Smoke Wagon Bottled in Bond Straight Rye Whiskey

The nose features abundant apples, pears, and sugar candy. A faint citrus note is present, but the apples and pears dominate. As it settles, notes of freshly cut lumber emerge. The rye character comes through as bubblegum with a whisper of cinnamon. On the palate, I detect significant apple again (to be clear, apple isn't my preferred profile). The finish has sweet cupcake frosting. The rye is very subdued here, which is understandable given the 51/49 split. There's a touch of the usual black pepper and a splash of cinnamon/baking spice... honestly, this is disappointing. I cannot endorse this. The cost is outrageous for what is offered. I recognize it's a 51/49 Rye and Bottled in Bond, setting a standard, but superior options exist in the $80 price range. I'd only suggest this to someone obsessed with the Bottled in Bond experience or participating in a blind tasting of only BiB whiskeys. In that scenario, sure, go for it. It won't win.

The nose of this rye is almost entirely caramel, but I also detected some spice and grass. The palate is heavy caramel, toffee, with some herbal tea and grasses. This is much sweeter than I anticipated. I like it, but it's not very complex, and I expected a bit more from this distillery. I'll stick with their Uncut Unfiltered.

Palate: rye spices with a herbal finish. I'm somewhat let down because the uncut and unfiltered version is so excellent. This is a more herbal, earthy rye. If you prefer a sweet, spicy rye, this isn't it.

Pleasant rye spice upfront, then some mild sweetness with a pepper and cinnamon finish. Nothing remarkable here and likely not worth the cost.

I really enjoy the nose on this 51% rye/49% corn mash bill. It's very easy to drink. Excellent - truly quite exceptional!

Leaves a pleasant warmth going down, quite enjoyable.