Rare Character squarely falls into the \"If You Know, You Know\" category of whiskey brands. They are purveyors of fine American whiskey focused on unique selections tailored to their customers and partners. Through special relationships with top distillers nationwide, Rare Character has exclusive access to expressions that have never been released to the public.

We connected with them about a year ago on a few potential selections and had a blast blind tasting through their portfolio. One of the partners also runs a whiskey bar in Venice, CA, and had us blindly comparing our selections vs. Old Forester Birthday bourbons, Willett ryes, and other well-known expressions. Our selections stood up against anything we tasted that day.

More on this rye selection, then:

• 6 years 6 monthsKentucky Straight Rye Whiskey.
• Mashbill: 95% rye / 5 % barley (not to be confused with MGP 95/5)
• Distilled and aged in Kentucky - Produced by a bourbon hall of fame distiller, first foray into 95/5 Rye (first round of \"legal rye\")
• Extremely uncommon mash bill in KY, not traditionally made here. They usually do 51-53% rye - Traditional Indiana-style rye made in KY - no corn in the mashbill
• Very different flavor profile than a typical 95/5 - lots of beautiful floral qualities

TastingNotes

• Nose: Sweet, with fresh ground pepper, char, and leather notes
• Palate: Sweet and spicy
• Finish: Medium to long