This rye has an interesting story. It starts off as a new make rye spirit, distilled from the midwest. Boston Harbor Distillery re-distills the spirit to their Master distillers’ standards, and then ages the spirit in heavy charred oak barrels. A re-distilled rye huh? Let’s see how it tastes!
C: The color is a russet red in the bottle and more of a lightly toasted oak in the glass.
N: Sticking my nose in the glass I’m met with a candied cherry that’s been left in a bottle of rye to soak. Vanilla salted caramels. Buttered rye bread that hasn’t been toasted. Cinnamon sugar mixed with rye cereal and the leftover sweet milk that remains after you’ve finished a bowl of cheerios. This glass is rich with rye for sure, but not over the top and in your face that some rye’s are. Candied and dried orange peel, cloves, and some dried floral notes present themselves.
P: Initial taste has an earthy, sweet and lightly spiced rye characteristic. Curry spice matched with the mellowing effects of oak. Even though the company says the oak is char # 4, sometimes referred to as “alligator char” (because of the texture and the look of the wood after 55 seconds of intense burning), it’s a very mellow, inviting vanilla rich oak. And with the sweetness of this whiskey, it’s a really nicely executed aging. Second sip intensifies the spice mid-palate, and with a highly manageable 43% abv, drinks easily without the addition of water. There’s no cloying sweetness like one might think after reading the nosing of this whiskey, but rather a really well balanced dram. The sweet, spice and oak all play a really well executed game in this bottle.
F: The finish is rye rich but not an overly yeasty, bready rye that some ryes can have. Again, the spices pair with the rye flavors and the overall balanced sweetness of the whiskey helps it shine. The finish is a little short, but the rye flavors remain in the crevices of my mouth.
This whiskey is fairly surprising and totally in a good way. I initially didn’t care for it, but I think it’s because I’d been sipping on bourbons for quite some time and my palate went blind to anything non-bourbon. It’s good to try things again and at different times, you never know how circumstances might change and effect your tasting. For $45 this is a delicious option in the sub $50 rye range. But it’s not really an over the top rye like some can be. In comparison, I just took a quick sip of Knob Creek rye which has a powerful rye entrance, with a relatively one noted spice and then an off-toned finish. The Putnam rye seems to be a lot more refined, and maybe that has to do with the extra distilling on location in Boston. Tasty on it’s own and probably a real treat mixed in a cocktail like the distillery recommends!
[Scotch]
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