Pinhook Bourbon N Rye

EDIT: 2/21/18 Oh man... has this opened up. Still lively, but the youth is soft late spring fruits, herbs, morning dew, and fresh flowers! The mouthfeel seems thicker somehow. The balance of spice and herb and floral with sweet baked honey cornbread is perfect, with both sides of the equation packing punches of flavor. This is a winner of a rye right here. If you like Pikesville, I think you'd like this, though prepare yourself for more of the botanicals and less HH nutty yeast character. Pinhook Bourbon N Rye Straight Rye Whiskey 93.5 proof, Lot 001 2/15/18 Freshly cracked wax top. Should be interesting to revisit in a month. A: Tarnished gold. beady droplets make thin legs that disperse N: Caramel corn and freshly baked honey corn bread, sweet, a bit honey, a bit corn, with some warm toastiness. Air time reveals the rye grain spice. T: Super light! Like apple juice. This must be some young whiskey. Upfront it's grainy in a positive way. The oaky oils manifest in a resinous, sappy feel and flavor, with an almost piney tang. The fruit notes are an assortment of different fresh apples, estery. The profile descents into more familiar rye territory further and further, bringing marjoram, thyme, and caraway to the fore. F: The finish is the lingering herbal bitterness of the marjoram, thyme, and caraway notes. It reminds me like having chewed a seed of bishop's weed (carom seed). Not exactly short, but is only the lingering of those last flavor notes, straightforward. O: Nothing super-complex, but there are enough notes for this to be interesting, and I'd take it as an everyday rye over baby Saz and Bulleit... but not over Rittenhouse.

Pinhook is the Castle & Key’s sourced juice. This is my follow up to Bourbon Country (bourbon.) That one was solid. Definitely worth giving one of their rye batches a go, so let’s check it out. Nose: Rye bread. Black pepper. Pistachio and mint chocolate. Vanilla and walnut. Apple and cinnamon (think Apple Jacks.) Heavy rye spice, clove, nutmeg, and oak. Palate: Rye spice and dill. Rye bread. Gala apple. Fudge. Apple and Cinnamon Apple Jacks again. Pistachio and mint chocolate have fallen to the background, accompanied by caramel and vanilla. Black pepper, clove, nutmeg, and oak. Finish: Pistachio, walnut, and almond. Mint chocolate and vanilla Gala apple that lends itself to a Apple Jack’s Cinnamon and Apple note—again. Black pepper, cinnamon, clove, nutmeg, and oak. Long finish, which exceeds my expectation of a 46.75% ABV whiskey. This is a winner. Nose, palate, and finish all score high. VFM adds an even greater boost considering this only ran me $35. I am very impressed, and some of these notes are extremely unique, which adds to the mystique. This one beats the Bourbon Country—which is the bourbon batch that Castle & Key put out at the time they did this—by a decent bit. 4.25/5.

I can't seem to step away from this whiskey. It is extremely refreshing in a world that advocates for smoke, tobacco, and char. This whiskey is in a world of its own. The nose is sweet and perfume forward, yet has a persistent young wood/fruit wood smell. Anyone that has smoked or grilled with an apple/cherry wood will recognize the odor. On the front, there is very unique crisp and lemony sense. With most ryes you have a massive peppery bomb, but this is much more subdued. It has almost an herbiness to the pepper notes. Like a fresh arugula. The finish is my favorite part. It has a cooling, menthol like finish with almost 0 pepper accents. It is very refreshing. This is an amazingly rare whiskey that goes great with any white fish or lighter seafood dish.

Fresh mown hay and grass, green Apple, chamomile flowers, clove spice. This MGP-sourced 95/5% Rye/barley juice has been aged just enough to soften a bit, while retaining its major rye spice and herbaceous taste. A drop or two of mineral water brings it alive. It’s VERY different—a Canadian Whiskey or Scotch drinker’s Rye—but a limited availability treat at a great price. Worth seeking out!

I usually steer away from the ryes but this one...this one is delicious! One the nose I get freshly picked apples, Allspice and hints of vanilla pudding. The palate delivers apple crumble, nutmeg, peppercorn, cloves and rye. This rye is perfectly balanced and is the ONLY rye I keep on hand.

Nose is sweet: perfume aroma, apple/cherry wood, lemon rind. Taste: herbal, minty, and floral on the palette. Crisp. Green apples, lemon, herbs, arugula, allspice, nutmeg, esters, and of course woody. Easy to drink, sweet, and florescent.