High West Double Rye! Warehouse Liquors Select White Port Finished Blended Rye

VITALS:

- $55

- 97.4 Proof

- NAS

- Finished 1 yr., 1 mo.

- Barrel No. 20810

- Utah

I love that the High West store picks are so varied with their finishes. On top of multiple types of wine finishes, not to mention everything else from rum to tequila to barrel-aged cocktail finishes, the variety has been unparalleled, and, quite frankly, a lot of fun! Some have been, in my book, not good, and some have been, in my book, absolutely amazing!

This one intrigued me though. I've had plenty of port finished bourbons or ryes, and I have generally enjoyed them all. I loved the 1792 Port Finish, and I really liked the more recent Thomas S. Moore port finish (enough to buy a backup bottle).  This, however, was a white port finish. White port is the same as regular port, fortified with brandy, only it's made from (of course) white grapes as opposed to red grapes. I've never had white port on its own, but I was certainly down to try a white port finished Double Rye!  And, of course, I have a soft spot for Gene's picks at Warehouse Liquors to begin with.

The nose certainly gave off a jammy aroma, full of sweet blackberry notes. It had an accompanying cocoa note along with some cinnamon. The rye also provided a light pine resin to add a bit of earthy funk to the mix. It all seemed like a great mix of what I like most from a rye and a port finished whiskey.

On the palate I was immediately reminded of a spiced or mulled wine. It had notes of a sweeter red wine along with cinnamon and cloves.  The fruit-forward notes were that same sweet and rich blackberry I got on the nose along with a lightly tart plum note. There were also some white or green grape notes. 

As anticipated, this was a very fruit-forward whiskey. However, other notes made their way through, including a sort of candied or caramelized pecan note. There was also a peppery spice that made its way to in on the backend and really stuck around on the finish.

The finish allowed more of those caramel and cocoa notes to come through as the dark fruit notes faded just a touch. The finish was actually the most balanced part, giving me fruity, sweet and spicy notes all at once.  

While this wasn't necessarily my favorite finish, gauging by how quickly I finished this bottle, it certainly was a far cry from bad. The somewhat lower proof I'm sure added to that, but all in all I just found this to be a very easy drinker, particularly for when I was in the mood for something on the sweeter end.

Grade: B