Part 5 of the finished whiskey series takes us to Utah and High West. Instead of a traditional single barrel program High West’s Barrel Select program is a batched whiskey then finished in one barrel for varying lengths of time. In the case of this bottle it is Rendezvous Rye finished for 1 year in a cognac cask. According to their website Rendezvous rye is a blend of 4-7 year old ryes from MGP and High West. Of course that is no guarantee of the age in this bottle. The other nice thing about the barrel selects is the higher proof. It is unclear to me whether or not it is barrel proof or just higher but here we are.
High West Rendezvous Rye Cognac Finish
Age: NAS
Finish Length: 1 year
Abv: 101.4 proof
Price: $79.99
Barrel Number: 14180
Neat
Nose: Rich herbs, baking spices, faint fruity sweetness.
Taste: Sweet fruit, more herbs, warm spice, strong vanilla and subtler oak notes. Decent mouthfeel.
Finish: Long with fresh herbal notes, sweet vanilla and faint spice.
Conclusion
The cognac wasn’t super prevalent on this for me especially on the nose and finish. There was some of the sweeter fruit notes I’d expect from cognac on the palate. Overall this just tasted like a particularly sweet MGP rye bottle.
TL;DR: Solid offering, not as good as the previous rum finish
8 - an excellent bottle I’d like to have at home
Fair - Worth the money, happy with my purchase
Scale
Scale
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