Elijah Craig Straight Rye

When I heard Elijah Craig was going to release a rye whiskey I got excited because I like EC. I happened upon a bottle of Elijah Craig Straight Rye Whiskey for $30 and decided to bring one home. I was hoping it would be crazy beautiful and perhaps my expectations were too high. At 94 proof, 47% abv, this should have some alcohol presence, but be restrained. The aroma was low rye spice coupled with alcohol and pepper. Brown sugar lurks behind the alcohol presence and hints of chocolate. The flavor was rather muted brown sugar, medium rye spice, and oak at a moderate, and perhaps too high, level. The finish had alcohol and leather pleasantly into the aftertaste. While good, this just wasn’t what I was expecting and I can think of bottles which have a lower price of admission which I prefer more. If you haven’t tried it, snag a bottle and give it a whirl. I have another bottle and if it proves to be the same as this one, I probably will not purchase it again due to the lack of complexity and too strong oak presence.

Pinhook Bourbon Country

I’ve seen many others post high praises of Pinhook offerings so when I saw Pinhook Bourbon Country in a New Jersey liquor store at an exceptional price I knew I had to snag a bottle. The price of admission was around $30 which seemed like a bargain for a 95.5 proof Bourbon. The bottle listed the vintage as Fall 2018 and I believe this Bourbon is released periodically so it most likely varies quite a bit from one release to another. This one was fruity and alcoholic in the nose with peaches, pear, black pepper, raisins, and cedar along with sweet malt. and brown sugar The flavor was brown sugar coupled to more fruit flavors including peaches, pears, apricots, and raisins along with a peppery cedar finish. The alcohol in the flavor was much more restrained only accentuating the flavor and fading into the finish. The post consumption warming was strong. The issue with this Bourbon is a lack of balance and an overpowered presence of alcohol in the aroma and warming. While this isn’t a bad bottle by any means, I wouldn’t pick up another of this release even at this low price of admission. I’ve seen others rave about other Pinhooks so I’ll try some others as I run into them, but I won’t be buying another Fall 2018 Bourbon Country.