Grand Traverse Ole George Double Barrel

The nose is fairly neutral, with caramel being the most prominent note. The palate is very direct, with caramel upfront, followed by rye spice and new oak flavor. I also detected something akin to candied fruit. The finish is quite similar to the palate, with rye and new oak, and the candied fruit transforms into a raisin-like flavor. The price is quite high for what it offers. It's a good-tasting rye with a decent entry-level complexity, more suited to the $40-$50 range than $70-$80, though I did purchase it directly from the distillery, so the price might be somewhat inflated.

The initial taste is hot and lingers. The strong aroma makes my eyes water if I keep my nose in the glass for too long. I enjoyed it more when I was on vacation in Traverse City. The distillery visit was well worth the time; I spent several hours conversing with the distiller and sampling everything they offered.

Figured it would be like Angel’s Envy, but it lacked depth of flavor. It's really just a slightly sweeter, mellower version of their Rye, which I like. There was no reason to “upgrade” to this whiskey.

The aroma is much more peppery than the initial version. It features spice, graham cracker, and bright herbal pepper. The french oak is a nice touch but slightly excessive. Notes of charred sugar are present.

Superior to the bourbon from Grand Traverse Distillery. Quite mellow. The price of $50/750 ml is not justifiable.

Spice on the nose. It has some grain, young, rye spice. Medium heat with a medium finish.