Redemption Straight Rye

This will cap off my run through the basic Redemption lineup. This is one of the old school cylindrical bottles; they’ve changed it a couple times since then. This bottle points out that this whiskey is less than 4 years old. 95% rye mash bill, doesn’t specify the rest. I appreciate the transparency, which I don’t recall seeing on the bottle of the Bourbon from a year ago. Batch No: 186, Bottle No. 1951. Nose: Sourdough. Black pepper. Lemon citrus. Peppermint. Almond slices and macadamia nuts. Vanilla and toffee. After getting into the palate a couple times, I detedt the peach sweet tea note that is so prominent in the palate. Palate: Caramel and vanilla. Mint chocolate. Pistachio. Some apple. Dill. Black licorice. Sourdough. A lot of the standby rye notes. Peach sweet tea. Strong honey note. It’s very sweet for a rye, if you aren’t getting that impression from the notes. Finish: Mint chocolate. Pistachio. Black pepper, clove, and nutmeg. Cinnamon Apple Jack’s. Caramel, toffee, and vanilla. More black pepper. There’s a lot of that. Moderate length. This first entered appeared on my radar because a friend of mine told me it was one of the worst whiskies he has ever had. Not to be deterred, I gave this a crack anyway. And I must say, I really have no idea what he was talking about. And this is a guy who is usually on the money—but not here. Before I bought this, my opinion of Redemption was really informed by my experiences with the rest of their line. The core range is respectable—that High Rye Bourbon BP is fantastic. As for the whiskey at hand, it’s surprisingly good. Some exotic notes mixed into a standard but clean, bready rye whiskey profile. At $28, this is a fine deal. I have this at a 3.5, boosted to 3.75 when factoring in VFM. Solid stuff. Looking forward to hunting down the High Rye Bourbon next.

Nose: Green apples with freshly lightly toasted rye bread on the side, fresh spearmint, orange peel and sweet tamarind, a touch of lemon oil, chamomile flowers, light berries (raspberries, cranberries, ripe strawberry, blueberries), slight vanilla, peach and apricot marmalade, fresh charred oak by the Carolina coast (sea salt), slightly sweet herbal notes (sweet spearmint), slightly stale honey, slightly bitter charred oak, faint old leather, fresh lemon pith, light toffee, cinnamon and clove, some watermelon hard candies Palate: Strong chamomile tea, rye bread, rye spice (cinnamon, nutmeg, clove, cardamom), a touch of honey, strong brewed orange pekoe tea, gentle white pepper, some sweet Hungarian paprika, sweet rye, some sweet caramel, sweet tea, orange peel Finish: A touch of bubblegum, mixed fruits (apricot, sweet banana, cherry), tangy rye spiciness, mixed apple skins, tart oakiness, some old caramel

If this is supposed to be a gateway into rye whiskey - I might just keep the gate CLOSED. Apparently shocking only me - it smells deeply of rye bread (and maybe a hint of spearmint?) All of this puts the nose outside of my normal expectations of 'whiskey' and I'm having a hard time embracing it. The juice itself leaves much to be desired presenting a quick spicy burst and a bit of icy proof and then... nothing. There is nearly zero flavor on the back of the tongue and mouth

Made for cocktails. This is not something to drink neat. Spice and ginger on the nose. The flavor of the rye is similar to the nose with the addition of some lemon. A very spicy rye here. Not surprising given the mashbill. Lacks any sort of complexity. What you see is what you get, and it isnt much.

A delicate, whiskey from Indiana that has an aromatic birth with notes of grain, wood, fruits, flowers, herbs & spices; while a balanced life adds notes of citrus & rye, that led to a balanced death of medium length with notes of oak, rye spice & a touch of mint. January / May 2017 / August 2022

The aromas are reminiscent of sweet baking spices, oak, and caramel. The flavors are dominated by allspice, cinnamon, and oak. The finish is brief, characterized by notes of caramel and cinnamon. It is two years old and would benefit from an additional two years to improve.