BHAKTA 2013 Straight Rye Whiskey Finished in Calvados Casks

VITALS:

- $150

- 107.4 Proof

- 11 Years

- Indiana

Bhakta is a brand that is pretty new to me, and I've been making it a point to learn a bit more about them. And, I have to say, I'm intrigued.  BHAKTA Spirits is a brand started by Raj Peter Bhakta, who also founded WhistlePig. Apparently after he sold WhistlePig, he found himself in the Armagnac region of France, where he proceeded to purchase a farm/vineyard, and with it some stocks of very well-aged Armagnacs and other spirits.

While this particular bottle is not an Armagnac, it is, nonetheless, a rye finished in calvados barrels. The rye has a bottling date of 2013 (Bhakta tends to operate in vintages rather than age statements), making it a 10 year whiskey before spending 75 days in the secondary cask, a Calvados selected from Chateau BHAKTA (which I assume is the name of the farm he purchased).   

After popping the glass cork (I really hate those), I immediately got the traditional notes of rye that I'd expect, with a healthy amount of cinnamon, and even some mint and pine resin. There's no denying it's an older MGP rye. The Calvados notes weren't super strong, at least not on the nose.  I did get a bit of a cooked apple sauce note, but it was pretty faint.  

The flavor was great, primarily because, despite the finishing, it was still unquestionably a really good rye.  Vanilla and cinnamon were right up front, with the spice from the cinnamon lingering throughout.  There was a light minty note, but not nearly as pronounced as I expected. That pine resin was a little more forward, along with an oak note that added a bit of bitterness.

It was that oak note that I think made the Calvados finishing work, as it added a sweetness that countered some of that bitterness, and vice versa. It never leaned too sweet or too bitter.  And the ever-present cinnamon note really seemed to work well with the apple brandy notes.

The only criticism I have about the finish is that it didn't seem to last very long.  It had great notes of cinnamon and baked apple and sweet vanilla.  But, oddly, it just seemed to disappear pretty quickly.  But, if that's my only quibble, this was still a delicious pour, telling me that, even if finished rye is not their bread and butter, they still appear to know what they're doing.

Grade: B+