Initial Thoughts
Honestly, I’ve never been a big fan of Rye whiskey. I’ve always found it to be spicier and drier than bourbon. However, I put my bias to the side for this review. This is the fifth and final installment of the October / November pairing series. As with the other bottles I’ve reviewed from the Prichard’s line, this Prichard’s Rye Whiskey was initially tasted at an event at my local liquor store. Like I said, I wasn’t a huge a fan of ryes going into the tasting, but I was pleasantly surprised. Enough to buy a bottle to give it a thorough review! So here we go.
Looks
This Prichard’s Rye Whiskey bottle looks like the other whiskey bottles from the Prichard’s line (Double Barrel Bourbon, Tennessee Whiskey. Identical bottle, with a similar label. The only thing that is different is that this label is a nice dark red compared to the black and the brown. The back of the label has a nice story to it and I’ll type it out here incase you’re not able to read it in the picture below.
“Songs about whiskey are numerous and Rye Whiskey is prominent among many. Most have heartfelt lyrics like those written by Tim Spencer way back in 1947. “Cigarrettes and Whisk and Wil Wild Women, they’ll drive crazy, they’ll drive you insane.” There’s the old Tex Ritter song, “It’s a whiskey, rye whiskey, rye whiskey I cry, If I don’t get rye whiskey, well, I think I will die.” Folks get passionate about rye whiskey and we decided a long time ago, if we were to make a Rye Whiskey, we needed to be passionate about it too.”
I love the look of this whiskey. In the bottle it has a nice dark red finish to it. I’m sure it’s amplified by the red label. There is just something about the color of this whiskey that looks very intriguing and inviting. Let’s get a glass poured and get to sippin’ what do you say?
Reviewed Neat
Nose
With every new spirit it’s hard to find exact words of how to describe the aroma that it gives off. This Prichard’s Rye Whiskey has the dominate Rye aroma to it. A little spice and some sweetness to it as well. I get a slight hint of apple notes. It’s definitely more pleasant than other ryes that I remember. The alcohol content is not too high and doesn’t singe my nostrils when I nose the glass. I’m always appreciative of that!
Palate
On the palate I pick up some nice spice. Nothing overpowering like I typically experience with rye’s, but its still there. There is a hint of sweetness, which I didn’t expect. I can definitely pick up the vanilla and a slight oaky flavor. Nothing nearly as dominant as bourbon, but still apparent. There is a sweet tang that I’m picking up that I just can’t put my finger on. So I’ll just have to refer to it as a sweet tang for now!
Finish
Mmm, that’s all I want to say about the finish on this Prichard’s Rye Whiskey. It is incredibly smooth, it just coats the tongue and has an incredible mouthfeel to it. The finish is nice and medium to long in length. Not much spice on the backend, but there is a decent amount up front. It leaves my mouth watering for more with a nice buttery coating. Mmm, I could drink this all day long!
Conclusion:
I apparently need to start trying some more rye whiskies if this is how they are supposed to taste! I’ve had some in the past and I was not a big fan of them, at all. This Prichard’s Rye Whiskey however, absolutely blew my socks off! I have thoroughly enjoyed this glass of whiskey. If you’re a fan of ryes I would suggest you try this and see how it measures up to your palate. It seems like the folks down in Kelso, TN got it right again!
Prichard’s Rye Whiskey: 10/10
