whiskeyfortheages, Author at Whiskey for the Ages

Larceny Barrel Proof A121

Posted on 03-May-202128-June-2022 by whiskeyfortheages

Brian’s Larceny Barrel Proof A121 Review

27-April-2021

LARCENY BARREL PROOF A121 BOURBON REVIEW:

Larceny Barrel Proof A121 (Larceny BP A121) has a wonderful nose. Heat lurks in the background, but herbal spices and subdued sweet aromas mix nicely with lightly toasted char to keep it at bay. Its viscosity transforms spices of dark cinnamon, ginger and green pepper, helping them to coax subtle sweets of light vanilla and a trace of brown sugar as the blend coats the mouth. Heaven Hill has a winner with this high proof wheated series.

LARCENY BARREL PROOF A121 BOURBON VITAL STATS:

Category: Barrel Proof Wheated Bourbon
Region: Kentucky, USA
Distillery: Heaven Hill
Mashbill: 68% Corn, 20% Wheat, 12% Barley
Barrel Char: #3
Age: nas (Heaven Hill states batches will contain six to eight year old bourbon)
Entry Barrel Proof: 125
ABV: 57.4% (114.8 Proof)
Availability: Tri-annual Limited Release
Batch: A121
– ”A” First release of the year
– ”1″ Released in January
– ”21″ Released in 2021
Price: $49.95 USD (in Idaho, 2021)

Learn more at https://heavenhill.com/.

ENJOYMENT METHOD:

For the evaluation, alternate amounts, equaling about 4 ounces, were poured into two Glencairns after 1.5 ounces were removed from a newly opened bottle and added to our Infinity Bottle. The bourbon was then assessed with my daughter.

Check out her review for this bourbon here!

LARCENY BARREL PROOF A121 NOSE:

Larceny BP A121 has a wonderful nose, yet I know alcohol is lurking in the subdued herbal wheatiness. Careful nosing brings tart apples, a lone dried apricot and some candied citrus. I also get candied ginger, cloves, white pepper and a bit of graham in the aroma as well. The fragrance of this pour tempts the senses, begging a sip before my nosing is complete. But struggling on, I am rewarded with light vanilla, red licorice vines, brown sugar, orange blossom honey and toasted nuts. Any sensations of wood are faint but I do get sweet cut oak, and lightly toasted barrel char. A121 smells fresh.

LARCENY BARREL PROOF A121 PALATE:

The first sip of Larceny BP A121 offers a tickle of alcohol burn. It is herbal, dry and wheaty. I feel a fruit presence, but it is more of an undefined fruit leather than anything specific. Dark cinnamon, ginger and green pepper are much stronger than sweets of light vanilla, brown sugar and faint burnt caramel and while not wood forward, I get seasoned oak, toasted wood and hazy barrel char. A121 tastes rich and compliments its leathery components.

Balance, Body, Feel and Look:
The aromas and flavors in Larceny BP A121 are a bit unbalanced but not bad; the nose promises more than I taste. When each sip is held, I get a warm tickle on the tongue, but the tickle fades as the salivary glands go into overdrive. The liquid becomes viscous and oily and as the glass is set down after each sip, long legs guide the liquid into the honey colored pool, leaving behind an even but widely spaced inverted crown.

LARCENY BARREL PROOF A121 FINISH:

Larceny BP A121 finishes with a medium long tickle of alcohol. I get an herbal touch of tobacco mixed in a dark fruit compote thinly spread over dark dry toast. As noted above, spices of cinnamon and pepper dominate faint brown sugar and but strengthen the seasoned oak and toasted barrel char. There is a slight hint of leather to round out A121’s throat warmth. And when the last dram is downed, oaky alcohol is easy to draw from the empty Glencairn.

MY LARCENY BARREL PROOF A121 RATING: 90/100

Will I buy this whiskey again? YES
Heaven Hill has a winner with this series; I will be buying Larceny Barrel Proof bottles when I see them.
_{Click to read Brian’s scoring process.}

Click 90/100 to access other whiskies with this score.
To access other whiskies from this brand, click Larceny.

LARCENY BARREL PROOF A121 TRAITS AND FLAVOR NOTES AND PROFILE GRAPH:

Back to …

Brian’s Whiskey Reviews
Individual Reviews

Rittenhouse Straight Rye Review

Posted on 26-April-202109-May-2022 by whiskeyfortheages

Hannah’s Rittenhouse Straight Rye Review

Original review written April 20, 2021

GENERAL DESCRIPTION:

It’s not a bad rye, and it is a solid one to finish the evening with, or a drink to pour when I’m not looking for anything complex. It’s one I’ll keep around. 85/100

VITALS:

– Made In: Bardstown, Kentucky, USA
– Distiller: Heaven Hill Distillery
– Classification: Straight Rye Whiskey; Bottled-in-Bond
– Age: 4 yrs.
– Mash Bill: Rye=51%; Corn=35%; Malted Barley=14%
– Casks: Char #3
– Barrel Entry Proof: unpublished
– ABV: 50% (100 proof)
– Price: $24.95 USD in Idaho

Learn more at Rittenhouse Rye.

ENJOYMENT METHOD:

I enjoyed the juice neat from a Glencairn with father and fellow Whiskey for the Ages reviewer, Brian.

Check out his review for this rye here!

SETTING:

While plain, I could easily see sipping this in the middle of spring, with nearby bushes and trees budding and just on the verge of blooming. The air is sweet and perhaps distracts from the simplicity that Rittenhouse Straight Rye offers. Bright colors of the blooms slowly come into vision as the sun gradually rises and shines down on the waiting nature.

Photo by Marita Mones on Unsplash

NOSE:

This has a soft earthy, woodiness upon the first inhales, but not in the traditional oak that you would think. Rather, it seems more like freshly broken twigs or even branches that are still green. There is a light apple here also, with a dash of cinnamon to bring out the sweetness of the fruit. I find a soft nuttiness as well, perhaps pecans, but it is quite subtle. There isn’t much in the way of other sweeteners, save maybe a light vanilla or simple syrup. Beyond the twiggy wood that I found on the first draws, there is a pine underneath it and all of the other flavors too. It’s not a heady pine, but it is like a dried out Christmas tree in your home.

The alcohol is a tickle in the nose, but it isn’t strong enough to be offensive, and you have to be breathing in fairly deep in order to catch it at all.

PALATE:

– Mouth Feel: Oily. But oily in a way that leaves me wanting more “oomf” or power that I’m not sure this rye can deliver.
– Balance: I don’t think anything sticks out awkwardly, so I’ll say it’s a decent balance.
– Visual: Honey in color, this has many fast-dropping legs that disappear quickly, but a crown lingers a bit longer with some clinging droplets.

– Taste: Soft grains are immediately apparent, but I wouldn’t necessarily say that it was rye. Nevertheless, the rye is here in the capacity of a rye bread, or maybe it’s that rye is interwoven in another bread with other grains too. There’s a fresh fruit that lightens up the sip right at the back of the palate. I get a pinch of the cinnamon, and maybe the faintest hint of white pepper for a spice. Other than that, I’d say that this is quite mildly flavored. If I’m looking for something to make this hardier or richer, and there just is not much there for that, but if I’m looking for simple and solid, this could be it.

The alcohol is certainly also mild and palatable, which is a bonus for something that is 100 proof. A Kentucky chew makes the rye bread pop a bit more, along with a light stone fruit, but it’s very subdued and disappears again quickly before I can identify it. And I find that a bitterness also comes about when I do this that confuses the palate slightly.

FINISH:

– Lasting Power: Medium. It leaves behind some warmth and mild aftertaste but not much else.
– Between Sips: There’s a little bitterness that lingers between sips. While it isn’t the worst pause between sips I’ve experienced with whiskey, it’s far from my favorite.

– No More: The bitterness I’ve mentioned before grows a bit as I get further into the glass. There is a sweet element that wants to come onto the scene also, but it is simply impossible around the bitterness and already present wood. Note that the wood – both twig, and straight up pine – have grown in intensity also. I will say that despite this growth in bitterness, I am finding myself growing fond of it, all the same.

The empty Glencairn has sweet oak with a tinge of fruit and plenty of warmth. I truly wish the pour itself had been closer to this; this would have been fantastic.

WORTH THE PRICE?

Not a bad price, and if I’m wanting something at the end of the night to not pack much of a punch, while not being bourbon, this would be it. I do quite like it, and the taste only continues to grow on me. At the inexpensive price, this is one I will look to keeping on hand.

RITTENHOUSE STRAIGHT RYE REVIEW RATING: 85/100

Click to see Hannah’s rating process

Click 85/100 to access other whiskies with this rating.

Back to …

Hannah’s Whiskey Reviews
Whiskey Reviews

Rittenhouse Straight Rye Whiskey

Posted on 26-April-202105-May-2022 by whiskeyfortheages

Brian’s Rittenhouse Straight Rye Whiskey Review:

20-April-2021

RITTENHOUSE STRAIGHT RYE WHISKEY REVIEW:

Rittenhouse Bottled-in-Bond Straight Rye (Rittenhouse Rye) is a simple whiskey. There are not many aroma or flavors yet it is solid in what it is; but for me it is not something I’d seek for the bunker as I’m a sipper. I suspect this Whiskey would be fine as a mixer – in fact I am tempted to make an Old Fashioned and give it a try. I feel this could give any whiskey based mixed drink a solid backbone.

RITTENHOUSE STRAIGHT RYE WHISKEY VITAL STATS:

Category: Bottled-in-Bond Straight Rye Whiskey
Region: Bardstown, KY
Distillery: Heaven Hill Distillery
Mash Bill: 35% corn, 51% rye, 14% malted barley
Barrel Char: #3
Barrel entry proof: unpublished
Age: 4 years old
ABV: 50% (100 Proof)
No batch or bottle number identifiers
Price: $24.95 USD (2021 in Idaho)

Learn more at Rittenhouse Rye.

ENJOYMENT METHOD:

I drank this spirit neat, from a Glencairn glass with my daughter and fellow Whiskey for the Ages reviewer Hannah.

Check out her review for this rye here!

RITTENHOUSE BOTTLED-IN-BOND STRAIGHT RYE NOSE:

Rittenhouse Rye noses with lots of dryness: dusty grain, drying hay, and a piney sweetness. While nosing, a lone apple slice would peek in but hide just as quickly. Cinnamon and allspice waft on each draw as does pepper, but the rye presents more as bread than a spice. The sweets are subdued as well … maybe graham crackers mixed with light vanilla and simple syrup but there’s just not much to note. There may be a few toasted pinenuts to go with musty pine sawdust, but again there’s little to entertain the nose.

RITTENHOUSE STRAIGHT RYE WHISKEY PALATE:

Like sensed on the nose, Rittenhouse Rye offers little for the palate. It is warm and does offer a little bite and there is an element of tobacco blended with dusty grain. Fresh spices of green pepper and ginger add depth to the rye. Again, there is little sweetness, maybe a trace of bittersweet chocolate. And the wood I get on the palate is similar to the nose: dry toasted pineyness.

Balance, Body, Feel and Look:
Rittenhouse Rye is a simple whiskey, but what aromas and flavors can be detected are well balanced. In the mouth it is quite oily, yet grainy – almost gritty as if it needs chewing. As each sip is taken, long evenly spaced legs return the remaining liquid to the honey colored pool, leaving a nice inverted crown.

RITTENHOUSE STRAIGHT RYE WHISKEY FINISH:

Rittenhouse Rye offers a medium finish with an essence of throat warming apricot compote. As sensed on the nose and in the mouth there is little to detect but traces of dusty grain and maybe a little peppered tobacco and dry toasted wood. In the empty Glencairn I sense an empty woodshop at the end of a busy workday.

MY RITTENHOUSE STRAIGHT RYE WHISKEY RATING: 82/100

Will I buy this whiskey again? NO
I feel this could give any whiskey based mixed drink a solid backbone, but as I typically drink my whiskey neat, Rittenhouse Rye isn’t for me.
_{Click to read Brian’s scoring process.}

Click 82/100 to access other whiskies with this score.

RITTENHOUSE STRAIGHT RYE WHISKEY TRAITS AND FLAVOR NOTES AND PROFILE GRAPH:

Back to …

Brian’s Whiskey Reviews
Individual Reviews