• Company: Elijah Craig/Heaven Hill • Distillery: Heaven Hill Distillery
• Type: Kentucky Straight Rye Whiskey • Proof: 94 • Age: NAS
• Mash Bill: 51% Rye, 35% Corn & 14% Malted Barley
• NOSE
The nose was mellow and subtle, where it was a bit too faint. It was hard to decipher the notes, 'that were there'...but you had to dig in a little longer. And of course we can't pass up that challenge.
At first; we picked up an Herbal note and to us; we see that too much not explained...so let's break that note down for any of our readers. It was almost as we were getting a slight hint of Lemon Grass with a twist of Citrus kicking in with a touch of Verbena.
Now digging in a little deeper we were also getting a White Grape tartness; slightly sweet, but with a little nudge of acidity.
And also, we were hinting at a Pumpernickel Bread; which makes sense...Rye Bread. But what caught our nose was the Molasses. If anyone has tried molasses; it has this sweet, but off-sour note.
Last, but not least...our faintest of note was a slight tinge of Oak. Totally not overpowering, but almost non-existent!
All-in-All, we were pleased with the notes we did get, but were disappointed to the subtleness; give us a more robust awakening (like that morning coffee, smack in the face, feeling!).
• Score: 18/25
• PALATE
Now a lot of people call a 51% Rye a 'Barely Legal' Rye; which is correct, but still a Rye none-the-less. So; you will get a little more sweetness from what...the corn. So let's break this down.
We do get hit with that initial Caramel sweetness; almost a Caramel Kettle Popcorn. We'll never pass that up. That first hit; slowly turned into a PB Brittle taste -- and here comes the rye heat.
There was a subtle rye grain heat, but totally palatable and it disappeared quickly. Which we enjoy that way, so we can taste the awesome notes that's within.
Our last note we were detecting was that White Grape note that we were getting on the nose...with a little acidity. Not a tannic taste; the Oak wasn't present to our buds...which we were not disappointed in. And the herbal-ness on the nose...was not present either.
We were more overwhelmed with the palate more so than the nose. Call it a 'Barely Legal', but there is something to say about getting that mash bill just right to get a heat, but also some good lingering sweetness.
• Score: 33/40
• FINISH
The finish was long with heap of sweetness; great mouth coat to chew on long after the first taste. There were no drying or tannic taste what so ever for us. The finish was a hit!
• Score: 23/25
• VALUE
For the notes we took away from E.C.'s Rye and the bottle price; $35 -- we can't think of a better value on the buck for a rye.
• Score: 9/10
Is this a Bar Staple?! By far this is a Bar Staple -- we just hope that we see this on the shelf more available than what we've been seeing.
Till next pour -- Cheers!!
• TOTAL SCORE -- 83/100
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