I'll start by saying that I love Angel's Envy Rye (which is also finished in rum barrels), but I don't love the price at around $85. I was excited to see two new rum-finished ryes hit the market this year, first the Redemption and now the Tempelton. While all 3 are made using MGP-sourced 95/5 rye, they are different ages with different amounts of time spent in rum barrels. Angel's Envy is 6-7 years old and finished for 18 months in rum barrels that previously held Cognac. The Redemption is just 2 years old and finished for just 3 months in Jamaican rum casks, so it's very young with a very short finish (and it's not very good). This Templeton Rye Caribbean Rum Cask Finish is 6 years old and finished for 6 months in dark Jamaican Rum casks. The additional age and the additional finish puts it miles ahead of the Redemption, and I'd say about 70% as good as the Angel's Envy - though it's not quite as dessert-like, maybe due to the lack of the Cognac notes. But what you do get are your classic MGP rye notes up front, with a nice finish of tropical fruits, coconut, over-ripe banana (think banana bread), a bit of orange zest, and oak spice. Really, really tasty stuff, and I highly recommend giving it a shot if you're a fan of the Angel's Envy Rye. I was lucky to find this for just $29.99, which is an absolute steal since that's cheaper than the regular Templeton 6yr Rye, although I've seen it as high as $49. I'd say it's a buy at anything under $45. My rating of 4.25 reflects a base rating of 4.0 at MSRP, with an extra .25 for value based on what I paid.
About this bottle
Templeton Rye Caribbean Rum Cask Finish is the second release in the brand's limited edition Barrel Finish Series. To make, the brand took American straight rye which had aged for five years in American oak. Then the rye was placed into first-fill Caribbean rum casks (Jamaican dark rum) to finish maturation. The whiskey is bottled without chill-filtration at 46% ABV. Available in the US and select international markets as of fall 2020.
Reviews
Showing the most detailed of 6 parsed reviews.
Green apple bomb. Truly tastes like a birthday where grandma made her cinnamon apple pie with a small dollop of vanilla ice cream. Great ratio of spice to sweet. Looking forward to having another dram tomorrow night as well.
I don’t like rye, but this is interesting. Not good, but not bad. There is an interesting nose. Can’t say what. But it’s rye and i don’t love it
Spice of the rye is a little muted on the front end. You can taste the rum in the middle. Finish has a rum aroma.
Lots of honey with the familiar rye spice finish.
Lovely. Only subtle rum-cask notes.
Tastes like this
Same style and price bracket, best rated first.
