On a recent trip to Mount Vernon, we picked up a bottle of their four year, nine month old rye whiskey. This is the 2025 release and it is a little different from the four year old rye I have reviewed in the past. It is the nature of 18th century distilling that they use at Mount Vernon that causes their whiskey to be inconsistent in flavor. It is always good whiskey with a similar flavor profile, but when you use wood fired pot stills and open aired wood fermenters, the flavor can be a bit inconsistent. Matt and I sat down to taste this whiskey the other day and here are our tasting notes.
George Washington Rye
Proof: 93
Age: Four Years, Nine Months
Nose:
- Mike: Rye grass, caramel, peaches, baking spices and oak wood.
- Matt: Rye grass, vanilla, caramel, green apple, cinnamon and oak wood.
Taste:
- Mike: Rye grass, caramel, peaches, cinnamon, nutmeg and oak wood. Tasted with a dried cranberry and the cinnamon becomes a red hot cinnamon candy. Tasted with a pecan and milk chocolate comes forth to join the party.
- Matt: Rye grass, vanilla, green apple, cinnamon and oak wood. The dried cranberry enhanced the cinnamon. The pecan made the vanilla a rich caramel and added peach to the flavor.
Finish:
- Mike: Medium long with oak wood, spice and lingering peach. The dried cranberry made the finish long and spicy with oak wood and cinnamon. The pecan made the finish long with oak wood, milk chocolate and lingering peach.
- Matt: Medium long with oak wood and cinnamon. The dried cranberry made the finish long and spicy with lots of cinnamon. The pecan made the finish long with oak wood, cinnamon and lingering caramel.
I would pair this fine whiskey with a My Father The Judge cigar. The vanilla and chocolate in the smoke would pair well with the caramel in the rye whiskey.
Photos Courtesy of Rosemary Miller