Today we'll be examining the second product produced at the Yellow Rose distillery in Pinehurst, Texas, a few miles north of our own fine city. Yellow Rose, as some of my readers may recall, also produce an outstanding bourbon that led to my very first live review. If it wasn't established enough in the original article, these guys whether new to the craft or not, know what they are doing.
Rather though than use their own bourbon as a base spirit to this product as quite a few other companies have, they opted instead to go the more traditional route that should be music to a rye whiskey enthusiast's ears, a 95% rye mash. This is in fact similar to another product I reviewed not long ago, Bulleit. The difference of course, is that Bulleit was produced by a large-scale producer and Yellow Rose is made by an upstart craft distillery with a small but passionate crew.
Review:
The nose of the spirit begins with the requisite barrel notes of caramel and vanilla briefly, leading to rich fruit aromas, a tinge of maple, some white pepper and toffee, and it ends with a wonderful hit of peppermint. The first sip changes a bit however, starting with a tad of heat, then a lovely flavor of black cherry, moving towards the spicy peppery quality of the malted rye and the caramel and vanilla barrel flavors in the middle, and ending with a delightful sweetness and the peppermint yet again.
Honestly, I have never experienced a whiskey product by anyone with such a prominent mint characteristic in the nose or the sip of the drink. And even more honestly, I'm absolutely enamored with it. This whiskey is just divinely sumptuous. This is precisely the reason why rye is making such a meteoric return in America. All I can say to the guys at Yellow Rose is excellent work. Your product is superb and I'm proud it is from our neck of the woods. Thanks for putting Houston on the whiskey map!
Pick up a bottle from your local area Spec's for right around 40 dollars. You may even be greeted with a sample by one of the people that created it for your enjoyment in fact. If you do find yourself in this situation, my suggestion to you is to talk at length with them regarding the amazing method in which they are getting such a complex aging in such a very short time. Awesome stuff.
Rating: 5 out of 5
Suggested Tasting Method: Neat or in a Manhattan
Suggested Cigar Pairing: Macanudo Maduro
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