On our trip to Hard Truth Distillery we picked up six bottles of excellent whiskey. This rye whiskey is an excellent whiskey, but it was also our least favorite of the six we brought home. That is saying a lot about the quality of the other bottles! This is a single barrel Rye Whiskey so the flavor may vary with other barrels and another bottle from a different barrel may score better with our taste buds. Matt and I sat down and tasted this bottle the other day and here are our tasting notes.
Hard Truth Toasted Rye Malt Whiskey
Proof: 112.8
Age: Four Years Old
Nose:
- Mike: Vanilla, orange zest, pepper spice and oak wood.
- Matt: Vanilla, orange zest, ginger and oak wood.
Taste:
- Mike: Vanilla, orange zest, white pepper and oak wood. Tasted with a dried cranberry and the pepper becomes a black pepper. Tasted with a pecan and caramel and ripe apple come forward.
- Matt: Vanilla, orange zest, ginger, cinnamon and oak wood. The dried cranberry enhanced the ginger spice. The pecan brought out a note of maple syrup.
Finish:
- Mike: Medium long with oak wood and white pepper. The dried cranberry made the finish longer and the pepper became black pepper. The pecan made the finish long with oak and caramel with lingering apple.
- Matt: Medium long with oak wood, ginger and cinnamon. The dried cranberry added lingering vanilla. The pecan made the finish long with oak wood and maple syrup.
I would pair this fine rye whiskey with a NUB Maduro cigar. I think the vanilla and dried fruit in the smoke would pair well with the sweetness of the rye whiskey.
Photos Courtesy of Rosemary Miller