The nose is like a big bowl of root beer candy with a glass cherry cordial right next to it. There’s almost nothing about the dessert-like nose that leads you to believe this is a glass of rye you’re nosing, until you take that first sip and the rye notes come fluttering through the palate with an intensity that is equal to the candy-like flavors on the palate. Despite the flavor description, the character of the rye itself is quite dry, giving your tongue the perception of sweetness without actually overloading it with sugar. When all is said and done, it’s the rye grain itself that stays with you on the finish, with just a hint of Maraschino and a re-emergence of that root beer character. It’s an utterly dynamic whiskey from front to back.
