A Rye by Any Other Name: High West Midwinter Night's Dram

The newest product from High West is the cheekily named Midwinter Night's Dram.  It combines barrels of their Rendezvous Rye (a blend of rye whiskeys from the MGP and Barton distilleries) that have had different finishes:  new French oak and Port casks. Right now, it's a distillery exclusive, but it will be launching more broadly this fall.

A Midwinter Night's Dram, 49.3% abv ($80)

The nose has the nice spicy rye that's typical of High West's Rendezvous Rye with just a touch of pickle juice.   The palate has a very nice balance of sweet and spice.  Early in the finish there is a bit of a chemical taste, as with an artificial sweetener, but that trails off quickly and leads to a pleasantly sweet, slightly minty finish with cloves and cola notes.

This whiskey is right in my sweet spot.  I'm a big fan of Rendezvous Rye, and while I don't generally like finished bourbon, finished rye provides a nice sweetness to balance out the rye spice.  All in all, this is a fun whiskey that's worth checking out, particularly if you're a fan of the Rendezvous Rye.

Disclaimer:  This sample came from a bottle provided to the LA Whiskey Society by High West.