Hochstadter's Rye is a vatted blend of straight ryes aged from 4-15 years and sourced from distilleries in Kentucky, Pennsylvania, Indiana, and Alberta (CA). You might recognize the Hochstadter's name from their more popular product, Slow and Low "Rock and Rye". I've had Rock and Rye and even though it's time consuming, I'd much rather make my own old fashioned than settle for what comes out of that bottle. But anyway, their straight rye has some good specs on paper, isn't hard to find, is reasonably priced, and has received some positive feedback so I thought I would give it a go.
No Age Statement; 50% ABV; $35
Nose: Bubblegum, vanilla, citrus, and menthol spice. It lends toward the fruity sweet side more than spicy.
Taste: A lot spicier than the nose with the sweet gum note still there but taking on a wintergreen slant. The heavy spice and light sweetness lingers into the finish but at the end an astringent, bitter, earthy note takes over. It kind of tastes like old dirty wood or younger ethanol, maybe even both of those things together.
Thoughts: I am iffy on blended products that involve older and younger whiskey and that's case here. It feels awfully busy to me with young and old aspects pulling it all over the place. I like the bubblegum notes and the mid palate has some great spice but the finish nearly ruins the whole experience for me. This bottle got regulated to cocktail duty pretty early on but at this price I can think of better bottles to use for cocktails such as Wild Turkey 101.
Rating: C
Note that price is not considered when assigning a rating.
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