Jefferson's Ocean Aged at Sea Voyage 26 Rye

Given as a birthday gift from my beautiful wife, I have been saving this to celebrate my first day on the new job. This is my second Ocean bottle owned, and probably my fourth or fifth tasted. I am a fan of this series because I love the unique aging at sea, and how nobody had done that before, and it's still not done by anyone now (at least that has good whiskey). Plus, the sea really does add a noticeable layer of sea salt that works well with the barrel notes. The price reflects this well, since there's a lot of added time that it takes for these ships to make their rounds, on top of Jefferson having no competition to this front. As always, I disapprove anyone who ages anything for close to a decade, waits even LONGER with the added sailing time, and then the first thing they do when they dump the barrel is add a bunch of water. I suppose 96 proof could be somewhat worse, but it's a shame there aren't more barrel proof Oceans (or other whiskeys, for that matter), and this does help to upset the price point. One final thing I noticed from my sweep of the bottle and labels is that this is actually a sourced Canadian whiskey, which I normally would be excited for with expectations of good rye strains and a proper 90%+ mash bill. However, with all the added changes to the flavor profile including the sea aging and double barreling, that would be enough to transform the base notes of any whiskey, so let's just see what our final product has become. Not at all surprisingly, the color is quite dark, thanks to the second barreling. It's only slightly lighter than some other double barrel American whiskeys I've had, so it seems the toasted ends did contribute slightly. Traditional (and delicious) rye spice notes found on the nose, slightly sweet, which normally I would think is due to a low rye mash bill, but it's likely from all the extra oak used. Whereas the bourbons in the Ocean series usually have an obvious salty scent from the voyage, this rye only has a very slight astringency that takes away from the other notes. There's both a lot to dissect for the taste, while also being fairly simple. Initially, the rye seeps into the gums a moderate amount, leaving behind a dry mouth feel, but not before the grains start to come alive. Traditional rye flavors are tasted, but it's quite focused on the cinnamon and spicier than some other rye whiskeys I've had recently. I wouldn't have expected this after double barreling and aging at sea, both of which are difficult to pin down against the bold rye grain. The extra oak is tasted closer to the finish, even the toasted oak ends, but I do wish it were more prominent earlier on. The sea aging doesn't seem to have done a lot here, other than the slightly bitter taste up front, and another bit right at the finish. Something done here is a recipe for a damn good rye whiskey. The problem is that too many things are floating around, some competing while others accompany, and it's hard for me to tell which elements helped make this work, and which elements (if any) hindered any flavors. I could do without the dry and bitter notes, which I can only imagine come from the sea aging, and I understand how ironic that is. This creates a whiskey that, although tastes pretty good in the end, isn't worth paying for the extra aging elements that don't provide a positive, noticeable difference. Now, and this may already have been done, but if Kentucky Artisan Distillery wants to make an Ocean bourbon that's also double barreled, I will definitely be on the lookout.

Nose offers some traditional notes of rye spice, caraway seed, and spearmint but also oak, sesame, and charcoal. Ethanol low for the proof, which is a plus. Palate features extra white honey, clove, candy corn, and banana. Untraditional, but not in a compelling way as the overall taste is somewhat bland and yawn inducing. Searching for salinity from the “aged at sea” concept and struggling to find it. Finish brings a little more of an interesting situation in the form of cake icing, light citrus (lime?), cocoa powder, and mint, but it is short except for a lingering toothpaste note and an astringent wood reminiscent of pencil shavings. Mouthfeel is in the thinner side of medium and is quite grainy. Minus points there. A sub standard rye and although it features a secondary barreling, you’d almost never know it as the effect is so subtle. It’s not awful, but also didn’t come together for me at all. At $80, this is a terrible value as I’d rather drink Rittenhouse rye for $26. Not impressed.

Quick Summary: Rather interesting experiment. This is the first Rye in the series. May be borderline gimmicky based on the price tag, but this seems to be a very approachable (yet mysterious) rye. Nose: Light. Kind of sweet. Get pepper and spice for sure. Maybe some marshmallow. Palate: Soft rye notes. Starts a little hot with some serious spice, but then mellows into caramel and leather. Not as rye-forward as expected and that’s not a bad thing. Finish: Dry, almost astringent. You get seasoned oak and some char from the barrel mixed with the spices from the nose. Enjoy: Once or twice. If it was less, I’d say enjoy often.

Nose: toasted oat, dill, cinnamon, marshmallow, caramel apple, pie crust, wet grass, black pepper, and the slight smoke, like a candle jar blown out. Taste: hot cinnamon spice, more baking spices, dark fruits, cherry cola, and red hots. The nose is very good if not too unique for a rye. The mouthfeel is good but with a shockingly hot finish for a sub 50% whiskey. A long lingering heat is felt on the tongue and in the cheeks. I love it. You are paying a premium for the gimmick but rest assured this is tasty stuff.

Nose: starts off with a sweeter almost slat water taffy like nose. Like when you go into a candy shop! But as it sits you get more savory almost like herbs cooked in sherry. Sip: Man i like this. It delivers on the pallet like the nose with more of that herbs cooked in a sherry. Sage, dill maybe, basil, yet with a sweetness. Lingers i to almost a spearamimt realm. I like this better than the bourbon!

Not bad as a sipper. Smooth without much of the spice that I usually associate with a rye. If I didn’t know it was a rye, I would put it as an American Whiskey. Because of the subtle notes and taste, it’s not a good cocktail mixer but it is a good sipper. I purchased for about $40.00 which isn’t a bad price. I’d be somewhat disappointed if I’d paid SRP.