High West Double Rye! Binny's Private Selection Blended Rye Whiskey Finished in Spanish Brandy Casks

VITALS:

- $55

- 99.6 Proof

- NAS

- Finished 6 mos.

- Barrel #25183

- Utah/Indiana

I am an absolute sucker for the various unique finishes that High West gives us as part of their private barrel program. Some of my favorite whiskeys over the years have been these bottlings, including a number of different wine finishes and an Armagnac finish that was absolutely amazing.

This is the first I've seen of a Spanish Brandy finish, though. Obviously different locations are going to provide different grape varietals. It's obviously seen in wine, and, while I don't profess to know a whole lot about brandy, I certainly see it there as well. The differences from American brandy to French brandy can be pretty significant. I've never tried Spanish brandy, that I know of, and maybe I'll have to make it a point to remedy that.

In the meantime, this Spanish brandy finished rye offered all sorts of deliciousness that tells me I'm missing out. On the nose I got brought back to memories of hot apple pie topped with caramel sauce. It had the fruity notes, the baking spices, the pie crust notes and, of course, that sweet and rich caramel note. I could have sat on my couch nosing my glass all night it was so good.

The flavor, while it wasn't strictly limited to apple pie and caramel notes, was nonetheless just as good. It still had the rich and sweet caramel notes, and up front I still got a lot of those baking spices. It also provided a bit more heat, almost like a blend of cinnamon and chili spice. 

Instead of apple, though, I was getting a lot of dark fruits. I got sweet and rich blackberry notes, as well as vibrant plum notes. Perhaps that's where the baked apple notes from the nose went. Those dark fruit notes also provided a bit of welcome tartness which helped offset the sweet caramel notes.

What I think I loved most about this bottle, though, was the finish. It was full of cinnamon spice that lingered in the back of my throat. But, it had this sort of cinnamon chai tea latte flavor to it, perhaps even a bit of a horchata note, that was absolutely delicious. I kept pouring glass after glass just so I could continue to enjoy that finish!

I want more of this, but sadly it's gone. That said, on my next trip to the liquor store I think I'm going to have to inquire about a nice Spanish brandy if this is the kind of influence their barrels are going to have on whiskey.

Grade: A

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-