Rittenhouse Rye Bottled-In-Bond Private Single Barrel

From Total Wine and More Single Barrel. Barrel # 8520334, Filled 09/23/19, Rickhouse 8, Floor 4 Smells of spearmint, dill pickle, pencil shavings, vanilla wafer, hard caramel candy, popcorn, and rye spice. Alcohol content is nicely low. Taste starts with heavy dill from the aroma; along with candy corn, cedar, buttery corn on the cob, nougat, and mint. In many ways, I'd say it drinks more like a high-rye bourbon than a rye, but that dill note is quite strong, with the rest of the flavors being somewhat muted. Short finish has a slight spice bloom of cinnamon and black pepper, orange slice candy, and Spanish peanut. Mouthfeel is thin, but thankfully very oily and not grainy. Interesting candy flavors mixed with spice. I can't believe how different this is from the standard offering. Very distinctive. At $35.99 it's practically a steal and a potential sneaky rebuy, but I must remind myself to choose 'very good' over newer, more exciting options.

Barrel number 8663538. The scent is pleasing with rye and oak. The flavor is a little sharp, with abundant rye and a higher alcohol presence. Consumed straight, it's somewhat rough, but I believe it possesses decent character in an Old Fashioned.

Good, perfectly adequate. Makes a solid old fashioned.

Rather sweet and complex