Brian’s Cream of Kentucky Straight Rye Whiskey Review:
reviewed 21-June-2022
CREAM OF KENTUCKY STRAIGHT RYE WHISKEY REVIEW:
Cream of Kentucky Straight Rye Whiskey (Cream of Kentucky Rye) is without a doubt the most unusual rye I have ever had the pleasure to enjoy. I do not get the usual rye freshness, and there are few sweets to tempt either, yet its earthy depth is intriguing. Best of all there is just enough heat to add another level of complexity. I’ll give this a positive nod and say pick one up when you see it on your store’s shelf.
CREAM OF KENTUCKY STRAIGHT RYE WHISKEY VITAL STATS:
Category: Bottled-in-Bond Rye
Region: Middletown, KY
Distillery: Distilled, aged and bottled at Kentucky Artisan Distillery
Distiller: Jim Rutledge, former Master Distiller at Four Roses
Mash Bill: 100% Rymin Rye
Barrel Char: unpublished
Barrel entry proof: unpublished
Age: 4 years old (minimum)
ABV: 50% (100 Proof)
NABCA CSC #: 16195
Price: $80.45 USD in Idaho 2022
The Cream of Kentucky brand was originally introduced in 1888 by I. Trager & Co. of Cincinnati, Ohio. Just prior to the end of Prohibition, the brand was acquired by the famed Schenley Company and subsequently re-introduced in 1934 … [Acquired in 2018] Cream of Kentucky is now owned by J.W. Rutledge.
— Learn more at J.W. Rutledge Distillery.
ENJOYMENT METHOD FOR THE REVIEW:
Alternate pours, equaling about four ounces, were added into two Glencairns. My daughtesr and I enjoyed the bourbon neat for this review.
Check out Hannah’s review for this rye here!
And find Elora’s thoughts here!
CREAM OF KENTUCKY STRAIGHT RYE WHISKEY NOSE:
Alcohol nips at the nose in my first wafts. I smell a potpourri of dried grass, dusty grain, and fresh cut hay drying in the late afternoon summer sun. More scenting brings faint baking spices of cinnamon, powdered ginger, and freshly baked rye bread accompanied by faint cocoa malt. While I do sense a sweetness, it comes more as old fashion butterscotch candy than any other aroma. With additional and careful nosing, I detect roasted hazelnuts, hazy dry old oak and rich and fragrant potting soil.
CREAM OF KENTUCKY STRAIGHT RYE WHISKEY PALATE:
Cream of Kentucky Rye gives an alcohol bite filled with dusty grain and the hay found on the nose. There is faint crushed clove, powdered ginger, pepper, and more rye bread, cocoa malt, and a little milk chocolate as well. While I wouldn’t classify this as sweet I do taste woody caramel which goes in hand to hand combat with roasted hazelnuts and toasted sesame seeds. I taste a lot of earthy depth here too which fades in as hazy old barrel char and dirty leather. This is a complex rye and so distinctive from others I enjoy.
Balance, Body, Feel and Look:
Cream of Kentucky Rye has a buttery mouth feel. While there is a bit of a tongue tickle, each sip is easy to hold even though the pour clocks in at 100 proof. Each waft and sip is complex, deep and earthy. Above the terracotta colored pool, fat evenly spaced long legs cling, then fade, leaving behind only a few drops in the broken crown.
CREAM OF KENTUCKY STRAIGHT RYE WHISKEY FINISH:
Cream of Kentucky Rye offers up a medium throat warming finish with the same potpourri of dusty grain and dry hay. Powdered ginger drives the molten heat as the theme of rye, malt, milk chocolate and woody caramel quickly fade into damp dirt and hazy char. As I tip back the last drops, the empty Glencairn smells of dry oak sawdust.
MY RATING: 88/100
Will I buy this whiskey again? YES
… And I do have another in the bunker.
Click to read Brian’s scoring process.
Click 88/100 to access other whiskies with this score.
WHISKEY TRAITS, FLAVOR NOTES AND PROFILE GRAPH:
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