The Mafia's First Rye Flight

This week's tasting was hosted by Colin and Cheri.  Since this was their first time picking our blind samples we had no idea what to expect, and we waited with anticipation to see what they would come up with.

The flight didn't disappoint, but it was a deviation from our past zoom tasting flights in that it turned out to be all rye whiskies.  This is probably not so surprising since we all knew Colin enjoys a good rye, and each pour was a distinctly different expression of the dry sweetness, spice and pepper that a rye whiskey brings.

Since Dan, Mitch and I have smaller selections of rye, we also deviated a bit from tradition with our bonus pour, and we each sampled a different rye from our shelves.  In my case, this meant a Basil Hayden's Dark Rye

Spicy Rye Tasting Notes

Michter's US-1 Rye Single Barrel Rye:  We started the flight with this rye, which is a very approachable, easy drinker. Even Dan, who isn't normally a rye man seemed to enjoy it. Cheri, on the other hand, wasn't into the minty flavor of this pour.  Michter's US-1 Rye proofs out at 84.8, and the mash bill is undisclosed.

Nose: Vanilla and Mint with baking spices.

Palate: Light sweet mint followed by black pepper and cinnamon.  Smooth palate for a rye.

Finish: Short finish with pepper, spices, and oak.  

Belfour Rye:  Colin knew we were fans of the Belfour Pecan Finished Bourbon, so he included this Rye in the flight.  It's a bit hard to get in the Northeast, so this was our first time trying our second brand from retired NHL Goalie Eddie Belfour's family distillery in Texas.  This rye comes in at 94 proof and has a mash bill of 70% rye, 20% corn and 10% malted barley.

Nose: Easily identifiable as a rye, but with notes of cinnamon and sugar.

Palate: Mildly sweet front end with hints of caramel and cinnamon.  Pepper and baking spices become more predominant as you move toward the finish.

Finish: Long finish with strong flavors of black pepper and nutmeg.

Willet Family Reserve Rye: This Willet Rye recently became a favorite of mine when I picked it up on a trip to NH, but I have to admit that I didn't pick it out from the blind flight right away after sampling the others.  This rye is a blend of two mash bills: A 74% rye, 11% corn, and 15% malted barley mash and a 51% rye, 34% corn, and 15% malted barley mash.  It proofs in at 111.2.

Nose: Citrus, cinnamon, pepper and rye.

Palate: Starts with notes of lemon peel, followed by cinnamon, Italian herbs and black pepper.

Finish: Lingering notes of Italian herbs and black pepper, mildly bitter.

The Bonus Pour: Basil Hayden's Dark Rye

As I mentioned, with the possible exception of Colin himself, none of us have a very deep collection of rye whiskey, so a common bottle was really not to be found.  I had a few good ryes in my collection, and was a little torn at first, but ultimately decided to sample a bottle of Basil Hayden's Dark Rye.

This whiskey is actually a blend of Kentucky rye whiskey, Canadian rye whiskey, and port wine, which accounts for its deep red hue, and wine-like tannin.  There is also the sense of late summer berries and vanilla and a buttery finish.  Nosing this for the first time I got a very strong sense of hot buttered popcorn, molasses, and maple syrup.  

This was not at all your usual rye whiskey, but it was a fascinating way to wind up a fun night of sharing new flavors with friends.  I hope your next adventure in whiskey is as unique as this was!