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Saturday, December 5, 2020

Sagamore Spirit Binny's Barrel Select Single Barrel Straight Rye - Barrel No. 42


VITALS:

- $60
- 110 Proof
- 6 Years
- Barrel No. 42
- Indiana

I have been generally impressed with everything I've had so far from Sagamore Spirit.  I was a big fan of their Cask Strength Rye that I had a few months back. I've also had the pleasure of trying their Double Oak Rye, Manhattan Finished Rye (which I wasn't a huge fan of only because I don't really like Manhattans), and the Moscatel Finished Rye, and they were all really well done. In fact, I made it a point to purchase my own bottle of the Moscatel Finished Rye which I'll one day get around to reviewing here.

So when Binny's got a couple different single barrel picks from Sagamore in, there was no question I was grabbing one. Granted, this is MGP rye, but I figured (1) I love MGP rye; and (2) if they're willing to slap their label on it, there's a good chance it was going to be good. Plus, an almost barrel proof, 6-year single barrel MGP rye for $60 seemed like a pretty good deal in general.

The nose was actually somewhat unique and delicious. Of course I got the brown sugar and caramel that I expected. However, I didn't get those minty dill notes I've come to expect from MGP ryes. Rather, it had a nice, tangy and sweet peach tea note. It was almost a cooked peach note, which, with the brown sugar and caramel, smelled like an absolutely delicious dessert.

The flavor was full of sweet and rich caramel along with a nice, mouthwatering cinnamon spice. It was somewhere between natural cinnamon and cinnamon candy flavor. However, that base layer of cinnamon and caramel was complemented by other flavors in such a way that by the time I finished the bottle, I was left with the impression that this is one of the best whiskeys I've had in a long time.

To go with that caramel and cinnamon, I got notes of chocolate and cherry. IT was almost like a chocolate cherry cola, but with actual chocolate rather than chocolate syrup, and with real cherries rather than that fake cherry flavor. It was chocolate cherry cola, but so much better.

The proof allowed for a great mouthfeel that coated my mouth and the back of my throat with flavor that lasted forever. On the finish I got some sweet vanilla bean, almost creamy like vanilla bean ice cream. It also had a walnut note to it as well, and, of course, the sweet caramel and spicy cinnamon hung around for the finish as well.

I don't want to overstate things, but I absolutely LOVED this whiskey! It truly is one of my favorite whiskeys I've had in a long time, and while I went into it with decent expectations, I wasn't expecting anything quite this good. I may need to grab one more bottle of this if I can find it.

Grade: A+

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