Mississippi River Distilling Cody Road Experimental Rye Whiskey Finished in Brandy Barrels

VITALS:

- $30

- 80 Proof

- NAS

- Batch 1

- Iowa

It's been almost six years since I've purchased a Cody Road bottle  I'm not really sure why, though. The last one I had was a Binny's private select rye, which I thought was great! But with the overabundance of smaller, craft distilleries that are out there to try, not to mention the seemingly endless stream of products from the big guys, I just never made my way back to Cody Road rye.

This one, however, caught my eye. At first it was the bright pink/purple colors on the label. That really stood out among the sea of green rye labels.  Then it was the edgy looking "X" right on the label, telling me this was certainly one bad-ass whiskey (okay, not really, but it certainly doesn't exude "fancy"). Then, it was the fact that it's brandy finished -- I've always been a fan of such finishes. And what sealed the deal here was the price -- a mere $30!  Now it is only 80 proof, and likely a younger whiskey, but I was still more than willing to give this whiskey a try at that price.

The nose was definitely fruity, as would be expected. I immediately got notes of apple cider and cedar. There were also notes of green grapes and baked pears. In addition to that, though, I also got come rich brown sugar notes, as well as a bit of nutmeg. It definitely had a sort of apple pie quality, with a few other flavors added in. 

When I took my first sip, the first thing I noticed was the very watery texture. Of course, this is to be expected given the low 80 proof. It struck me as a bit more watered down than I anticipated, though. This resulted in it coming across as pretty light in flavor, which was disappointing. I really wanted that brandy barrel finish to shine.

What flavors that were there, though, were quite frankly what I was hoping to get. I got that apple pie note, with notes of baked apples and cinnamon. It even had a light, graham crackery note to it, like a sweeter pie crust. The baked pear from the nose came through as well.

The finish was probably what I liked the most about it, even if it didn't last very long. On the finish I got this sticky maple syrup note that changed direction from the other flavors just enough to make it interesting. On later pours it was still there but was more of a brown sugar and butter note which was my favorite part of tasting this whiskey.

All in all, I wanted a bit more from this, but at this price, if I'm in the mood for a brandy finished whiskey, it'd certainly have the potential to be a grab again.

Grade: B-