Old Ezra 7-Year Straight Rye Whiskey

These days more than anything else, I am having fun playing with lasers. Well, kinda. I bought a laser engraver and have been using it to make all sorts of fun stuff. I love working with wood, but I’ve been a professional digital artist for 20 years or so. This combines the fun that I can have with digital art, with the fun that I can have with physical items and blends it in a way that is rewarding and, well, fun. So far I’ve just been burning designs into wood and cutting things out, but that will change as I get used to the medium. I can’t wait.

One slick segue later and you’ll find that I’m not the only one who’s been doing some blending. (nailed it) The folks over at Lux Row are back at it. This time extending the Ezra Brooks brand lineup with a rye whiskey that is a blend of rye whiskeys. Old Ezra 7-Year Straight Rye Whiskey blends two ryes whiskeys. One with a mash bill that contains 51% rye and another that has a mash bill of 95% rye. That last one is one of my favorite styles of rye so I was pretty excited to see this one land on my desk. Especially since it is 7 years old and 114° proof. That made my day. Here is what the producer has to say about their new release.

"With Old Ezra 7-Year Straight Rye Whiskey, we've delivered a rye whiskey worthy of the Old Ezra label," said Lux Row Distillers master distiller John Rempe. "This tasty 7-year-old rye offers slightly sweet and oaky tones with hints of vanilla and honey, and it finishes with a warm touch of spice and tobacco. It's certain to become a favorite among both rye fans and fans of the Ezra Brooks brand family."

Now that we know what the producer has to say, let’s dig in and see how it tastes.

Old Ezra 7-Year Straight Rye Whiskey

Purchase Info: This sample was provided for review purposes. The suggested retail price is $79.99 for a 750 mL bottle.

Price per Drink (50 ml): $5.33

Details: 7 years old. 57% ABV. Blend of 51% rye mash whiskey and 95% rye mash whiskey.

Nose: Dusty aging warehouse, toffee, and an herbal mint.

Mouth: Rich mouthfeel. Toffee, mint, cinnamon, and oak.

Finish: Long and minty. Notes of herbal mint, toffee and cinnamon.

Thoughts: Even my wife who doesn't care for most rye whiskeys likes this. It is rich and sweet in the mouth with the minty rye notes taking over as the finish starts. This is tasty. I really am enjoying it.

Did you enjoy this post? If so, maybe you’d like to buy me a cup of coffee in return. Go to ko-fi.com/bourbonguy to support. And thank you, BourbonGuy.com is solely supported via your generosity.

Of course, if you want to support BourbonGuy.com and get a little something back in return, you can always head over to BourbonGuyGifts.com and purchase some merch. I’ve made tasting journals, stickers, pins, and more.

Uncle Nearest Rye, 100 proof

This review sample was kindly provided by the PR team for Uncle Nearest Whiskey with no strings attached.

It’s been snowing for the last two days. I hate snow. It’s cold. It’s wet unless it isn’t, in which case it is even colder. It’s heavy, especially when it is wet. It’s just all-around unpleasant. Though that is an unpopular opinion around here. Most folks in the area love winter. Or they claim to. I secretly think they are just stubborn and don’t want to move.

And don’t you worry, I’m thinking of moving. I think about it with every shovel full of snow that I throw off the driveway. Every time I look out at the snow-covered deck and think about deck drinks. Every time I have to bundle up to walk to the mailbox at the end of my driveway. Every time I think about moving. But…then I don’t. I have family here. My wife has a good job. I can afford to pay the heating bill. There is a lot of inertia in staying put. At least I have tasty rye whiskey to help keep me warm on a cold winter’s night.

Sometimes, like tonight, that rye comes from Canada, a place even colder than Minnesota. Though tonight’s comes from Canada by way of New York and Tennessee. Yep, once again, we are looking at an Uncle Nearest Rye. About a month ago, we looked at the limited edition uncut and unfiltered version. Tonight’s is the mass market, 100° proof version. The press release has the following to say about it:

Due to the challenges around growing rye in Tennessee, this whiskey originates in Canada – according to the exact American specifications required to be a straight rye whiskey – and is then aged in New York for a minimum of four years before moving down to Tennessee, where it is then rested in used Uncle Nearest barrels for additional maturation. The liquid is then tasted, barrel by barrel, and blended by Victoria. “When I was doing my research on Nearest Green, I came across a handwritten letter from President William Taft,” said Fawn Weaver, founder and CEO of Uncle Nearest. “The letter was dated May 16, 1911, and was addressed to his U.S. Secretary of War, Jacob M. Dickinson, thanking him for sending his favorite rye whiskey ‘of the Lincoln County variety.’ This letter led me to believe rye whiskeys were being made in this area, so after I found that letter there was no doubt in my mind a straight rye whiskey would one day be added to our portfolio of whiskeys.”

So, let’s see how it tastes, shall we?

Uncle Nearest Rye, 100 proof

Purchase Info: This sample was provided by the producer at no charge for review purposes. The suggested retail price is $59.

Price Per Drink (50 ml): $4.00

Details: Distilled in Canada, Aged in Canada, New York, and Tennessee. 50% ABV.

Nose: Toffee, almond, a hint of mint, and chocolate.

Mouth: Thick mouthfeel. Cinnamon, mint, toffee, and almond.

Finish: Medium to long and warm. Notes of cinnamon and toffee.

Thoughts: Sweet and thick in the mouth. Nice spice. Almost too sweet for my palate. This would probably be amazing in an Old Fashioned, though. (Spoiler from after I took the notes…it is. Works great in an Old Fashioned with Angostura bitters and the oil expressed from the orange peel garnish.)

About a month ago, we covered the Uncut/Unfiltered Limited Edition Uncle Nearest Rye. So how does the 100° proof version compare? Well, this is very similar on the nose. The mouth of the 100° proof is a bit less punchy than the barrel-strength version. Which at an almost 20° proof difference is to be expected. The flavors are very similar, as you might expect, but the barrel-proof version is hotter and more vibrant. Both are quite good, though.

Did you enjoy this post? If so, maybe you’d like to buy me a cup of coffee in return. Go to ko-fi.com/bourbonguy to support. And thank you, BourbonGuy.com is solely supported via your generosity.

Of course, if you want to support BourbonGuy.com and get a little something back in return, you can always head over to BourbonGuyGifts.com and purchase some merch. I’ve made tasting journals, stickers, pins, posters, and more.

Redemption Rye

This bottle was provided by the producer for review purposes with no strings attached.

If you ever wonder whether or not you are good at your job, just think about the poor Minnesota Legislature and the fact that they accidentally legalized THC edibles this summer because one party forgot to actually read the bill that they were voting on. But since a majority of citizens in my adopted home state wish they had gone further and just legalized marijuana, they can’t even take credit for doing what they accidentally did. If you can say that you are better at your job than that, I say that you’ve got it made.

I was thinking about that tonight as I was playing a little Pink Floyd on my new turntable. For…no reason.

I kid, obviously. I was actually thinking about it because I was working on some banner ads. I hate making banner ads because I hate seeing them. (There is a reason I don’t put ads on this site.) Not only that, but I’m not terribly good at them. But people keep hiring me to do it, so…at least I’m better at the job than the Minnesota Legislature?

Oh, speaking of…vote for people next Tuesday that will actually do their job and read the damn bills that they are voting on, ok? I won’t tell you which party to vote for (you probably already know my leanings), but regardless, we should be hiring people who, at the bare minimum, can do the reading part of their job.

Anyway, now that I’m all worked up. Who wants a drink?

Tonight, I’m looking at a whiskey that I have walked past for years. Literally years. I saw that it was listed as two years old on the back and just didn’t feel like giving it a chance. Even if it does look to be sourced from MGP, my favorite distillery for rye. They sent it along with a more expensive new release so that I would have a baseline to compare with the new one. As I hadn’t had either before, I thought that was pretty smart. So let’s dig in.

Redemption Rye

Purchase Info: This bottle was provided for review purposes at no cost. It goes for $27.99 at my nearest Total Wine.

Price per Drink (50 mL): $1.87

Details: 2 years old. 46% ABV. Mash bill: 95% Rye and 5% Malted Barley.

Nose: Spearmint, herbal dill, and bubblegum.

Mouth: Gum from a pack of 1980's baseball cards (yes, I'm old. If you aren't, think bubblegum with hints of cardboard, but in a good way), spearmint, nutmeg, and almond.

Finish: On the shorter side of medium. Notes of mint, cinnamon, and caramel.

IMAGE: This isn't bad, but it's not really for me. So it gets a neutral face.

Thoughts: This is an ok Rye whiskey that I will happily finish but probably wouldn't buy again unless it is on sale. It's a pretty sweet and gentle rye. Which isn't typically what I look for in rye whiskey. However, it does work ok in rye cocktails. I tested it in a Sazerac and an Old Fashioned, and it worked fine in both as long as you adjusted the other ingredients to account for the fact that this is a little gentler than other ryes I’d usually use. Overall, not bad, just kinda meh. I’m excited to try the other bottle they sent now that I have this as a baseline. Check back next week to see how the more expensive version fairs. (How’s that for a tease?)

Did you enjoy this post? If so, maybe you’d like to buy me a cup of coffee in return. Go to ko-fi.com/bourbonguy to support. And thank you, BourbonGuy.com is solely supported via your generosity.

Of course, if you want to support BourbonGuy.com and get a little something back in return, you can always head over to BourbonGuyGifts.com and purchase some merch. I’ve made tasting journals, stickers, pins, posters, and more.

Uncle Nearest Uncut/Unfiltered Straight Rye Whiskey

This review sample was kindly provided by the PR team for Uncle Nearest Whiskey with no strings attached.

IMAGE: A bottle of Uncle Nearest Rye sitting in the morning sunlight. Enjoying itself and waiting for the appropriate time to crack itself open and be shared.

Holy shit, y’all! I’m back! Did you miss me? I missed you. Not quite as much as I missed my taste buds and breathing normally, but you were at least top three…five. Top five, for sure.

You have no idea how happy I am right now. And not just because I can actually taste and smell the whiskey I’m writing about tonight. No, last night I had just about the best date night I can possibly imagine. My absolute favorite musical artist, Butch Walker, was kicking off his tour last night up in Dinkytown (the area around the northern edge of the University of Minnesota campus), and my wife got us tickets. I’ve been beaming since the show ended. I can’t hear anything because my old deaf ears take longer to recover from the noise of a loud and raucous rock show than they did when I was younger. But I don’t even care. It was worth it.

Add to that fact the opportunity to talk about whiskey, and I’m just in heaven right now. Though I’m going to warn you right now, the flow of this post may suffer tonight. I’m taking frequent breaks to sing along with the Spotify playlist I made that has the songs that were played at the concert. I’ve been doing it all day. Needless to say, it’s been quite the bouncy day for me.

Anyway, we are talking about whiskey, not music. Though if you give me even a sliver of opportunity, I’ll talk music all night. So I’m really trying hard to reign myself in tonight…

Right, yes. Back to whiskey. Tonight we are taking a look at the latest offering from Uncle Nearest. It is a distillery exclusive that holds promise for more widely available releases in the future. Uncle Nearest Uncut/Unfiltered is a rye whiskey sourced from Canada and then aged in New York and then Tennessee. It is bottled at whatever strength that the batch was when the barrels were all dumped. It says “Uncut” right in the name. This batch ended up at 119.7° proof, but I’m going to guess if they have future batches that, they will be at least a little different. If you are curious about what the PR Firm has to say about it, here is the summary I got from them:

To create its uncut/unfiltered rye whiskey, Uncle Nearest sourced its rye from Canada and raised it in New York for four years. Once it was ready, the Uncle Nearest team brought it back to Tennessee to rest and finish in its barrels before being bottled. The new expression reinforces Master Blender, Victoria Eady Butler’s ability to create the highest quality whiskeys possible even when moving away from the filtration process that was created by her great-great-grandfather. Uncle Nearest’s inaugural rye whiskey is available as a distillery exclusive offering available for purchase ($149) at the Nearest Green Distillery in Shelbyville, TN.

As I mentioned, this seems to be just the beginning for Uncle Nearest and their experiments in the world of Rye whiskey. According to the details I got from the producer: “For those unable to make it to Shelbyville, there will be more Rye to come from Uncle Nearest in the coming months, including Straight Rye and Single Barrel Rye.” As a lover of both Rye and Canadian whiskey, this is good news for me.

But most importantly, how does it taste?

Uncle Nearest Uncut/Unfiltered Straight Rye Whiskey

Purchase Info: This sample bottle was kindly provided to me for review purposes. The suggested retail price is $149.

Price per Drink (50 ml): $10.00

Details: Distilled in Canada, Aged in Canada, New York, and Tennessee. 59.8% ABV. Batch 001.

Nose: Caramel, black tea, mint, chocolate, and a hint of bubble gum.

Mouth: Very hot. Caramel, chocolate, and black tea.

Finish: Long and very warm. Notes of toffee, chocolate, cinnamon, and mint.

Thoughts: This is a pretty good rye whiskey. You can taste the Canadian origin. Lots of caramel/toffee and black tea notes. It's very sweet but as hot as one would expect something that's almost 120° proof to be. Just a tiny splash of water does wonders to tame the heat and bring out even more sweetness. This is a "dessert rye" if I've ever tasted one. I think I like the standard Tennessee Whiskey Uncle Nearest releases better, but this is a very interesting change of pace when it comes to rye whiskey. If it were in a store, I doubt I’d want to pay $150 for a bottle. But if I was at the distillery and it was going to be a souvenir, well, then all bets are off. I’ve paid much more for worse whisky as a distillery exclusive in the past. It has made me decide to keep my eyes open for the other Ryes that will be coming along in the fairly near future, though.

Did you enjoy this post? If so, maybe you’d like to buy me a cup of coffee in return. Go to ko-fi.com/bourbonguy to support. And thank you, BourbonGuy.com is solely supported via your generosity.

Of course, if you want to support BourbonGuy.com and get a little something back in return, you can always head over to BourbonGuyGifts.com and purchase some merch. I’ve made tasting journals, stickers, pins, posters, and more.