Originally Posted by
FlyingDoctorwu
No eye thread but it seems like some rye talk ends up here. My favorite rye notes are typically peppery with a little spice so the Angels Envy doesn't really appeal to me. A lot of the sweetness you pick up comes from a Caribbean run finish that the whiskey spends time in. I'm not a huge fan of finishes to be honest; I feel that they most of them just add sweetness to the drink which I really don't like that all being said, Balvenies finishes are often quite subtle and tasty.
You'd probably like the Midwinter's Dram from High West, then; it's definitely peppery and with a bit of extra spice to it--not sweet at all. And the rye doesn't have that "band-aid adhesive" subtext to it, which some seem to (I'm thinking of a couple of craft ryes I've tried, one from NY and one from KY in particular). It's also, unfortunately, $100+ a bottle. I haven't tried their other ryes, though their blends (Bourye & Son of Bourye, for example) are good but likely sweeter than you'd like.
I have found that in general, I like finishes. Yeah, I like a well-made, plain bourbon pretty well... but I find that one finished in sherry or port or Malaga or whatever is a bit more interesting. I know I have plenty of standby plain bourbons that I love, so it's fun to try things which are very different, too.