Dad's Hat Single Barrel Cask Strength Pennsylvania Straight Rye

Rating: 19/23 I tried this a bit over a year ago and was taken aback by how good it was. It wasn't the best thing I'd ever had by any means, but it was easily one of the best ryes. I wanted to run out and get one, but they're not so easy to come by. Fast forward to now and I've finally gotten my hands on a bottle. Hopefully it's as good as the sample I tried previously. N: It's actually kind of floral with passionfruit at first. That's surprising. Some rich woody maturity grows out of that, bringing occasionally hints of rose water with it. What is going on here? Finally, I start getting a rye bitterness, with kind of a bitter root character to it. It fits in with the other scents though. Gradually, I get some dry woody spiciness, but it doesn't take over. This isn't terribly complex, but it's surprisingly balanced and quite interesting. I'm enjoying it. P: This is much bolder and more fiery than the nose suggested. I do get some floral vanilla with passionfruit and hints of rose water though. Very interesting. Of course, I also get a big woody tannic flavor with bitter chocolate and beets. The alcohol doesn't really show that much. There are spices, of course. They just come right out of the dry wood. Licorice is here too. Possibly a touch of leather. It's a bold profile with a decadent character. There's some complexity, but it isn't blowing me away. F: Licorice, bitter vanilla, some woody tannins and spice. - Conclusion - There's a nice boldness to this that brings with it a decadence and a sense of maturity. I really wouldn't have guessed that this is only 4 years old, though I'm not sure how old I would have guessed. Certainly more than 6. I find this to be at least competitive with Wild Turkey Rare Breed bourbon (18/23). This is probably better. It's also definitely competitive with Belle Meade Cask Strength Reserve (19/23). I can imagine this being a little better, but not a whole lot better. Russell's Reserve Single Barrel Rye (17/23) is mellower and more approachable. Honestly, it's easier to sip. Still, I like the profile that this has better. It's intensely bitter, but it kind of tastes like what a rye should be. I feel like this and Whistlepig PiggyBack (16/23) have kind of nailed the two "true rye" profiles, whereas a lot of others end up more in the bourye vicinity. That said, tasting this next to the Russell's, I do quite like the Russell's. Moving on to Jack Daniel's Single Barrel Barrel Proof (21/23)... I seem to be out. Cracking a new bottle, I get some of those usual decadent flavors, but also a meatiness that I hope will work itself out with time. Aside from the meatiness, the bottle is delicious. I'll give it a while so that I can find out if what I have is a bad bottle or a bottle that just needs to be left alone for a while. Right now, I would definitely say that the Dad's Hat is better. This is highly competitive with (though quite different from) my Total Wine pick of Balcones True Blue Cask Strength (19/23). They're very similar in quality. The Balcones is more of a flawed masterpiece, whereas this is more of a brilliant execution of something that is a bit rough in concept. I'm looking at a 19 for the Dad's Hat. It's just so big and bold and decadent. It's not perfect, but wow it sure is a find.

Rating: 19/23 N: Rich and sweet with a mild nuttiness and some rye spice with a little dill. There's some bitter wood in here that suggests creosote. The alcohol surprisingly doesn't really come through. P: This really hits with the rich dill and full rye flavor. It's super spicy, but there really isn't a ton of harshness hidden in the spice, despite the proof. There's some nice apple and great creosote flavor in here with a little licorice to it. It's almost like licking a railroad tie. It's leathery and spicy. It makes me think of Joseph Magnus, actually. This has a bigger, bolder flavor than Kings County Empire rye does by a long shot. It's richer, less sweet, and has some big, distinct notes that really grab me. F: The leathery creosote with spices and alcohol fullness kind of lingers. A dash of apple shows from time to time, but that's really the gist. The finish lingers for a long time and it's very enjoyable. - Conclusion - I really didn't know what to expect going into this, but this is an excellent rye! I've spent a while on the fence with various ryes wondering which is better than which and landing repeatedly in the 16ish range. That isn't happening here: this is an exceptional rye! It beats Kings County Empire Rye and is at least very close to Russell's Reserve Single Barrel (it may actually even be better). If I had to make the call right now, I'd probably give the win to this Dad's Hat. And that's saying something. The rye flavor is kind of like what is found in Belle Meade Reserve, but it's stronger and fuller here (which makes since considering that this is pure rye). This compares favorably with the Belle Meade. This fullness, richness, maturity, and complexity here are awesome. This is just such a delight to drink. There's no world in which this is less than a 17. I'm looking in the 17 to 20 range most likely. I don't see it going past a 21. With all of the comparisons I've done, I'm thinking of giving this an 18. The one that I'm pretty sure is better than this is Joseph Magnus, which I think I gave a 20 or 21. I'm not sure that the Belle Meade is better, but the Pikesville and Whistlepig PiggyBack didn't seem as far behind side-by-side as I'd expected. I think I need to go with at least an 18. I might go up to a 19 here, but I could just as easily stick with 18. Considering how well it compares with other spirits, I think I'm going to go with the 19. In particular, the Belle Meade was very close to this and I gave it a 19. This might be my highest rated rye yet! And it deserves to be so because this is an excellent dram. It reminds me a bit of Jack Daniel's Single Barrel Barrel Proof in how it leverages its high ABV to condense and enhance its flavor rather than just to concentrate the alcohol and squash any complexity. They aren't otherwise very similar, but I think that the Jack Daniel's is a bit better overall. I expect that this is actually fairly young, but I would have guessed that it was around a 9 year old MGP if I were tasting blind. I'd be interested to know exactly how old this barrel was when bottled, but if it was under 6 years old, somebody has struck gold over there in the rapid aging department. Wow! I need to track down a bottle of this! Thank you @ctbeck11 for the sample!

Right before the pandemic, February 29th, 2020, local FW&GS stores had a one-day flash sale. Knob Creek 9 Year was $19.99 for 750 mL; Maker's 46 was $29.99 and Dad's Hat PA Straight Rye was $35.99. You probably understand what a deal those first two were, but have little sense that the Dad's Hat is usually $54.99, so that was $20 off, which was really the only way I was going to try an unknown quantity of unknown quality that usually goes for +50. And the first sips of Dad's Hat Straight Rye were rough. I like rye but up until then my experience was Rittenhouse and Overholt. Dad's Hat is among the rye-ist ryes I've ever had in that it tastes a lot like a deli sandwich with a punch of rye and dill hitting you hard with a vanilla sweetness and cinnamon tang buried underneath. For this reason, Dad's Hat is going to be divisive. I liked it a lot by the middle of the bottle, and by the end, I meant to try more Dad's Hat products, but never got around to it. I discovered Sagamore, and as far as small rye distiller's go, they grabbed my heart with their tequila-finished rye. From there I rushed out to pick up another bottle of that as well as a single barrel cask strength and the 8 year. Now Dad's Hat isn't too far from me and I also keep meaning to visit the Distillery, but it's just far enough that I have also never gotten around to it. But I follow them on social media, and they posted a picture of their Cask Strength product a few weeks ago nothing that it was only available at their Distillery or at a certain shop in the Reading Terminal Market off Jefferson Station in Philly. Given that Reading Terminal Market is easier to get to than Bristol for me, I figured this was the solution to the fact that I coveted the Cask Strength, and on a recent trip to the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, I took the opportunity to pop into the market and nab this, and it's a real treat. Though like I've said, it's divisive. What this most reminds me of is Alberta Premium Cask Strength, so if you've had that, you can get a sense of the flavor profile here. From my review of that, you also know that when the proof gets this high, I like to drop an ice cube in it as opposed to knocking it back straight. In fact, that's my preference for anything once the proof passes 120. I always try it straight first to get a sense of what the product is like in its uncut state, then I usually finish the rest of the bottle with cubes. Building upon the standard product (or at least my memory of it), this is strong with the rye spice and dill, the caramel and vanilla creaminess undergirding it, a cinnamon punch coming in at the finish. The mouthfeel is what makes it a treat. It's extremely creamy, so combing with those tastes, it's like a melted down candy of an alcoholic variety. Now this isn't for the faint of heart. I see one review here already where the guy couldn't stand it, and that's actually understandable, as I don't think this is going to be up everyone's alley. It's the anchovy pizza of rye whisky, but if you have a taste for really rye profiles, this is a treat. And if you find yourself at Reading Terminal, it's worth the $70 your gonna drop on it if this sounds good to you.

Dad’s Hat uses a farm to bottle approach that is crafted using local ingredients and rye grain grown in Pennsylvania. I’d never heard of this one until @ctbeck11 gave me a bottle of their single barrel that was picked out by Total Wine with a minimum age of 3 years and bottled at 61.9%. The nose starts with a rye flavored Coke then fresh baked pumpernickel bread slathered with honey butter followed by fruits of peach cobbler, sour apple candy and tangerine orange that transition to toasted caraway seeds, pine needles and forest floors with high ethanol burn. The taste is a rich and creamy mouthfeel starting with a rye flavored Coke then fresh baked pumpernickel bread slathered with honey butter followed by a high drying spice that slowly fades to dark chocolate and fruits of caramelized brown sugar coated peach, apple pie with vanilla ice cream on top and candied orange peel that transition to toasted caraway seeds, spearmint, leather and polished oak with high ethanol burn. The finish is long with orange flavored dark chocolate, moderate ashy rye spices, leather and polished oak that lingers for minutes. This is a rich and creamy rye that really packs the flavors in with the main flaw of the high spice on the mid-palate that throws it off for me. If you’re a fan of spicy high proof ryes, this would be incredible and I’m really impressed with how great this one is for such a young whiskey. I decided to do a side by side with a Russell’s Reserve Single Barrel and they were really close to each other but the Russell’s was the winner for me due to the lower spice. The Russell’s also had an advantage of an additional 5 years of aging, so it’d be really interesting when Dad’s Hat comes out with some older stock to compare them then. For $60, this is an incredible VFM and one to look out for.

Nose - baked apple, earthy mint, pine, cashew butter, cocoa, clove, allspice, leather, dill, cinnamon, anise, caramel, spiced vanilla, yeast, herbal tea, moderate to high ethanol burn. Taste - mint, anise, leather, pine, clove, allspice, caramel, toasted barley, dry vanilla, dill, tar, spiced apple, wood polish, cinnamon, black tea, dark chocolate, high alcohol bite, finishing medium long with leather, mint, spiced apple, and strong baking spice flavors. I really enjoy the standard Dad’s Hat, so when I saw this single barrel cask strength bottling for around $60, I knew it would be coming home with me. Interestingly, it’s been a year since I bought the bottle and the store still has a lot of stock, so I don’t think it’s selling very well. The nose provides the classic Monongahela aromas but punchier than I’ve encountered before, with spiced apple, cashew butter nuttiness, minty rye spices, and roasty toasty barley notes. The palate carries much of the same, but with strong, tannic leather and a varnish-like quality I liken to wood polish. Overall, this is delicious rye at a good price point, especially given that it’s under four years old. It’s rich, spicy, and bold. Everything I like in a rye. Grab one if you see it on the shelf.

Uncorked pick, "Gallenstein Selection #1" Barrel No. 8 Barreled - 09-09-2016 Bottled - 09-23-2021 Age - 5 years, 13 days 65.9% abv; 131.8 proof Open 2 years Nose - Sharp, sour dill pickle, black pepper, strong rye spices, conifers, burnt marshmallow, light oak, and strong ethanol. Palate - Immediate black pepper and rye spices, pickles, toffee, raw ginger, rye bread, and pine needles. Finish is long with strong black pepper, wood finishing oils, lemon peel, pine, real maple syrup, and strong ethanol. If I take 2 years to review something, it's because it's either too light for my taste (old Scotch), or I struggle picking out anything I like about 1 glass. This obviously falls into the latter category. Don't get me wrong, it's not terrible. But if you can believe it, it is spicier than almost anything I've tried from MGP or Alberta Premium with a lower rye content (80 rye/15 malted barley/5 malted rye). If you are looking for spicy ryes, there are so many good cask strength options from MGP that are older and more enjoyable for this price. I would be interested in trying something that is closer to 8 years to see if those harsh pepper and pickle notes die down.