Pages

Saturday, July 3, 2021

Still 630 Rally Point Straight Rye Whiskey

VITALS:
- $30
- 90 Proof
- NAS
- Batch No. 75
- Missouri

This bottle was one of two that I grabbed a few months back when I was in St. Louis for my daughter's hockey tournament. I wanted to make it a point to grab a bottle or two that I can't normally find in Illinois, and it's usually pretty easy to just go with a small, local craft distiller--in this case Still 630. I also typically go with ryes because most craft whiskey is on the younger end, and rye tends to hold up well at a young age.

This bottle, however, grabbed my attention for two reasons. First was the very reasonable price of $30. That in itself makes it very easy to pull this bottle off the shelf. Second was the word "straight" on the label and the lack of an age statement anywhere else, indicating that this rye was at least four years old. Considering all the other craft whiskeys I was looking at were only two years or less, it was an easy decision to go with the one that had a bit more time in the barrel.

The nose was interesting. I got a lot of earthy and nutty notes. I picked up a mix of peanuts and pecans along with a brown sugar note, but more the flavor than the sweetness. There was also a light woodiness to it as well--not bitter or anything, just a noticeable wood note. The rye spice was certainly noticeable as well, as I got decent amounts of cinnamon and pine. 

When I took a sip, the first thing I noticed was the very watery texture. It was, perhaps as a result, fairly soft in flavor. Everything just seemed a bit muted, but what was there was good. The most prominent flavors were brown sugar and vanilla. It had a very cookie-like quality in that respect.

It did, however, have a dill note as well as a touch of spearmint, making you know that this was a rye. Those flavors layered over the vanilla that was present throughout worked pretty well.  Unfortunately, these notes were also fairly muted and soft. 

My first impressions were that this rye was screaming for more spice. It didn't seem to have any of the typical rye characteristics. However, as I worked my way through this bottle, that spice seemed to actually develop a bit, giving me that cinnamon, along with light notes of anise and even ginger. These spicier notes were most prevalent on the finish. While not long-lived, the finish did provide a little bit of complexity in that respect. 

For $30, this was absolutely worth picking up to try something from a small craft distillery local to the St. Louis area. They are doing a lot of things right, and I'd love to see what more they can do with this rye.

Grade: B-

No comments:

Post a Comment