than 80% ABV respectively. It’s typically used as a component in about 95% of the world’s blended whiskeys. In the U.K., what they call grain whiskey is essentially the same thing as light whiskey.

“This whiskey was distilled at a higher proof on the still, which reduces the heaviness of the flavors, and reveals more floral and fruit subtleties,” said High West master distiller Brendan Coyle. “It was aged in used barrels, as opposed to first-use charred barrels, which lends more elegant complexities with a spirit-forward character.”

High West discovered 100 stunning barrels of light whiskey at MGP made from corn that was distilled between 1999 and 2001, aged in second-fill barrels. That wood aging imparted a traditionally light spirit with lovely vanilla and white chocolate notes, and an intriguing Concord grape overlay—to anything but typical results.

High West encourages you to indulge in this special offering all on its own—neat, with a touch of water, or on the rocks. The 14-Year Light Whiskey will retail for $99.95.

What Gary Says:
Nose: Subtle all around, faint oak, lightly sweet fruit, hints of cinnamon rolls (baked the day before) or apple pie (baked two days before).
Palate: Deliciously delicate, starts off soft and lightly sweet before some stronger fruit notes (figs and orange marmalade) and a bit of a nutty-spice kick in.
Finish: Lingers before slowly/softly slipping away.
Comments: For me this is a thinking/pondering dram. It is dangerously drinkable, but I don’t want to just throw it back – it begs to be studied carefully. It is very subtle and nuanced; more like a scotch than a bourbon (the aging and second-fill barrels certainly contribute to that). For a whiskey geek who is looking to experience “light whiskey” and try something different – this may be right up their alley, and I’d call it a “must-try”. For the casual whiskey drinker, you may not be happy dropping $100 on something you find “too subtle”.
Rating: Must Try

What Richard Says:
Nose: Lightly floral sweet.
Palate: Exceptionally creamy with a rich vanilla sweetness mixed with poached peach parfait.
Finish: The finish is almost non-existent. It is clean and short.
Comments: This is light in many more ways than name alone. This is an exceptionally delicate whiskey. It doesn’t necessarily have exceptional depth but it is very drinkable and intriguing for being a rare example of extra aged “light” whiskey. It reminds me more (as you would expect) of aged grain scotch much more than anything normally made in the U.S.
Rating: Stands Out

We would like to thank High West for sending us a sample to review.

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High West American Prairie Reserve

/ / Bourbon, Review / ,

High West American Prairie Reserve
A Blend of Straight Bourbons
46%
$45
Website
APR-Bottle-Web
What the Blender Says:
High West Distillery is passionate about the American West’s culture, heritage, and natural beauty and wants to raise awareness of one of the most fantastic projects of our time: the American Prairie Reserve in northeastern Montana. We tip our hats to this amazing effort to assemble the largest wildlife reserve in the lower 48 states. When stepping onto the plains of American Prairie Reserve, it is not difficult to imagine the landscape as Lewis and Clark and Native Americans saw it, with thundering herds of bison, racing bands of pronghorn antelope and prairie dog towns dotting the horizon. When the Reserve is complete, it will be approximately 5,000 square miles, or roughly the size of Connecticut. On the front label: the stunning greater sage grouse is just one of the many beautiful species that call the American prairie home. Habitat destruction has led to steep declines in sage grouse populations across the West and the bird is now a candidate for Endangered Species Act protection. However, these beautiful birds still thrive on the Reserve. Visit in early spring to see male sage grouse vying for mates as they “dance” on the breeding ground, called a lek.

• 6 year old Bourbon
• Mashbill from 75% Corn
• 20% rye
• 5% barley malt (LDI now MGP)
• 10 year old Bourbon
• Mashbill from 60% Corn
• 35% rye
• 5% barley malt (a distillery in Lawrenceburg, KY)

Nose: A subtle, albeit pleasant, nose on the first pour. Opens up into a floraled butter corn, cotton candy, and fruit nose.
Taste: Candy sweetness is the first thing which explodes on your tongue. Super sweet, but it has a relatively dry mouthful throughout, meaning the sweetness does not overtake the senses in a more syrupy bourbon. The short rye spice and pecan pie finish is a good thing in this case, never overwhelming.

What Gary Says:
Nose: Musty oak sweetness, vanilla and toffee, fresh tobacco, leather, hints of coffee grounds and honey.
Palate: Creamy mouthfeel, luscious texture – nicely balanced caramel and chocolate sweetness, dried fruit with a bit of a pepper-spice edge.
Finish: Lingers nice and slowly, drying.
Comments: This is a really great whiskey for the price, and some of the proceeds go to a good cause. Incredibly easy to drink, but also the kind of pour I could spend ample time studying if that was what I was in the mood for. Note that there is an American Prairie and American Prairie Reserve – which are not the same. I appreciate the transparency from High West about what is in the bottle, and for the money – this is damned hard to beat!
Rating: Must Try

What Richard Says:
Nose: Cherries, oranges, corn pudding, and crushed mint.
Palate: Orange marmalade, vanilla cream, cinnamon, and anise.
Finish: Dry and woody with hints of chocolate and licorice.
Comments: A lovely solid bourbon on par with Four Roses Single Barrel or Russell’s Reserve. Not stunning but no slouch. Easy to drink and versatile in flavor and style.
Rating: Stands Out

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High West Bourye

/ / Other Whisk(e)ys, Review / ,

High West Bourye
A Blend of Straight Whiskeys
Batch No. 15B09
46% ABV
$79.99
Website
bourye-bottle
What the Blender Says:
THE RETURN OF BOURYE
High West Releases a Limited Run of the Original Bourbon and Rye Blend

PARK CITY, Utah (February 12, 2016) — High West Distillery, Utah’s first legal distillery since 1870, is proud to announce the return of Bourye, the original super premium bourbon and rye blend. Much like the elusive jackalope that graces its label, the limited release Bourye may be hard to find, but a delight when discovered.

Bourye is a unique and very premium blend of rich 9-year-old bourbon and 13-and-17-year-old ryes, making for a premier sipping whiskey and one of High West’s own all-time favorites. “This iteration of Bourye is very similar to the original in age profile and component whiskeys,” said High West Founder David Perkins. “But I personally think this one is better.”

Bourye offers a taste of sweet honey nougat, rich caramel, mulling spices, and candied fruits with a long dry spice finish. “This release brings the flavor profile back to the level of richness that our original release had,” said High West Master Distiller Brendan Coyle. “I’m really excited to share it with whiskey lovers.” It’s available nationally this month at saloons and stores across the country, as well as at the High West Distillery in Park City, Utah, the world’s only ski-in gastro-distillery. It’s priced at $79.99.

Component whiskeys:
• 9-year-old straight bourbon (mash bill: 75% corn, 21% rye, 4% barley malt) Source: MGP/LDI/Seagrams, Indiana
• 13-year-old straight rye whiskey (mash bill: 95% rye, 5% barley malt) Source: MGP/LDI/Seagrams, Indiana
• 17-year-old straight rye whiskey (mash bill: 95% rye, 5% barley malt) Source: MGP/LDI/Seagrams, Indiana

What Gary Says:
Nose: Oak, anise, subtle vanilla honey & caramel with a hint of dill and subtle tobacco.
Palate: Soft, fruity spice & oak; rice pudding with pears and figs.
Finish: Slow, nice and peppery.
Comments: Not quite a bourbon, and not quite a rye. Nicely balanced, and dangerously drinkable (goes down like an 80 proofer at first until the spice kicks in). I really enjoy this whiskey, but I honestly am a fan of DIY mingles of bourbon & rye. Some may want more sweetness, some may want more rye spice. And sometimes what I want varies from day to day. For the price point – unless you’ve tried it and know this is hitting you just right – you may be better off playing with different ratios of more affordable whiskies.
Rating: Stands Out

What Richard Says:
Nose: Fennel seed, old cigars, and over cooked (not quite burnt) caramel.
Palate: Delicious spicy and sweet candy. Black pepper, polished wood, cinnamon jelly beans, leather, tobacco, spearmint gum, and Mars bars.
Finish: Peppery, minty, woody, and lingering. All in the best way.
Comments: Sadly, I missed the first iteration of Bourye. I wasn’t as firmly on the High West bandwagon at that time. So I can’t compare the two but I can say that this is stellar whiskey. It has all the right parts firing on all the right cylinders.
Rating: Must Try

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