Little Brown Dog’s first-ever American Rye whiskey was distilled in 2017 at an undisclosed distillery in Indiana, US and bottled in 2021 at cask strength, 58.7%.
“”This one was UNSPECIALLY selected… The cask was plucked from obscurity, no agonising over cask samples, no reracking, just a blind pick, and when the cask sample finally came through we realised, we got lucky!”
– @LBDspirits
- Filled 25/10/17 – Disgorged 07/07/21
- Non-chill filtered, natural colour, cask strength.
- Colour – sticky toffee pudding
Appearance: A lovely crisp autumnal amber. Coats the glass well, good medium/thick legs
Nose: Definitely CS! All the usual suspects are there (caramel, brown sugar, vanilla and dark fruits) but ramped up! The butterscotch is especially evident. There’s also a sharper aroma than usual, like stewed fruits.
The ABV is a slight barrier to the more subtle aromas, usually, I can get past it after a few sniffs, but I’m having trouble with this one.
It’s herbal/vegetal qualities start to become evident as the glass matures. Fresh cut grass and hay maybe. I thought I got a whiff of strawberries then, but fleeting. Might be my imagination
Palate: Whoa that’s a spicy meatball. Menthol mouthwash, black pepper, lots of black pepper, mild-medium chilli, sweeter spices too though, cinnamon & nutmeg and cloves. Liquorice is in abundance now.
It’s got a very nice mouthfeel, oilier than most bourbons/American whiskies, almost on a par with Shenks. Grapefruit bitterness.
A drop or two of water brings out the sugars and fructose elements. Fruit pie springs to mind.
Finish: The finish is quite long. The spices and liquorice linger at the front, with melted dark chocolate behind.
Overall: It’s a beast of a whiskey. Unforgiving and maybe not for a newcomer given the ABV and spiciness, but it delivers in flavour for sure! I like the sweet/spicy balance too. As rye whiskies go, this is up there in my books. It’s got the rye spiciness you’d expect and then some. The brown sugar, liquorice and fruitier notes merge well with the herbal/vegetal qualities very nicely.
