It is that time of the year where I have a lot of bottles of whiskey that I need to review. I have received four more bottles of whiskey from Pablo Moix. In case you are unfamiliar with the Rare Character Whiskeys, Pablo picks single barrels of whiskey, often with another group or even groups of people, and sells them on-line. Three of the bottles are Rye whiskey and one of them is a Bourbon finished in in a white Port wine barrel. Two of the Rye whiskeys are also finished whiskeys. Matt and I sat down and tasted them and here are our tasting notes.
Rare Character Bourbon Enthusiast and Seelbach’s Bourbon Finished in White Port Wine Barrel
Proof: 109.26
Age: Five Years Old
Nose:
- Mike: Very much fruit forward –pears and ripe apple with a floral note of honeysuckle, caramel, baking spices and oak wood.
- Matt: Caramel, green apple, intense floral notes, oak wood.
Taste:
- Mike: Rich caramel, pears, cinnamon and oak wood. Tasted with a dried cranberry and the caramel is enhanced and it brings out some nutmeg and allspice to join the cinnamon spice. Tasted with a pecan and the spice is muted but there is a chocolate note added to the flavor.
- Matt: Caramel, apples – almost cider-like, wild berries and oak wood. The dried cranberry made it very buttery with toffee, and chocolate. The pecan brought out notes of peanut butter and chocolate. The pecan brought out chocolate, and peanut butter and enhanced the oak wood.
Finish:
- Mike: Medium long with oak, cinnamon and lingering caramel sweetness. The dried cranberry made the finish longer with more baking spices. The pecan made the finish long with lingering notes of chocolate.
- Matt: Medium long with oak wood, citrus and baking spices. The dried cranberry made it heavy on the oak wood with lingering dark fruit flavors. The pecan brought out leather with lingering peanut butter and chocolate.
Rare Character Trevor’s Rye Finished in Amburana Barrels
Proof: 112.32
Age: Five Years Eleven Months
Nose:
- Mike: Cheap scented candle – sandal wood, burnt cloves, vanilla, oak wood.
- Matt: Vanilla, baked apple, cloves and wood.
Taste:
- Mike: Caramel, burnt cloves and oak tannins. Tasted with a dried cranberry and most of the flavor is washed out except the burnt clove. Tasted with a pecan and the caramel is enhanced there is a bit of dark chocolate and that burnt clove taste.
- Matt: Vanilla, baked apples, cloves, ginger and wood. The dried cranberry added a burnt bean flavor. The pecan added a note of maple syrup.
Finish:
- Mike: Long with burnt clove and oak tannins. The dried cranberry reduced the oak and enhanced the burnt clove. The pecan added some lingering chocolate to the finish.
- Matt: Oak and a vanilla candle. The dried cranberry gave the finish of burnt beans and cloves. The pecan added some ginger and maple notes to the finish.
Rare Character Rare Bird 101 Rye Finished in Px Sherry Barrels
Proof: 113.16
Age: Five Years, Nine Months
Nose:
- Mike: Rye grass, vanilla, apricots baking spices and oak wood.
- Matt: A little rye grassiness, vanilla, tangerine and oak wood.
Taste:
- Mike: Rye grass, vanilla, wild berries, cinnamon, nutmeg, and oak wood. The dried cranberry brought out raspberry and blackberry. The pecan brought out caramel and more oak.
- Matt: Rye grass, lemon, with a hint of tangerine and oak wood. The dried cranberry added a note of lemon. The pecan gave it a caramel with hot cinnamon and pumpkin pie spice flavor.
Finish:
- Mike: Medium long with oak and spice. The dried cranberry made the finish longer with lingering sweetness from the berries. The pecan made the finish very long with oak wood and lingering caramel.
- Matt: Oak and lingering lemon. The dried cranberry added honey and tea leaves to the finish. The pecan made the finish very spicy with cinnamon, brown sugar and molasses.
Rare Character Rare Bird 1001 Straight Rye Whiskey
Proof: 120.3
Age: Six Years, Four Months
Nose:
- Mike: Rye grass, leather, vanilla, dates and oak wood.
- Matt: Caramel, cinnamon, rye grass, vanilla wafers.
Taste:
- Mike: Rye grass, vanilla, dates, cherries, leather, nutmeg and oak wood. The dried cranberry enhanced the cherry and vanilla. The pecan brought out some dark chocolate.
- Matt: Caramel, buttered corn, rye grass, Werther’s Original butterscotch candy and oak wood. The dried cranberry added cinnamon and ginger spice. The pecan made the finish heavily charred oak wood and vanilla.
I would pair these whiskeys with a cigar that has lots of vanilla in the smoke. I would reach for a RoMa Craft CroMagnon cigar.
Photos Courtesy of Rosemary Miller