For part 12 of the finished whiskies series we are back to High West rye whiskey but taking a step down from the Rendezvous Rye barrel selects to look at the more readily available Double Rye! barrel selects.
This particular bottle was from 2018, finished in gin barrels for 7 months and was a selection from the distributor for “High West Fans of Texas!” so that’s fun. This caught my eye since gin is my preferred clear spirit though I primarily drink it in cocktails. I’ve only had barrel aged gin a handful of times but I was curious to see how it would mingle with the rye whiskey notes.
Review #225: High West Double Rye! Barrel Select Gin Finish
Age: NAS
Abv: 102.8 proof
Price: $50
Neat
Nose: Gin botanicals, more gin botanicals and some faint rye spice.
Taste: Bright and rich with herbs, gin, warm spice and faint oak and vanilla notes. Very nice mouthfeel.
Finish: Long and warm with spice, botanical and vanilla notes.
Conclusion
Well that was something different. I liked it but if you don’t like gin this is definitely not for you. The gin overwhelmed the whiskey on the nose but became less prominent as it went. I tend to find that these High West Double Ryes have a lot of herbal notes anyway so maybe some of that was from the whiskey. Negronis and Boulevardiers are some of my favorite cocktails and this unique gin/whiskey hybrid makes a killer spirit base for one of those.
TL;DR: Really interesting, lots of gin influence, great in a Boulevardier
7 - a great whiskey I’d order at a bar
Fair - Worth the money, happy with my purchase
Scale
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