Locke + Co Aspen Aged Rye

On the nose: Smells like a young, underripe rye. Most likely because I’m unfamiliar with aspen wood and how it smells/tastes. Small hint of sweet vanilla. Taste: Spicy at first as it draws you through the middle of an aspen tree. Slightly floral, peppery, and slightly bitter because of the aspen wood. Bitter is not bad! It’s nice to let the Rye spice breathe instead of covering it with oak. This is a fun one. Finish: Spicy, slightly sweet, and slightly bitter and earthy from the aspen. Almost finishes earthy.

THIS IS SIMPLY A TERRIBLE RYE Flaviar sample box “Spirit of the Rockies” December, 2022 Sample B Pour/color: a dense liquid that is medium gold in color Nose: Smoky, deep grain with some earthy notes. First taste: Caramels present, but barley flavor dominates and lingers with some grass/green notes Finish: dull and not terribly complex Score: 2

Nose - sharp rye grain and sweet vanilla, herbal notes that are hard to nail down probably from the Aspen wood Taste - sharp rye spice and mild bitterness from the wood, some light sweetness Finish - dry and spicy, interesting and different

Woody aroma. There is an interesting mix of spice with toffee and caramel. There are some wood notes in the finish as well. Overall, not bad. But not outstanding either.

I’ve been through two bottles of this. The first bottle was batch one, and was the best rye I’ve ever had. The second was batch two and I won’t be finishing that bottle.

First sniff has notes of vanilla and woody smoked spice. First taste has notes of toffee and light floral notes with a light spicy finish.