This was one of National Distiller's major brands following Repeal up until the 1950's. This bottling should not be confused with the prior ones from the Hannis distillery, nor the current stuff made at the newly re-created George Washington museum/distillery.
Note: LAWS suspects that the samples tasted below may not be representative of the true, original flavor of this whisky. We believe the excessive soapy flavors, combined with the age of the bottle, indicate that over time the whisky has undergone some chemical processes (transesterification, and specifically saponification) which introduced new, bad flavors into the whisky not intended by the distillers. However, we have kept these notes publicly posted so that others may compare their experiences with our own, or learn from our notes and observations.
Boy, was I excited to try this. A straight rye whiskey distilled just a few years after Repeal. It's like, maybe my grandfather drank this when he got back from WWII. Anyhow, here's the deal: it's horrendous. My notes upon nosing were, "Well... I hate to say it, but the most distinct thing here is soap." I was worried, but still hopeful. And the palate was promising... for a fleeting second. Then, just like those nice, pretty spirit-ladies that swirled around the Nazis in Raiders of the Lost Ark, this suddenly morphed into demonic, unspeakable evil. Soapy, soapy poison. I gargled and rinsed for a solid five minutes after tasting this.
N: Crisp rye, very fresh grain, seems unaffected by age. [At this point I took the first sip then ran to the bathroom to rinse my mouth out. For several minutes.]
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