United Tastes of America tasting with SWC

 Another Thursday night and it was another @SouthportWhisky lockdown virtual tasting!.

This time is was with a section of bourbon and rye from some new USA distilleries.

If you didn't know Southport Whisky Club do things a little differently - you buy a full size bottle of a whisky from the tasting and get a sample set free of all of the rest. In this case I'd bought a bottle of MB Roland Rye and received the 8 samples above.

New Riff (DSP-KY-20016)

New Riff distillery was founded in 2014 in Newport, Kentucky. They distil bourbon and rye following the Sour Mash Kentucky Regimen always Bottled in Bond and without Chill Filtration.

They produce around 40 barrels a day using a tall beer still. Jay Erisman took us through two of their bottlings.

Dram	Single Barrel Kentucky Bourbon	Single Barrel Kentucky Rye
Characteristics	51.5% ABV 4yo	50% ABV 4yo
Distillery notes	New Riff Single Barrel Bourbon is a high-rye, full bodied whiskey offering savoury, spicy character, bottled at Barrel Proof without Chill Filtration. Featuring a mash bill of non-GMO grains at 65% corn, 30% rye, and 5% malted barley, it represents a new riff on Kentucky’s most hallowed whiskey traditions. Aged four years in 53-gallon toasted and charred new oak barrels. Nose: Butterscotch rounding into fresh oak, with hints of vanilla and rye spice. Taste: Broad, fulsome mouthfeel, leading to a sweeter vanilla accent, before a gathering of rye spices (clove, cinnamon, mint, dark berry) into the finish. Finish: Long, rye-led finish, with brambly red-black fruits amid white pepper and clove.	New Riff Single Barrel Rye, distilled 2015, bottled in 2019 at 100 PROOF without Chill Filtration. Featuring a mash bill of non-GMO grains 95% rye and 5% malted rye. Aged four years in 53-gallon toasted and charred new oak barrels. Nose: Well balanced between nougat confection and rye-derived spices such as black pepper, clove, grains of paradise and pink peppercorns. Taste: Broad, fulsome mouthfeel, a sweet-spicy-savoury interplay developing into floral rose and red fruit notes. Finish: Fine length and detail, showing potent rye spices which last and last.
My thoughts:
Appearance
	Dark gold in the glass, swirls cling as a thin line, slowly bead up and fall as slow thin legs.	Dark gold in the glass, swirls cling as a thin line, slowly bead up, forming an inverted crown before  slowly falling as thin legs.
Nose	Warm musty wood with rye clove spice. A little citrus peel and cinnamon.	Cloves, cinnamon and black pepper spices with a hint of mint. A little vanilla an orange juice.
Palate	Thick full bodied and mouth coating, sweet berries covered in clove and cinnamon spice. There's a little oak here with vanilla and sweet shop barley sugars.	Smooth full bodies arrival - huge Parma Violet notes typical of Rye. Huge spice notes of cloves, cinnamon and black pepper round off with a kick of vanilla and hints of coconut and sweet honey.
Finish	Short warming spice and barley sugar.	Lingering peppery spice - very warming.
Overall	I've tried a few New Riff whiskies before and always been impressed - their Rye heavy mash bills give a lovely spice bite that's missing on some other bourbons. The Rye is one of only a handful of 100% Rye mash bills you'll find - using malted rye rather than malted barley to convert starches to sugar. It must really mess up the mash tun, washbacks and even the stills but it's worth it - yummy!

Sagamore Spirit (DSP–MD–20019)

Sagamore Spirit was founded in 2017 in Baltimore , Maryland. There current range is sourced from MGP in Indiana who distil two different proprietary mash bills for them which are married together. Once the whiskey is aged, it’s shipped to the Maryland distillery in barrels where it is proofed with Sagamore Farm spring water, before hand-bottling and labelled.

Their distillery is now up and working - they only distil rye, producing around 40 barrels a day. Brian Tracy took us through two of their bottlings.

Dram	Double Oak Rye	Cask Strength Rye
Characteristics	48.3% ABV 4yo	56.1% ABV 4yo
Distillery notes	Sagamore Double Oak. After ageing their award winning spirit for 4 years Sagamore place it in a second first use barrel and wait. The new toasted staves re-energise the ageing process, creating flavours full of caramel and dark vanilla and colours that radiate amber and warm chestnut. It’s a Straight Rye Whiskey perfect for the spirit of celebration.  Nose; baking spices, dried orange peel, and warm cinnamon. Palate; smooth caramel and rich toasted coconut. Nutty flavours of hazelnut and pecan meld perfectly with vanilla and caramel.	Sagamore Cask Strength is made with just a splash of Sagamore's unique spring water from Sagamore Farm, this cask strength whiskey explodes in colour and flavour. A proud winner of Double Gold from the prestigious San Francisco World Spirits Competition, Sagamore Spirit Cask Strength Rye is perfect straight, on the rocks or in your favourite cocktail.  Tasting notes: nose, bold cinnamon with lingering aromas of clove and vanilla. Palate, smooth dark chocolate paired with intense notes of black pepper and brown sugar. A light hit of honey for balance.
My thoughts:
Appearance
	Dark gold in the glass, swirls cling as a thin line, slowly bead up and fall as slow thin legs.	Dark gold in the glass, swirls cling as a thin line, slowly bead up and fall as slow thin legs.
Nose	Cinnamon, cloves and orange peel. There are also some musty leather notes and hints of coconut and cherries (Manchester tarts?)	Dark chocolate, cloves, cinnamon and vanilla. Popcorn and pineapple notes. There's also a cakiness to this.
Palate	Rye spices - Param Violets, cloves, cinnamon, slightly drying. There's loads of nuts and vanilla here too. Nice.	Smooth thick mouth coating, sweet tropical fruit with only a hint of the usual rye spices. Orange peel and desiccated coconut.
Finish	Short nutty vanilla with cinnamon an cloves	Long warming peppery spice.
Overall	The Double Oak Rye has typical spice notes with a nice nutty edge, the Cask Strength is a completely different beast - lacking all the Rye spice notes on the palate - replacing them with tropical fruit.

MB Roland (DSP-KY-15010)

MB Roland was founded in 2009, built on an old Amish farm in Pembroke, Kentucky. A completely “grain to glass” craft distillery using food grade white corn, a small 100 gallon pot still and single story rickhouses.

They produce only 2 barrels a day, Paul & Mike took us through two of their bottlings.

Dram	Straight Bourbon Whiskey	Straight Rye Whiskey
Characteristics	52% ABV 2yo	52% ABV 2yo
Distillery notes	Our bourbon is truly like no other. We use local, food-grade white corn, and bottle the product at distillation and barrel proof in the style of a Pre-Prohibition bourbon. The result is a unique, very full-flavored whiskey that typically comes in at between 105 - 115 Proof (52.5 – 57.5% ABV). Each batch is a blend of 5 – 10 barrels, is hand labelled, numbered and individually proofed. Mash bill: White Corn 78%, Rye 17%, Malted Barley 5%.	A bold and confident rye created in the style of a Pre-Prohibition era spirit, uncut, unfiltered and bottled at distillation and barrel proof. Pot distilled to 110 proof, entered into the barrels at distillation proof, then after a minimum of 2 years batches of between 5-10 barrels are bottled, hand labelled and numbered, and individually proofed at between 105-115 (52.5-57.5 ABV). Mash Bill: Rye 68%, Corn 27%, Malted Barley 5%. MB Roland Kentucky Straight Rye Whiskey is a full bodied and barrel proof spirit, sporting notes of mint, pepper, spices and brown sugar.
My thoughts:
Appearance
	Dark gold in the glass, swirls cling as a thick line, takes ages to bead up and fall as slow thick legs.	Dark gold in the glass, swirls cling as a thick line, takes ages to bead up and fall as slow thick legs.
Nose	Thick oak and liquorice, grassy herbal notes and a hint of vanilla. Meaty steak notes - a little new-makey?	Cinnamon, cloves and orange peel. This one shares it's bourbon-brother's steak notes - again maybe a little young? Some fresh bread notes and rye spices.
Palate	Smooth, warming and spicy, herbal notes of fennel and liquorice alongside some brown sugar and peppery spice.	Sweet mouth coating arrival, brown sugar and dark chocolate giving a drying effect. Parma Violets to the fore with cinnamon, cloves and pepper spice give a kick It is a little young but very drinkable.
Finish	Short herbal finish with notes of pepper and vanilla.	Short spicy finish with a little mint and cloves.
Overall	Their labels all say "Uncut and unfiltered" what that means is that the whiskey goes straight from the still into the cask without dilution and then after 2 years is bottled straight from the cask - it's pure bourbon (or Rye)! Being only 2 years old was quite notable on both of these whiskies, new makey meaty steak notes on the nose but that disappeared on the palate Paul explained that they'd supplied some of the empty Rye casks (and other interesting ones like Tequila) to Cooper King distillery in Yorkshire - they should be very interesting when their whisky matures in them!

Wilderness Trail (DSP-KY-20005)

Wilderness Trail was founded in 2006 in Danville, Kentucky unusually using the Sweet Mash (5.2 - 5.6 pH) instead of the Sour Mash (4.5 - 4.8 pH) technique - this means starting from scratch every time and not reusing any of the previous distillate. The distillery has a 250-gallon hybrid pot still with 16-plate rectification columns, and 18-inch and 36-inch continuous column stills.

Wilderness Trail Distillery is a Heritage Member of the Kentucky Distillers Association. To qualify as a Heritage Member, a distillery must have 25,000 barrels of distilled spirits aging in its warehouses. Wilderness Trail’s 168-acre campus has more than 100,000 barrels aging in its six rickhouses.

They distil 24/7 producing nearly 200 barrels a day, Jerod & Haley took us through two of their bottlings.

Dram	Single Barrel Bourbon BiB	Settlers Select Single Barrel Rye
Characteristics	50% ABV 4yo	50% ABV 4yo
Distillery notes	Wilderness Trail Single Barrel Bourbon is a wheated bourbon (64% corn, 24% wheat and 12% malted barley) is made using a proprietary Infusion Mashing Process and 'sweet mash'. The Bourbon is aged in a two -story Rickhouse and moves floors each year of maturation.	Wilderness Trail Settlers Select Rye is a ‘cask strength’, single barrel, un-chill filtered Rye Whiskey from a mash bill of 56% Rye, 33% corn and 11% malted barley. The relatively high corn content for Settlers Select Rye is to provide a broader balance of flavour to offset the typical high ryes commonly found.
My thoughts:
Appearance
	Dark gold in the glass, swirls cling as a thick line, slowly beads up and fall as slow thick legs.	Dark gold in the glass, swirls cling as a thick line, takes ages to bead up and fall as slow thick legs.
Nose	Vanilla, butterscotch and a little sweet honey. Strawberry toffee notes with a little dried fruit.	The lowest Rye % in the mash bill of all the Rye's tonight but still shared the Parma Violet, clove and cinnamon spice notes. A little mint too.
Palate	Sweet toffee, a little strawberry and dried fruit. There's a hint of  rye spice even thought there's none in the mash bill. Orange juice and a little orchard fruit.	Follows the nose with Parma Violet, clove and cinnamon spice. A little sponge cake and icing sugar. Cardamom gives a strange curry note before a little hint of mint.
Finish	Short sweet fruity finish.	Long lingering Rye spice and a little sweetness.
Overall	I've tried a few Wilderness Trail drams before - but always rated the Bourbon over the Rye, the low Rye % in the mash bill and the cardamom curry note is just a little strange. This time was no different - the Bourbon was lovely, the Rye a little strange. This is a huge distillery compared to the others we tried tonight so they are putting out a lot more bottles than the rest - more in a week than some of the others do in a year! Saying that they are still worth hunting out if you can find them.

Overall

So a really great selection of whiskies, I bought the MB Roland Rye to get the tasting set but after tasting them all I thing the New Riff bourbon and Sagamore Spirits Double Oak Rye were probably my favourites.

A great night of tasting with Southport Whisky Club, you can watch the whole thing here!