Distillery 291 is in Colorado Springs, Colorado. They distill their whiskey three times in pot stills and are making some interesting whiskeys. This bottle is made with rye malt and finished with Aspen wood staves in what they are calling the “El Paso County Process”. The whiskey is bottled at barrel proof and is not chill filtered. It is a flavorful whiskey that Matt and I liked quite a bit. We considered it as our whiskey of the month for this month but it lost out in a blind tasting to another whiskey. Still, we consider it a very fine whiskey and here are our tasting notes.
Distillery 291 Single Barrel Rye Malt WHISKEY Finished with Aspen Wood Staves
Proof: 126.4
Age: No Age Statement
Nose:
- Mike: Rye grass, chocolate, vanilla, prunes, baking spices and oak wood.
- Matt: Rye grass, buttered pecans, dark fruit, baking spices and oak wood.
Taste:
- Mike: Rye grass, caramel, raisins, prunes, cinnamon spice, and oak wood. Tasted with a dried cranberry and a citrus note comes out with a little ginger spice. Tasted with a pecan and the citrus note is still there with enhanced cinnamon, chocolate and oak wood.
- Matt: Rye grass, raisins, buttered pecan toffee, dark fruit and oak wood. The dried cranberry brings out lemon grass, ginger and herbal tea flavors. The pecan added caramel and cocoa butter flavors.
Finish:
- Mike: Long with oak and cinnamon spice and lingering fruit. The dried cranberry made the finish shorter with oak wood and cinnamon spice. The pecan made the finish long and dry with lots of oak wood and cinnamon red hot candy.
- Matt: Medium long with oak wood, ginger spice and rye grass. The dried cranberry made the finish shorter with oak and ginger spice. The pecan made the finish very long with oak wood and lingering chocolate.
I wood pair this Rye whiskey with a cigar that is rich in vanilla and earthy tobacco in the smoke. I would reach for a NUB Maduro cigar.
Photos Courtesy of Rosemary Miller