Redemption High Rye Bourbon Single Barrel Select

Of all the store picks I had last year, this was the store pick I was most blown away by, and it encouraged me to look into the standard issue high-rye bourbon. Begin soap box: If you can’t find the redemption high-rye bourbon locally, look in your rye section. I can’t figure out why the hell multiple chains in my area, stores that *should* know better when it comes to stuff like this, keep putting this next to the Redemption Rye in the rye section rather than the Redemption Bourbon in the bourbon section. I felt strongly enough about this that I discussed it with the manager of a major chain out of curiosity (let’s just call them Wise Guys for the sake of argument). She tried to tell me this was both a bourbon and a rye because it was a bourbon that had rye in it. I discontinued the conversation. Unless I’m missing something obvious here, “high rye bourbons” are… you know… bourbons. They’re not ryes. And fun fact: Ryes aren’t bourbons. They’re ryes. There’s no such thing as a whiskey that is both a bourbon and a rye, unless you figure out how to simultaneously have 51% corn and 51% rye in your mashbill. Even if you were to mix a rye with a bourbon (which is distinctly not what is happening here) it’s not a bourbon anymore. This is a “high rye bourbon” because it has a mashbill with 36% rye (60% corn). For comparison, Four Roses mashbill #2 uses 35% rye (60% corn), but you don’t see people attempting to label it as some weird, innovative, fusion product. Put the delicious Redemption High Rye Bourbon where it belongs. Which is with the bourbons. Because it’s a damn bourbon. End soap box. Barrel No: 21-196 ABV: 52.5% Barreled: 10/10/16 Bottled: 5/25/21 Nose hits you upfront with a musk. Dusty. Basement floor. There is still sugar, apple, tangerine. I don’t get the honey that I do in the standard issue, and this is overall less sweet. There’s a new perfume note too, something like a fabric softener or a detergent. Cider too. In comparison, body is less complex than I had hoped. There’s loads of caramel and apple. Strong bitter leather note. Walnuts. It’s solid. Finish is cinnamon, more sugar and caramel. I can stretch the apple, but it’s only barely there. Mild orange note at the end of the finish. Cinnamon is the champ here. I hate it is when this happens. This is solid, but now that I’ve had the standard issue, it’s impossible not to be let down by this whiskey. It really is good, it’s just not as good as I want it to be. I think there is some default expectation that a “selection” will in some way be better, and it’s just not the case here. I’m going to enjoy this bottle, but when compared to it’s cheaper counterpart, this is shallower and steers it’s focus away from that caramel apple profile that was so amazing in the high rye bourbon. Probably won’t buy this pick again, but I will buy different store picks of this label in the future. This product line is just too exciting to me. P.S.: These are bourbons y’all. They’re not ryes.

Total Wine & More selection, barrel #20-079. I've always loved Redemption products. I think the standard high rye bourbon was one of my very first bottles that I had ever purchased, probably some time before I ever thought I'd start collecting. That was when my bar consisted of an upturned milk carton... Wow, how time does fly. I was not aware that they made single barrel offerings, let alone barrel picks; I suppose this could be new, though, since I had to add it to Distiller. But today I found this along with a rum cask aged rye, which was also new to me (maybe next time on that one). It's been a while, but I do remember the rye being potent on the nose (duh). Whereas this barrel still holds true to that, the ethanol is what hits hardest upon first sniff. I'm too lazy to look this up now, but I'm fairly certain this, at 105 proof, is slightly higher than the standard product, it's just hitting harder than I expected. Also on the nose is great, lightly charred oak, and mild vanilla. Speaking of rum from before, there's also a slight sugar sweetness, which bonds nicely with the spice and punch. So maybe I wasn't crazy with that whole sugar sweetness thing. The first taste brings a whole lot of sweet to my tongue, while the rye works into my outer gums before presenting itself. I can tell the corn is the star here (which is odd since 60% is not necessarily high corn content for a bourbon), with the sweet from that combining well with the unknown age and oak. It tastes like vanilla and sugar cane are the leading profiles, but it feels more well rounded than that, likely the rye doing a fine job in bringing the cinnamon gum burn in at just the right moment. The finish shows that the whiskey itself has a fairly light body, but the grain, particularly the high rye content, linger around to continue to showcase the base flavor. I'm happy to say that I enjoyed this slightly more than I anticipated. I didn't think it was going to be bad, by any means, but I'm really enjoying how this tastes both very unique and yet still standard. The friendly, cute employee used one descriptor of this being "complex," and although I detest that as an adjective, comparatively, it isn't far off. If one were to believe that rye bourbon is the only true bourbon (they would certainly have good values, assuredly), then this carries that belief to an even higher level by putting all the focus on the grain combo at it's roots, and gives no other gimmicks. Sure it's a single barrel and uniqueness is implied, but this is also what I remember from the standard high rye bourbon bottle, and this was clearly a good pick.

Surprise find at Total Wine. Let’s see what we have here; says “Indiana” so like most Redemption products it’s MGP, it’s a 105 proof barrel pick, NAS but it’s “straight” so we have at least 4 years old, and non-chill filtered (yay!) Nose is straight up peanut butter. So much so that it makes any other review where I have detected heavy peanut on the nose pale by comparison. There’s some vanilla, honeysuckle, pomegranate, and ethanol in there as well, but peanut butter leads the way. On the palate, tastes just like it smells. Hate to be repetitive, but big peanut butter and vanilla flavors. Not complex at all, but what’s here is tasty. Finish and mouthfeel is where is where we have some youth showing through; finish is hot with considerable bite, and is pretty short. And it’s not really cinnamon or “baking spices”; just heat. While a flaw, it does help offset the sweetness a little. Some tea leaf after everything else fades. Mouthfeel is grainy AF. Is “sandpapery” a word? Well it is now. I liked this probably more than most will because I LOVE peanuty whiskeys. But like loving an ugly child, I see it’s flaws too. At $45, it’s not a rebuy because I can get this same profile at a higher proof for less money in the recent 5 yr Smooth Ambler Old Scout Total Wine pick. (Also MGP) If you don’t have access to one and enjoy peanuts in your whiskey, this might be worth a go.

Pick by Orange County ABC Board Barrel No. 21-189 Barreled on 10-10-2016; Bottled on 05-24-2021 Age: 4 years, 7 months, 14 days 52.5% abv; 105 proof Open 3 weeks Nose - Spicy caramel, vanilla, boiled peanut brine, cinnamon, allspice, caramelized green apple, heavy grain, and medium oak and ethanol. Palate - Peanut brittle, sweet oak, boiled peanuts, burnt caramel, light toffee, light apple, and light ethanol. Finish is medium with a lot of grain and rye spice, light caramel, light peanut, and a pleasant sweet cereal note at the end. This is a new offering in NC, and something I've passed up at Total Wine in SC. For the price I figured why not. I really appreciate the transparency on the bottle about the barrel, mashbill, and source. This is quite a bit better than other more expensive MGP products like Old Soul, Old Scout, and Penelope. It's close to Belle Meade and Smoke Wagon, but I believe the age and proof hold it back slightly. I regret passing up the barrel proof in SC, and hopefully I can snag one in the future. For $45 this is an excellent buy considering the market of sourced MGP.

Despite declaring this “not a rebuy” the last time, on impulse decided to buy another pick. (What can I say? I was a little lit) This time from “Fox Cigar Bar” in Gilbert AZ. (This review will focus on the differences between this pick and my full review, so is mostly for my own notes and will be of limited use to anyone outside the Phoenix AZ area) Nose: where the last pick I had was straight up peanut butter, this one is less sweet and softer overall. Musty oak, and patchouli oil. Very different and not an improvement. Palate: The peanut goodness of the last bottle of this I had are nowhere to be found here. Some rye bread, baking spices, and wood. There is some nuttiness, but more like a bitter walnut. Very bright and sharp bourbon. All jagged edges, and nothing comes together well. Needs some sweetness for balance, and it’s just not there. Finish is more of the same and doesn’t really develop. Let this be lesson; let the buyer beware when it comes to store picks. Whomever picked this, let’s just say their palate doesn’t match mine. Serious misfire. Won’t be sad to see it go.

MOORE STREET OYSTER BAR SOUTHPORT PICK Barrel No. 20-250... Barreled 7/31/15... Bottled 6/12/20 *NOSE: Pours into the Glencairn a great Mahogany color and features notes of Brown Sugar, Citrus, Dry Oak, Cinnamon, Savory Spices, and Cocoa Powder. *NEAT: Syrupy, Clingy Mouthfeel yields Slightly Bitter Citrus, Oak Tannins, Dry Weathered Oak, Brown Sugar, Medicinal Cherry, Cinnamon, Hay, and Black Pepper. Warm Building Finish reminds you it's 105 Proof leaving behind a nice layering coating of Cherry, Cocoa Powder, and Tannins. *SPLASH: Gives the Palate a "Buttery" quality and reduces the Medicinal Quality of the Cherry note. Be careful, though. Too much water and it picks up a youthful "corny" note. *VERDICT: Very Fairly Priced, Overproofed, Non-Chill Filtered Single Barrel. Young, but Tasty. It's rare that you find decently priced high proof MGP that is worth the money. This is one of those rare instances. Keep in mind, it's a Single Barrel so YMMV, but based on this barrel, I can recommend this one without hesitation.