Old Overholt Cask Strength 10 Year Straight Rye Whiskey

VITALS:
- $100

- 121 Proof

- 10 Years

- Kentucky

This was one of those whiskeys that was nowhere on my radar when it came out. I'm usually on top of rye releases, especially those that are cask strength and age-stated. But, I had no clue that Beam was putting out a cask strength Old Overholt, not to mention one with an age statement in the double digits. 

So, I didn't even know I wanted one until I went over to a buddy's house and he had a bottle sitting on his kitchen table. It was one of those moments where I barely had taken off my jacket before I was popping the cork on that bottle to give it a try. Luckily for me, his wasn't the last one at the store, and I was able to get my hands on a bottle of my own. 

The nose was woody, but not overly oaky. It had a mix of oak, pine and sawdust. It also had a spicy but sweet cinnamon note to it. What stood out, however, was the rich and distinct notes of an old fashioned. I got a rich, dark cherry, like an Amarena cherry, along with a burnt orange note. Needless to say, it smelled delicious!

Luckily, it tasted just as good! Oddly, though, I wasn't overly impressed at first. The first couple pours I had of this rye I thought it was a good, solid rye, but it didn't necessarily wow me. But, pretty much every pour after that second one was fantastic!!

It definitely had some of those woody or oaky notes, and there was a bit of a pine resin note that you tend to get from aged ryes. Underscoring that, however, as a healthy amount of rich and sweet vanilla. It also had a peppery spice both right up front and on the finish that seemed to work well with the vanilla and pine notes. It really had the best of those traditional rye notes that I love.

On top of that, however, were rich, sweet and spicy cinnamon notes, giving a great mix of cinnamon roll and atomic fireball. It was sweet and spicy and rich, all at once.  And behind that was a distinct cooked peach note that I absolutely loved. At times this reminded me of a peach pie, with the cooked, spiced peaches, a bit of a pastry note, and cinnamon and nutmeg sprinkled on top. I couldn't get enough of this note, and it is certainly what kept me constantly reaching for this bottle on my shelf.

The finish had that same sweet and spicy profile, with notes of cinnamon and black pepper mixed with vanilla, pine and that great cooked peach note. But here that cooked peach note really lingered, along with the vanilla note, leaving an incredible taste in my mouth long after each sip.

I feel like I've been sleeping on the Old Overholt line, and this release really gave me reason to never do that again. This was an outstanding rye, and I hope there are future releases.

Grade: A

Old Overholt Bonded Straight Rye Whiskey

VITALS:
- $22
- 100 Proof
- NAS
- Kentucky

I was just on vacation in Oregon, and we spent our first night in Portland city limits.  Actually, we were in a hotel on an island on the river, and there was one liquor store within walking distance. Of course, we arrived on a Sunday, so I had to wait until my second day to make my first liquor store run. Unfortunately, the selection was just meh.

I had actually grabbed a rye from a local distillery, figuring even if it were bad, at least I was trying something local and regional. However, when I chose a bottle and carried it to the counter (I won't name names), the clerk looked at it and immediately informed me that it was terrible, while wearing one of the distillery's shirts, I might add. 

So, I was left with the choice of grabbing something I know will be decent and enjoying it on vacation, or trying something that is local and not available back home, but may not be very good. wanting to make sure I enjoyed every second of my vacation, I went with the Old Overholt BIB Rye.  In retrospect, I feel like I should have gone with a local distillery, but this bottle was gone within a few days in any event, so it couldn't have been all bad.

The nose carried that traditional cinnamon note from the rye. I also got a certain dark fruit note, and the closest I could pinpoint it was to a raisin flavor, though it wasn't quite. Perhaps raisin with plum. I also got a bit of dark chocolate on the nose, which was a welcome surprise. However, I also got a good amount of corn, a smell I've always associated with young bourbons, and that just didn't really do it for me.

On my first sip, my immediate thought was that this rye is a bit rough around the edges. By that I mean that the alcohol came through more than the proof should allow.  It also had sharp, bitter notes of hot corn flavors (again, that young whiskey note) as well as a pine note that was not of the enjoyable variety.

I did get some of the raisin that I got on the nose, and I also got some anise. The cinnamon that was prevalent on the nose was not as strong in the flavor profile. I also got lots of caramel, which was certainly needed in this whiskey, but at times it turned to more of a burnt sugar note. That coincided with a bit of a char note that I noticed from time to time.

The finish was very cereal-like. It wasn't sweet and didn't have any lingering enjoyable flavors. Rather, it was corny and woody and didn't exactly have me yearning for that next sip.

As noted above, after the fact I feel like I probably should have just tried something local, and I regret my decision. But, in the moment, with my vacation just starting out and wanting to get something decent to enjoy over the next few days, I went with this. While, at this price point, I can't say that it disappointed, it also didn't do much for me either

Grade: B-