The nose on the rye is quite new makey, with some pine/fir type notes and lots of wood, like walking through the lumber aisle at Home Depot. The palate is sweet up front with some fruit. Rye spice comes in mid palate and into the finish, which is a nice sweet an spicy balance from the rye and sherry.
I liked the rye better than the McKenzie bourbon, but both of these fit my stereotype of small barrel aged spirit. They taste very woody and very young (there is no age statement on the bottles, which should mean they are at least four years old, but I'd be surprised if that were the case, and knowing the TTB these days, who knows).
The rye shows a lot of promise. You can tell it's really good distillate. It's one of the better small barrel whiskeys I've had, but I would love to taste it aged for six years in traditional sized casks, which is apparently in the works.
N: Light and thin initially; a mix of pine and fresh paint. It gets slightly doughy and bready after a minute, but retains a youthful, zippy rye profile.
P: Woody initially. Popsicle sticks and unbleached napkins. A little heat, a little doughy and piney. A touch of apples in the background.
F: Moderate heat, nicely clean green (fir/pine) notes on it. Some wood but pretty pleasant - minty!
Ask me again in a couple years. This is going in the right direction.
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