Originally Posted by
exerda
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.
I have a bottle of the Midwinter's... I haven't opened it but I'll have to give it a try... I had High West's Rocky Mountain Rye last year and it was quite good.. I tend to steer away from their younger stuff (Campfire, Bourye, etc) but I do think it's good... I like the guys from High West; I find that they are very upfront about where their product is from which I respect.
Originally Posted by
stimpy
I think for Rye whiskey, we have a few years to wait before the really good ones have been aged enough. The rye craze only began about 4 or 5 years ago, right? At that time the makers put a big effort into it and maybe in another 3 to 5 years we'll get a really good aged Rye.
Super aged rye is really really rare.. Hopefully in a couple years we will have more available... the Superaged Rittenhouses (21-23-25 yo expressions) have been gone for a couple of years; I hope that they have some maturing away... Some of the really rare old stuff (Nells, Redhook etc) have been gone for years.. and some of the stuff that still trickles out (Sazerac 18, Van Winkle 13) has been tanked for years with small bottlings every year.. SO yes, I hope that the super aged rye releases return.....
FDW