Distillery: Blue Spirits Distilling
Proof: 91
Age: 4 years
Mashbill: 95% rye & 5% malted barley
BACKGROUND: Blue Spirits Distillery bottles their first bottles in 2012 out of Leavenworth Washington by Lake Chelan. Their rye whiskey is hand picked from the master distiller coming from Indiana. Over the last 9 years Blue Spirits has grown to be quite successful, and have said their biggest assets is the limitless supply of pristine water from Lake Chelan, which is restocked yearly by the Cascade Mountain Snow, claiming, “No spirit can be better that the water that makes its proof.” The 95% high rye was barreled in 2016 by the Distiller of the year, before being aged in their warehouse, then finally proofed by the fresh lake water & bottled.
NOSE: The second I raised the glass to my nose I was immediately welcomed with a delicious charred oak flavor mixed with a light leather scent that paired wonderfully. On the back end I was able to pick up some of the rye spice notes that are so common with a mashbill like this. (20/25)
PALATE: Upon the first sip you can taste the purity as the oily rye coats your mouth, there is definitely something to be said about that “pristine lake water.” As I continued to drink, flavors of sweet caramelized sugar came to the forefront blended with caramel, and molasses. At this point the rye spice came in to play with the charred oak flavor tying up a beautiful combination of sweet and spice. (27/40)
FINISH: The finish was a little short but still very enjoyable. The rye Spice stayed on the forefront, and faded into flavors of roasted barley, until all that was left is the oak spice in your chest. (20/25)
VALUE: Priced at $40 this is a wonderful high rye whiskey. There are too many overpriced high ryes that just miss the target, fortunately this is not the case. If you are a fan of ryes, this is something you should have on your shelf. (7/10)
Overall: 74/100
FINAL THOUGHTS: Blue Spirits Rye is a wonderful example of what a high rye should taste like. Vibrant flavors of caramel and rye spice paired perfectly with the charred oak marrying together for a smooth delicious sip.
Similar & Slightly Better Whiskey: Buffalo Trace Kosher Rye
Similar & Equal Whiskey: Few Rye Whiskey
Similar & Slightly Worse Whiskey: Woodford Reserve Chocolate Malted Rye
Tell us what you think and give us some feedback!
Scoring Legend:
96-100: The perfect dram, juice of the gods
90-95: Near perfect, truly incredible whiskey
85-89: Amazing whiskey, will always try to keep a backup bottle of this
80-84: Very good, some minor flaws here or there
75-79: Good, quite enjoyable to drink, Will try and keep a bottle on the shelf
70-74: Solid, wouldn’t go out of my way to get this
60-69: Decent, would offer this up to non whiskey drinkers
50-59: Not my cup of tea
Below 50: Give away
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