Copper & Cask SavWay Fine Wine & Spirits Single Barrel Selection Straight Rye Whiskey

VITALS:

- $45

- 109.2 Proof

- 6 Years

- Indiana

Prior to buying this bottle, I hadn't had anything from Copper & Cask out of Rhode Island. A few buddies of mine have picked up bottles and, while they might not necessarily have raved about them, certainly indicated it was good stuff, at least the rye anyway.  Admittedly, I haven't heard much about their bourbons.

And when I say "their" rye, I mean their sourced rye. This is, of course, MGP rye, with the traditional 95/5 rye mashbill.  What made this an easy buy, though, was the fact that this is cask strength, single barrel 6 year MGP rye. Other distilleries are bottling this stuff and putting it on the shelves for close to twice the price. So, this was an easy grab for me off the shelf.

On the nose I got a light oak note along with some sweet caramel notes right away. That gave way to vanilla, with a black pepper spice to follow.  I did get a bit of a dill note, as well as a touch of mint, both of which I've come to expect from MGP ryes. But, they certainly weren't strong notes, and it was that vanilla and black pepper that took center stage.

When I took my first sip, though, it seemed the first things I noticed were that dill and mint. There was no question that this was MGP rye right away. It also had a spicy cinnamon note, rather than black pepper.  And the caramel note seemed a bit darker and richer, more like a toffee note.

This rye had something odd to it, however. There was a distinct coppery note to it. Kind of like that flavor left over after having pennies in your mouth.  I'm pretty sure this is more relatable than it sounds, right?  I also got a lot of vanilla coinciding with that copper note, and there was also something funky, almost like pine resin. This whiskey got a little weird in the middle.

The finish was dominated by a long-lasting vanilla note, as well as a bit of spearmint. This was particularly pronounced in the last few pours I enjoyed, and both flavors stuck around for quite a while. Meanwhile, that coppery note was luckily nowhere to be found on the finish.

All in all a decent whiskey, but it just had something weird going on with that copper note, and it was one of those things that once you noticed it, it was all you could notice.

Grade: B-

Knob Creek Single Barrel Reserve Sav-Way Private Selection Kentucky Straight Bourbon Barrel #7387

VITALS:
- $40
- 120 Proof
- NAS
- Kentucky

Sav-Way is a small little liquor store near me that has three different locations. They usually have a pretty decent whiskey selection, and I make it a point to pop in from time to time to see what's new. I've been able to find some decent bottles at their shops from time to time at decent prices, although they do have a tenancy to significantly mark up their more allocated stuff.

One day while perusing their shelves looking for something to drink for the night, I settled on a private selection of Knob Creek they had. I feel like I've been drinking a lot of these lately (not necessarily a bad thing), and this particular one didn't have any information, such as age, entry proof, warehouse, etc.  Unfortunately, the person working there that night didn't have that information either. Nonetheless, given my overwhelmingly positive experiences with Knob Creek private selections, I decided to give this one a spin.

On the nose I immediately noticed the alcohol. It was really hard to escape, and it was considerably more noticeable than I recall from other Knob Creek private selections. Certainly after being open a bit that alcohol burn died down some, but it remained stronger than any others I've had.

That being said, behind the alcohol I got the more traditional notes of rich caramel and toffee. I also got a decent amount of oak on the nose, and I could even detect the tannins. Finally, there was a healthy dose of cinnamon, and that note seemed to get heavier with each sniff.  All in all, while it may seem otherwise as I describe it, I actually really enjoyed this nose. It all worked well to create a rich, complex and spicy aroma.

The flavor was also heavy on the tannins, which really gave this bourbon a decent amount of bite. It made me wonder just how old this bourbon was. I got significantly more oak than I'm used to getting in the 10-12 year range. There was also a decent amount of vanilla and cinnamon to lend to some of the more traditional bourbon notes.

However, with each pour I kept getting this flavor that I just couldn't put my finger on. It was kind of earthy, kind of spicy and kind of vegetal  About half way through I had my a-ha moment, and was able to identify that odd flavor as pumpkin spice. I can't say that I've ever had such a note in any of my previous reviews, and perhaps that's why I had such a hard time placing it. 

The wood and spice were balanced out by a sweet brown sugar that was present from front to back.  On the finish I got a light cooling mint note as well, something I find far more often in ryes. Though it was light, it was definitely there and it seemed to stick around for a while.

Overall, this was a very good bourbon (further cementing my belief that Knob Creek picks are always worth the gamble).  It's not the best thing that I've ever put in my mouth, but it was rich complex and interesting, and I really enjoyed each pour.

Grade: B+