Angel's Envy Rye Finished in Caribbean Rum Casks

Wow. I want to be completely upfront: I dislike rye and typically avoid anything finished in rum or wine casks. However, this bottle was given to my roommate, and I never refuse a free sample. There are exceptions to every rule, but seeing the description on this bottle made me immediately apprehensive. Also, the community seems to really like this bottling, so please be understanding if my palate immediately rejects this with distaste. Here it goes: The smell is sticky sweet and spicy. Cinnamon, brown sugar, maple syrup, and vanilla. You can detect some underlying vegetal notes from the rye if you search for them beneath the thick, sweet top layer. Hints of cut grass and herbaceous mint leaf. The initial taste is extremely sweet, and I truly wish that sweetness persisted throughout. Maple syrup, brown sugar, and sugary cereal lead the taste with an almost cloying sweetness. As the taste moves towards the middle and back, it becomes drier with some tannic oak, cinnamon, and allspice. It gets spicier towards the end of the taste. The finish is primarily rye spices, green peppercorn, cinnamon, tannic oak, leather, and a tiny hint of cherry cordial, more noticeable when breathing through the mouth. This isn't the worst thing I've ever tasted, but it's not really to my liking. It's certainly a unique tasting experience.

The aroma has the spice of rum with the sweetness from the corn. It's difficult to get past the rum finish, honestly not smelling much beyond it. The taste is almost honey-like in its sweetness, then the spice from the rum barrels washes over your taste buds into the finish. On subsequent sips, there's a touch of oak that is then overwhelmed by the spice. Beneath that spice is a solid sweetness. The warmth is pretty standard. It does present with the spice from the rum barrels that remains. Overall, I really enjoy the balance of spice to sweetness. I might be biased with this pour, though. I've had a few bottles of this, and I usually drink it over a large ice sphere. Serving it on the rocks seems to open it up and mellow the spice a bit, leaning more into the honey from the initial sips.

A rich Rye Whiskey from Louisville Distilling Co. in Kentucky, made with a mash bill of 95% rye and 5% malted barley. It's aged for at least 6 years in medium-char American white oak and then finished in Plantation Rum casks (which originally held Maison Ferrand Cognac) for 18 months before being bottled at 50% ABV. It has an aromatic beginning with notes of fruit, grain, nuts, herbs, and spices; a rich and full middle adds notes of toasted banana bread and vanilla; leading to a long, maple syrup-like finish with notes of cardamom, mulled wine, and oak char. February 2023.

Nose: Cooked fruits such as apple, peach, and ginger. With air: maple syrup and waffles. A touch of rye and dill as it fades. Palate: Begins with sweetness, featuring vanilla and caramel, followed by pepper and rye on the finish. Finish: Brief, with baking spices remaining. I'm not usually keen on rye, but I've always admired the amazing aroma of Angel's Envy rye. The taste, eventually, does seem like a bourbon with its sweeter flavors first, but the end makes you remember this is a finished rye—another good drink from Angel's Envy.

Aroma is excellent and doesn't sting the nose. Inhaling and exhaling are smooth. I detected a hint of cherry or dark fruit, likely from the Caribbean rum finish. Taste is great initially, sweet, smooth, and sting-free. It can be swished around the palate to effectively discern all the nuances. Finish is great. There's a burn in the throat/chest, and the fruit notes clearly emerge in the aftertaste.

This will be a very short review, as I only had a small sample at a tasting at my grocery store this afternoon... This is some excellent Rye! Very sweet and syrupy, with abundant maple syrup and even some licorice on the palate. I will definitely be purchasing a bottle once my current bottle of Pikesville Rye is finished.