The nose is fragrant with rye spice. The rye on the palate is a bit muted with a tinny note, but toward the end in bursts through. The finish is full of rye and pepper.
Certainly a good whiskey, but these 1985 distilled ryes seem to be fading a bit more each year. Maybe it has to do with the time in stainless (8 years and counting).
N: Gently spicy on the nose with some cinnamon and black pepper, a fair amount of wood, a far-off pine quality. Light sweetness as well; quite mellow with age. Faint orchard-type scents; a little floral. Reminds me of the kind of subtly floral quality of a really ripe Fuji apple when you smell near the stem.
P: Nice, medium mouthfeel - gently spiced. Cinnamon, a faint dash of cayenne, touch of white pepper, plenty of wood and a bit of pine. Everything is nicely balanced.
F: A little heat and the wood is slightly bitter. Finish has some bubblegummy sweetness initially, but starts to slowly dry. Faintly medicinal.
Always a good rye. 2011 seems a touch too far on the wood presence, but I wouldn't turn it down.
A good offering that now to me is just the same profile year after year with slightly different nuances appearing. The nose is full of more brown sugar and the citrus is back in force on the tongue. But all in all, similar to 2010. [4/14/13]
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