James E. Pepper 3 YO Rye - Oloroso Cask Finish

This is the second of 24 reviews in this series, the result of my succumbing to temptation when the LCBO dropped the price of this set by 50%.

The James E. Pepper Distillery is in Lexington, Kentucky. It was established in 1780. Their website states that when the brand was revived in this century their distillate came from a distillery in Lawrenceburg, Indiana. They rebuilt the distillery in Lexington and started distilling there in 2017. Given that this is a 3 year old bottling it suggests that the juice comes from Indiana.

This expression is reviewed in a Glencairn in my usual manner, allowing it to settle after which I take my nosing and tasting notes, followed by the addition of a few drops of water, waiting, then nosing and tasting.

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Nose: 19/25

Odd. The sherry is quite prominent, giving it an initial impression of a higher proof sherry-matured single malt. I don’t smell any of the usual rye nose (no vanilla, caramel, baking spices, dill pickle…). But then the sourness of the pickle juice starts to peek through. Some dustiness. Maybe some dried prune. Something slightly off (it could be the combination of smells that on their own might be nice), and then I get a hint of something vegetal. With water this smells more like a sherried malt, which would be fine if it were a sherried malt. (19.5/25)

Taste: 17/25

Oh my! Nope. This does not work. The mouthfeel is good but the flavours… wine and pickle, not my combination. Slightly spirity. Hint of sulphur? I can’t be sure. This doesn’t taste anything like rye. Water makes the mouthfeel a little thinner, makes it more spirity, and does nothing to improve it. (16/25)

Finish: 17/25

Medium long. Some pepper. My tongue is dry. Water lengthens the finish. (16.5/25)

Balance: 18/25

This is unbalanced in many ways.

Score: Neat - 71/100 With Water: 70/100

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I am told we learn even more from our failures than from our success. If this is true, the distillery has gained a treasure of knowledge from this expression.

This is not a total disaster. It’s not Lambertus, for example. But I don’t find it pleasant at all. It makes me question whether rye and sherry casks ought to be within 100 km of each other.

Am I glad I tried it? Absolutely.