The second dram in the FEW bottle-share series. This time I opted for a brown spirit instead of a white one. Just to mix things up. In the end, the brown spirits will be the biggest group since they make up 6 of the 9 drams shared. I haven’t even tried all bottles yet, but that’s no reason to wait with the reviews, right?

What’s fun with the FEW bottlings is that they’re really open with their information. The mashbill is not a secret, the strengths at which they distill, cask and bottle (the last one is fairly obvious). Not all American distillers are this open and it’s nice to see some craft distillers changing the game in the USA where things like mashbills are generally a closely guarded secret.

This is slightly weird even, because a mashbill is not something that makes your whisky copyable. As in, there’s the distillery, the equipment, the oak, the specifics of corn, rye, barley. And something that’s way more important than in Scotland and does bring certain flavors to the final distillate that make a huge difference.

Anyway, this is the rye whiskey. A mash of 70% rye, 20% corn and 10% barley. The spirit comes off the still at 67.5%, then is casked/barreled at 57.55% and bottled at 46.5%. It’s young stuff, but in this case the age is not indicated. I’ll make sure to ask the folks at FEW for information.

Sniff:
Young and spirity, but very spicy. Lighter than expected and slightly sweet. There’s some nutmeg, ginger and some more eastern spices. A bit like curry spices or so. Rye, and lemon and a rather raw scent.

Sip:
The palate is more syrupy than I expected. The spices are leading the way with chili pepper, nutmeg, ginger but also some vanilla and an unexpected rum like sweetness. Quite dry too.

Swallow:
The finish is pretty fierce with a spicy burn before going more mellow. Warming, bread like, massive amounts of rye, spices. Surprisingly fruity with some white grapes and lemon.

Yes! I like this one a lot. There is a lot going on and to discover, but in the end it’s a well integrated dram that shows some serious oomph, even though it’s only bottled at 46.5%.

It’s not the gentles, the spiciest, the most mature rye whiskey ever bottled. But it sure is delicious. Highly commendable, and again as with the White Dog, it’s affordable for American craft whiskey, and even for any newly released whiskey from a craft distillery.

FEW Rye Whiskey, 46.5% / 93 proof, available at Master of Malt for € 64