I’d like to thank the producer and their PR team for providing this review sample with no strings attached.
Tuesday we revisited the bourbon and rye whiskeys from Union Horse Distillery in the Kansas suburbs of Kansas City. We’d first covered those whiskeys over seven years ago, way back in 2016. Tonight, we take a look a couple of the items that they’ve released since that time.
The first is a barrel-proof version of the Reunion Rye that we looked at on Tuesday. The other is a unique mixture of their new American Single Malt and a Wheated Bourbon. It is called Rolling Standard and here is what they have to say about it:
Rolling Standard Midwestern Four-Grain Whiskey is a very interesting approach to creating a four-grain. Instead of using all four grains together in the same mash, Union Horse Distilling distilled a wheated Bourbon and distilled an American Single Malt, aged both for five years, and then blended them together. After the blending process, the whiskey is then returned to those barrels another 18 months together before being blended again as a small batch. It is non-chill filtered and bottled at 92°.
We have a lot of tasting notes to get through tonight so I’m going to jump right into those. First we will be taking a look at the Barrel Strength Reunion Rye Whiskey followed by Rolling Standard.
Union Horse Barrel-Strength Reunion Straight Rye Whiskey
Purchase Price: This review sample was provided at no cost by the producer for review purposes. The suggested price is $57.
Price per Drink (50 mL): $3.80
Details: 100% Rye. 60.7% ABV. 4-5 years old. Batch 12. Barreled at 110° proof
Nose: Mint, cinnamon, and cedar.
Mouth: Cedar, mint, ginger, clove, cinnamon, and chocolate.
Finish: Warm and long with mint, cedar, cinnamon, and ginger.
Thoughts: I really enjoyed the standard Reunion Rye and I like this barrel proof version even more. It’s the same, just dialed up to eleven. It is really damn good! It makes me wish it was distributed here in Minnesota (though next time I’m in Kansas City, I may see about bringing one back).
Union Horse Rolling Standard
Purchase Price: This review sample was provided at no cost by the producer for review purposes. The suggested price is $33.
Price per Drink (50 mL): $2.20
Details: 46% ABV. Batch 21. 18 months old. Mash Bill: 45% corn, 20% wheat, 20% malted barley and 15% rye.
Nose: Butterscotch, cinnamon, chocolate, and roasted peanuts.
Mouth: Very malt forward with caramel and cinnamon.
Finish: Medium warmth and length. The notes remind me of a snickers bar, chocolate, caramel, malt and peanuts.
Thoughts: I like this one, but I like it a lot more as a cocktail ingredient than I do out of a tasting glass. It has a lot of good qualities, but doesn't quite align with my palate when neat. That said, I really enjoy the "Snickers Bar" finish. But the malt-forward notes in the mouth aren't quite for me. All-in-all, if you like a whiskey that has malted milk style malt notes in the mouth and a candy bar finish, you should certainly pick this up if you are in a market where it is sold. It makes a killer old-fashioned so I will be using mine for that.
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