Lee Kennedy, the distiller and owner of Leiper’s Fork Distillery, makes very good Tennessee Whiskey and Bourbon, but his Rye whiskey is some of the best whiskey I have drunk. This rye whiskey is made with a mash bill of 55% rye, 30% corn and 15% malted barley and has a barrel entry proof of 110. Matt picked up this bottle for me while visiting the distillery with his father. I am very glad he got this bottle as it is an excellent whiskey. Matt and I both decided without a doubt that it should be our whiskey of the month for September. Here are our tasting notes.
Leiper’s Fork Single Barrel Rye Whiskey
Proof: 117.8
Age: Seven Years, Nine Months Old
Nose:
- Mike: Caramel, milk chocolate, rye grass, plums, prunes, blackberries, baking spices and oak wood.
- Matt: Rye grass, vanilla, lemon zest, peaches, baking spice and oak wood.
Taste:
- Mike: Rye grass, caramel, blackberries, plums, prunes, cinnamon, cardamom and oak wood. Tasted with a dried cranberry and the fruit notes are enhanced and black pepper spice comes forward. Tasted with a pecan and the milk chocolate comes forward and peach fruit joins the party.
- Matt: Vanilla, peaches, lemon zest, ginger spice and oak wood. The dried cranberry enhanced the fruit flavors. The pecan added a note of milk chocolate to the flavor.
Finish:
- Mike: Long with oak wood, blackberries, prunes, cinnamon and lingering caramel. The dried cranberry added pepper spice to the finish. The pecan added chocolate to the finish.
- Matt: Long with oak wood and vanilla. The dried cranberry added lingering peach notes to the finish. The pecan added lingering milk chocolate to the finish.
I would pair this fine rye whiskey with a Padron 1926 Serie Cigar. The vanilla and chocolate notes in the smoke would pair well with the sweet, candy notes of the rye whiskey.
Photos Courtesy of Rosemary Miller