Distillery: HIgh West sourced from MGP
Proof: 92
Age: Blend between 2 - 16 years
Mashbill: 53% Rye, 37% Corn, 10% Malted Barley
BACKGROUND: High West’s Yippee-Ki-Yay is a Vermouth and Syrah finished rye whiskey that was an annual release from High West but was discontinued in 2020. It is a blend of 3 different rye whiskeys that comes from MGP. The whiskeys range from 2 - 16 yrs.
NOSE: Tons of cherry, dried fruit, some bold rye spice and some sweet maple notes. It has a weird bitter scent that I can’t get off my mind. This is a very unique nose!A very fruity scent up front that is followed by baked maple and brown sugar that turns into a caramelized dessert flavor, delicious (21/25)
PALATE: It is very well balanced with tons of rye spice throughout. There are some really tasty dried berry fruit notes. It really reminds us of black licorice. There is some ethanol burn as well (35/40)
FINISH: A quick finish that has tons of rye spice, oak, and some dried cherry but dies out quickly burnt oak. The heat is slightly overpowering though and takes away from some of the notes (23/25)
VALUE: With an SRP of $80 this is slightly high. I think it should be sitting at around $55 (7/10)
Overall: 86/100
FINAL THOUGHTS: This is a very unique rye whiskey that has tons of flavors but definitely has some flaws. However, it is no longer released so if you see it and want to try it … buy it before they’re gone forever.
Similar & Slightly Better Whiskey: Garrison Brother's Honey Dew
Similar & Equal Whiskey: Belle Meade Maderia Finish
Similar & Slightly Worse Whiskey: Angel's Envy Finished 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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