This bottle was quite the hassle to get home. Together with Marco I bought a bottle and to get my share I sent him an empty 35cl bottle, which he would fill and send back. However, the parcel service thought it unnecessary to have their regular schedule and rang our doorbell around a quarter to five on two days. Of course, like any regular working lad, I wasn’t home. And instead of delivering at the neighbours they sent it back to Fryslan after 2 tries (and they state they will always try three times…). One angry email later and the package was delivered after all…

Nose:
Spicy caramel with nutmeg. Slightly burnt toast. A rather known absence of sweetness, almost savory with dark bread.

Taste:
Savory again, with a slightly drying edge to it. There isn’t much alcohol burn, but that is a good thing. The taste is rather smooth with a mouth coating effect. I get some anise in the background.

Finish:
Again, a quite bready taste in the finish, with a little cocoa added to the mix. A little more spicy than it was on the palate. A bit more drying as well. There finally is some sweetness in it.

This is a very unexpected dram. I’ve tasted quite a few rye whiskies over the last year, but not that tasted anything like this. There were spicy ones, and sweet and fruity ones, but never this savory. A nice addition to the flavour package that can be gotten from Rye Whiskey. Not bad at all, but it did seem a bit lacking in some parts, balance wise.

Van Winkle Family Reserve Rye 13 year old, 47.8%, around 70 euros.

Nose: 8
Taste: 7
Finish: 8
Overal experience: 7
Price/quality: +2

Total: 32 points