Old Potrero 18th Century Style Rye Whiskey

Essay 10-RW-ARM-3-L

Nose: Always interesting, and remains distinct. Funky, with some buttery quality akin to fine aged agave. Ripe and funky fruit, grain, too, banana and apricot. Rye spice - off-sweetly malty -- and light honey and oak. Lots of fresh barley (or at least what I imagine it'd smell like) with the usual rye notes emerging, but only just, and in the background. The oak and grain is unique in this dram.

Palate: Honey, rye spice, sweet oak (not bitter, just dry) , rye bread, and then lots more funky barley. Sweet, off-sweet, spicy, a little sour, and a lot funky. Hm, no trends here. Perhaps even reminiscent of the funky and buttery rich quality in the background of kirschwasser or another fruit eau-de-vie from a fruit distilled with the stone still in the mix.

Finish: This is really a different number, and I can see how it wouldn't be for everybody. Fortunately, it is for me. A great change of pace number, and great in its own right if you go for this sort of thing. Fascinating to see how the same ingredients can produce such a broadly different profile with various differences in preparation. Flavorful and fun, a melange of qualities and characteristics. Hard to pin-point it, so let's be conservative around with this score

Nose Overrype cherries (the type of cherries that have been for too long in a light syrup and start to turn milk chocolate brown), red tea, tequilla smoke (agava), nutmeg and winey. Taste Now a sip... The mouth follow the nose. First the spices then a wave of red winey tea grow in my mouth and I think "Grappa". While it is still there, little splash of nail polish and a droplet of orange appear and disappear rapidly. Finish The finish is like the beginning with the return of the spices (with some pepper for a moment and a hint of chili) overcoming the red tea And achieving a great balance with good lenght. Very beautiful... Overall This rye is for grappa lovers! It is so uncommoned whisky that I am sure a lot of you will hate it and will stop their drinking asking themselves where is the whisky in that dram! Their also some drinkers that will salute this drink by asking another glass as soon as they will finish the first. As for me, I love it but I am still puzzled by it, mainly when it is time to describe it to whisky lovers. Maybe I will deal with my confusion by pouring myself an other glass! Cheers!

So after months of attempting to get to our local whisky bar, Helvetica. Trying to dodge bad work days, sickness, public holidays, and an emergency appendicitis we finally made it.

It has been a VERY busy evening for my wife and I. We started what was term.

ed "The Date Night" with Glenfarclas 12 yr old at dinner and then Yamazaki 12 yr old, Hakushu 12 yr old, and Glenmorangie Nectar D'or.

We joined up with my brother and sister in law after quite a bit of confusion for what we termed as Family Whisky Fun Times for Amrut Fusion, Glenmorangie Astar, and Aberlour Abunadh batch 35.

Now was the time for the stuff of legends!

Old Potrero 18th Century Rye.

Now I had heard about this whisky for months now. From my friends here on Connosr, especially one of my whisky mentors Victor.

When I had originally planned to go to Helvetica this had NOT been on the list so I am EXTREMELY happy that my wife and I were not able to make our first few attempts to come visit because otherwise we wouldn't have been able to try this EXTREMELY different whisky.

Now when I saw that this whisky was on the menu I think the top of my head exploded off in excitement!

So I planned my tasting list carefully and excitably and worried that they would run out of Old Potrero before we were able to visit.

Happily this was not to be the case!

As I order a drink of this I REALLY have no idea of what to expect. I've heard this can be a weird whisky and I have no clue whatsoever to expect and I am sure to let my wife and my in laws know this. All I know is that this is like nothing we've never tried before.

I pass the glass around and everyone gives it a good nose.

One thing we all agree on is: Lemon grass and cut grass.

Between us we get is rye, hints of spice, alcohol and some sugar.

The flavor is similar: Cut grass, ryes, with a lot of sweetness.

The finish is long with lots of rye.

I've never left feeling so fulfilled and unsatisfied. My palate and those of my wife and in laws is unsufficient to the awesomeness of this whisky.

This is an AWESOME whisky with bags and bags of flavor with an insane amount of depth. Everyone pulled a little bit something different from the whisky, but we all got something awesome.

This whisky is something special and awesome, just as my mentor Victor described. It is EXTREMELY rare and I have only found it for around $160 AUS and even then I have not confirmed it.

I'm SO buying a bottle of this!!

Next on the block on Ardbeg Corryvreckin!!

Intro: San Francisco's Anchor Brewing Company also operates Anchor Distilling Company, which produces three Old Potrero Rye Whiskeys, each made from 100% malted rye. The Old Potrero 18th Century Style Whiskey attempts to recreate the style and taste of the whiskeys made and consumed in America in the late 18th century. At the time of his death in 1799 George Washington's Mount Vernon rye whiskey distillery was one of the most commercially successful distilleries in the US. Anchor Distilling's Old Potrero 18th C. Style Whiskey combines 2 batches of whiskey, each of which is aged between 2 and 4 years in new lightly toasted, but not charred, oak barrels. The whiskey is sold at barrel proof. This sample is @ 63.64% ABV (127.28 proof)

Nose: When the bottle was first opened the nose was like funky rotting grain in a barn. After the bottle was opened for 3 weeks the nose shifted to pleasant ripe grain with hints of rye spice, a little medicinal odour, and maple sugar.

Taste: Extremely intense rye spices with a bit of a sour and sweet alternation of flavours. The taste buds sizzle and pop with pepper, wood sweetness, and alcohol astringency.

Finish: Long intense rye flavours simmering on the tongue forever.

Balance: This is an experienced drinker's drink. I prefer to drink this neat, even though the company suggests adding water or ice. The more I drink this the more I love it. The flavours are astonishingly intense. Jim Murray's 2011 Whisky Bible comments on this: "...After tasting this I need to lie down somewhere and rest. Because so few whiskeys in the world are half as big as this, or more fun. Forget about descriptors; this one writes its own book." Jim: AMEN!