E.H. Taylor, Jr. Straight Rye

A balanced whiskey made with a unique recipe of only rye & malted barley from Tennessee. Bottled in Bond and named for Colonel Edmund Haynes Taylor - a staunch supporter of the 1897 Bottled in Bond Act, this rye whiskey is aged for 4 years before bottling. It has an oily & sour birth with notes of rye spices, wood, hints of dried peels, orange zest, vanilla & linseed; while life is thick with notes of cooked fruit, caramel, potpourri, rye, black pepper, hints of butterscotch, fresh dill & prune; that leads to a long, sweet & savory death with notes of port, spice & wheat. January / May 2018

NEAT NOSE - Very faint and forgettable nose. Vanilla and honey. PALATE - Smooth, sweet, and pleasant but nothing special. Vanilla, lightly toasted oak, and some rye spice. FINISH - Short with an addition of juicy fruit gum and apples. BUY? - ONLY if you can find it at MSRP and if you just have to have it, like I did. BUY AGAIN? - Most likely not. There’s quite a few ryes that I would rather have that are cheaper than this with more proof and flavor (in my opinion). I’d also reach for them more often which would just turn this into a dust magnet. It’s good, but overhyped.

The nose is a wonderful mix of creamy oak, bubblegum, floral rye and sweet fruit. It comes across as very well balanced and unmistakably rye. Its very approachable and draws you in for a sip. The palate starts with a burst of rye spice that gently builds up, along with creamy oak and sweet fruit. It is very simple yet full flavored, packing a lot of body. The finish is long, spicy and oaky. The palate lingers in the mouth and offers a bit of a chew for more flavor. A wonderful sipping rye.

Oh man, this is real good. Really Good. Almond was first thought on the nose. Then went to menthol and mint... And Floral. Perfume, floral, spearmint, menthol, layer below cocoa powder and a moment of coffee. Like two layers to the flavor. Oily on the tongue, which is my favorite. Cinnamon moment. Finish is long luscious, oily and herbaceous. While there is a sweetness just below the surface it's definitely told to stay in the background... Depth.. Yeah, great glass of Rye

Nose: Banana Laffy Taffy, Cotton Candy, Clove, Honey, Burnt Bread, Peaches, Generic Rye Sweetness, Alcohol. Palate: Honey, Rye Toast, Banana Taffy, Pepper, Cherry, Oak, Caramel. A great bottle of rye, again if you can find it at MSRP, but that seems to be a reoccurring theme with most Buffalo Trace products. A bit heavy with the ethyl alcohol notes on the nose bur still awesome. Rich, sweet, and peppery. Not overly complex, but it still provides a robust and enjoyable taste.

Delicious. The burn of black pepper on the nose turns to white pepper on the palate. It definitely tastes like a young high rye whiskey, but has a lot of complexity. There’s no corn in the mash bill, but the wood char comes through with pleasant vanillin that after about 20 minutes in the glass turned toward ripe banana for me. The finish is long and stings a little (in a good way) on the mid center of the tongue that reveals some cinnamon.