Straight rye whiskey produced in Louisville, Kentucky’s Michter’s Distillery. They only use one barrel to produce their superb rye for each bottle.
Appearance: Light caramel. A pleasing thick film forms quickly around the inside of the glass. Many oozy viscous legs trail from the heavy tide mark towards the surface. Some eventual beading occurs around the swirl line.
Nose: The rye is immediately obvious, with black pepper, vegetal note and oak. There’s also the sweeter backing group of caramel, brown sugar and cherry cola syrup.
Blueberry BBQ sauce and charred steak emerge as subtle aromas after a while. Leather is yet another layer to waft up from the glass.
Palate: A pleasant mouthfeel. The black pepper spice hits the throat and chest quickly. Behind that initial heat are those sweet, but now a little bitter notes: blood orange, grapefruit, a touch of milk chocolate mixed with melted butter, blackberry and caramel.
The leather note continues from the nose and seems to be a constant throughout the dram.
Finish: Short to medium in length. Leather, blackberry, melted butter and chocolate and some of the spices all linger for a little time, but the sweeter notes last the longest.
For me, the finish is this drams strongest characteristic.
Overall: A very decent single barrel from a renowned brand. It’s not an incredible whiskey but it’s very ‘solid’ and I’d happily purchase a bottle for my ‘everyday sipper’ cabinet.
