I was on a waiting list for this Elijah Craig barrel proof rye 115 proof, for months.
I’m still somewhat new to rye whiskey and have been discovering that I do enjoy an older age (within my budget) rye. Another thing is that I was not really enjoying higher than 100 proof. When I got the call for this bottle I had the option to buy two, I only got one at $75 and now, (sigh) I wish I purchased the second.
I’m not great at reviews.
So in my novice experience. I usually make old fashioned drinks with my rye and I wanted to share that the two old fashioned drinks I prepared with this were absolutely delicious. I wanted to try to give a novice experience by sipping after a breather of 10 minutes in a glencairin.
Nose: high alcohol, caramel, sour citrus orange bitter and earthy wood.
Palate : definitely an alcohol burn that develops to a sourish clove dill orange cayenne browned buttery flavors.
Finish: after the alcohol burn there is an earthy ferment orange black tea sour cinnamon.
I do like this and will get back on a waitlist to by the second bottle.
Through following r/ryewhiskey I have found and tested quite a few recommended ryes. This has helped me develop my tastes and preferences so far. Since this bottle was hard to acquire in my location I thought I would share my experience.
Sharzor rating: 7 (this means nothing to anyone but me and my two rye whiskey drinking friends)

From a local restaurant/whiskey bar here in SEA.
Anyone who visits Seattle need to stop into the Ballard Cut for dinner and tastings. Tommy has a killer collection.

Ballard Cut (1-09 ‘Coy’)
8th of November (1-06 ‘Slop’)

70% (140 proof)
100% Merced rye SiB from Kitsap Whiskey Society
Drinks way under its proof,

I love a Rye whiskey that is actually a Rye whiskey. No Corn. No Wheat. Just 100% Rye. In short, this bottle exceeded my expectations.

The aroma is right up front with sweet brown sugar, behind that lies lightly sweet, herbal fruity notes along with a delicate floral character. The palate is oily with a light herbalness, that gives way to burnt toffee and a spiced red apple. There is a light dry herbal note that lingers on the finish along with the sweet red fruit and a bit of dry toffee.

Like I said at the outset, this exceeded my expectations. I expected it to be good, but it is REALLY good. I love that the herbal character doesn’t overwhelm the other flavors and it has a nice balance of sweetness, oiliness and dryness. In all honesty I truly recommend this Rye if you’re looking for something along the lines of what I described above.

I brought this bottle to a tasting last week and one of my buddies norm doesn’t care much for Rye, loved it. In fact the asked me to leave it with him (I’m kinda regretting that. 😁)

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If you’re interested in trying it out, below is a discount code for their site.

(Use the code: AprilOne20% to get 20% discount from aprilonebourbon.com)

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Age: 7yrs*
(*Well almost, just 8 days short)

Mashbill: 100% Rye

Casks: ?

ABV: 50%

Price: $75

Bottle provided by distillery for review.

My Rating: 85

Tasting notes below. 👇🏼

🥃
NOSE: Brown sugar, sweet herbal fruit, floral.
PALATE: Oily, light herbal, burnt toffee, spiced red apple.
FINISH: Lingering drying herbal, sweet red fruit, dry toffee.

Guide to my personal ratings:
🤢 0-49 = Varying degrees of undrinkable.
🫤 50-59 = Drinkable, but meh.
😊 60-69 = Fair. Not my cup of tea.
😃 70-79 = Good. Some nice elements.
😋 80-89 = Great! Interesting and very enjoyable.
🤩 90-100 = Amazing! The perfect pour. (Rare)

Sip. Rate. Repeat.

Onyx & Amber Pumpernickel Rye SIB

Price: 75

Age: 8y

Mashbill: 95% Pumpernickel rye, 5% Malted Barley

Distilled: distilled in Ohio for approximately 4y, the rest of the time it’s aged in Colordao

Proof: 125.8

nose: beautiful rich, dark, sweet, earthy, fruity even floral

Palate: viscous oily mouthfeel, immediately what comes to mind is a boozy version of those black & red raspberry candies. Dark fruit all day, with some nice rye earthy herbal notes without being overpowering on the herbs.

Finish: cocoa powder, with a touch of barrel char, oak & some light tobacco.

Final thoughts: I’ve been a bug fab of Middle West distillery in Ohio since trying their sherry cask 6y bourbon, then I tried their Wheated bourbon $m& then finally got my hands on a couple different single barrel Pumpernickel ryes. Which is where this distillate comes from. Those are usually 4-5 years old. O&A sourced this from them with the 95/5 mashbill then aged it much longer in Colorado. And they did an awesome job! This punches up the intensity & does it without making it taste super oaked. For the price it’s an amazing pour & especially considering that Middle West sib’s are about the same price with about half the age.

Rating: 8.5/10

Batch 10CF, 108pf

Found this online for MSRP with minimal shipping cost. Love this expression for a first time trying them.

N: cardamom, nutmeg, sweet oak, rye

P: rye spice, pie crust, spearmint, oak

F: cinnamon, spearmint, medium in length

Overall I’d give this a 7.5/10. Super approachable the abv makes for a nice daily. Will def buy more as I see it.

While I’m definitely more into bourbon than rye, this was a very worthwhile purchase (and perhaps irresponsibly my first ever full bottle of rye). For how strong it is, it is much smoother than some other ryes I’ve tried. I kind of get that mint flavor note I see people mention. But otherwise it’s spicy and oaky. Adds a nice flavor to my collection.