Double Gold (John Barleycorn Awards 2022)
Gold (San Francisco World Spirits Competition 2022)
Batch 003 is a 5-whisky blend created to accentuate a vibrant, zesty, fruit-forward nose and palate combination rarely seen in rye whisky. The whisky was built around an 18 year old rye aged in ex-tequila barrels with a verdant and floral nose combined with an herbaceous spiciness. We enriched the fruitiness by blending in an additional 18 year rye aged in ex-Speyside scotch casks and a surprisingly delicate 21 year old corn component aged in used American oak. Lastly, we provided a foundation of baking spices and brown sugar using a 17 year rye and a 25 year corn, both aged in Hungarian oak.
The resulting whisky cascades from high to low, starting with a trove of striking berry notes, citrus and honeysuckle, dovetailing gracefully into a silky, buttery mid-palate, before settling into its lengthy rye undertones that provide a resounding, deep, spicy finish. Each sip tastes like someone baked an apple crisp right onto your palate, showing robust cinnamon and a lingering gingerbread finish that mingles with gentle tannins.
We designed Batch 003 to build off of Batch 001 and create its counterharmony. While Batch 001 was a feisty spice-bomb decorated with sweet fruit, Batch 003 is fecund and vibrant, the bottled warmth of summer, preserved and ready to give life in the depths of winter. It is imbued with the elegance of age, presenting a fruit-forward whisky with an undercurrent of spice. Despite only shedding 2% points of ABV, the slight reduction in heat reveals the complexity of fruit and florality developed by a super-aged rye. It is a contemplative whisky more deserving of a snifter than a glencairn glass, presenting the rye-spice backbone on the long warm finish.