Way back in 2012, I stumbled upon a semi-local distillery. At the time, the Minnesota tax system was set up so that only the largest distilleries could afford a license. And so, aspiring craft distillers jumped the border in order to pay a license fee that was about 1/30th the size. So when I say semi-local, think about an hour and a half away. And this particular distiller paid homage to that border jumping by naming his first whiskey “Border Bourbon.” I reviewed it back in 2012, but there really isn’t much point in linking you to that since in the intervening seven and a half years, that young bourbon has grown up into a fully mature one. The website says four years old, the branded shelf-talker said five years old. So It’s somewhere in there.
But I’m not here to talk about the bourbon from 45th Parallel Distillery. No, when I stopped off to check out a couple of cross-border liquor stores recently, I noticed that there was a Cask Strength version of their rye on the shelf. I’d had exactly one bottle of their rye and wasn’t impressed with it to ever review it. It was just too young for me at the time. Well, guess what? This guy has grown up too. And seeing a 120 proof version on top of it made me think it was just about time to give this semi-local product another look.
New Richmond Rye Cask Strength
Purchase Info: $59.99 for a 750 mL bottle at Chicone’s Liquor Mart, Hudson, WI
Price per Drink (50mL): $4.00
Details: Non-age stated (over 4 years old). 60% ABV.
Nose: Mint, vanilla bean ice cream, and cedar.
Mouth: Hot and Spicy. Mint, vanilla, cedar, and cinnamon.
Finish: Long and warm. Notes of mint, cinnamon, and cedar.
Thoughts: I’m very glad that I stopped to stretch my legs on my way back from Wisconsin. I’ve even more glad that on a whim I decided that a liquor store was the appropriate place to do so. I grabbed this during a fit of nostalgic curiosity and I am glad I did. It is quite good (and quite drinkable neat despite being 120° proof). Heck, even my wife who doesn’t like rye as much agrees that this one is going on the "special shelf" so we don’t go through it too quickly.
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