I am slowing catching up here with day 3 bringing a very young Rye. Called a spirit because in the EU anything younger than 3 years cannot be called whisk(e)y. It is also my first ever taste in this category. American distilled products generally is quite lacking in my portfolio so perhaps next year I should go for the Bourbon calendar but until then we have to make do with what we have in the cabinet.

The Distillery

The New York Distilling Company was founded in 2011 in Brooklyn by two experienced individuals in the drinks industry. Allen Katz and Tom Potter have founded a distillery to produce gin and Rye whiskey with a target market of cocktail making. From the pictures it is clear they are a craft outfit and use a hybrid system of distilling which allows for versatility in production styles. Indeed, they are bang on trend at the moment by being passionate about what locality and only producing Rye from grain grown in New York.

The Rye

Matured for only two years in, from the label, a beer cask. Bottled at 50% ABV and made from well Rye this is a pretty unique product. For a 50cl bottle you can expect to pay around 35 pounds on the Master of Malt website. This particular example is the third batch with the first two being from AppleJack casks. All three are still available if you want to check them out.

Tasting Notes

Colour – orange

Nose – caramel wispa bars and leather gloves. Orange peel with a touch of vanilla extract

Palate – Not a thick texture but not too much heat. More caramel and some nutmeg with Rye bread and lots of grain and grass notes

Finish – Quite a drying finish if not particularly long. Chilli spice and vanilla. Finally a crisp apple is the last note before the experience is over

Final Thoughts

This is cool stuff. How many Scotch whiskies could be bottled at 2 years and be this interesting? Rye seems to be a very flavourful style of whisky so I will need to take some recommendations of what to try next in this category?