NULU Single Barrel Rye - Top Shelf r/bourbon
95% Rye, 5% Barley (I believe) | 118 Proof | 7 Years | Single Barrel (r/bourbon Barrel Selection)
Shout out to the Aficionados and u/t8ke for whatever kind of haggling they engaged in to secure this barrel. u/t8ke did you have to arm wrestle a Hazlebaker for it? I’m a big fan of MGP whiskey in general, but especially the 95/5 rye mash bill (which I believe this is). It’s remarkable how much variety there seems to be in the MGP rye barrels out there under various labels, but I have yet to find one I hated. Additionally, we made quick work of a NULU 4+yr Toasted Barrel rye in this household, so a 7yr barrel “Top Shelf” rye picked by the Aficionados Group seemed like a sure shot.
This is a sweet, rich and complex rye. It has a lot going on and is very unique with a long finish unlike any other whiskey I’ve had. It’s not a whiskey I would call “smooth,” “balanced,” or an “easy sipper,” all in the best way possible.
The nose is heavy with sweet notes. There is vanilla cream, maple syrup, sweet mint, some dill, and faint baking spices that creep up after the whiskey is rested for some time. At the tail end of long draws of the nose, there is a sliiight tinge of ethanol.
The palate has butterscotch pudding, vanilla, and some bright citrus or something fruity I can’t quite put my finger on (not cherry, apple, banana… so I’m thinking maybe it’s citrus). It’s big bodied and the age seems to be just right - the oak is not overbearing, but it’s there with the sweet brown flavor notes. Rye whiskeys don’t always pull off the interplay between mint/dill/spice and oak/vanilla/maple, but Top Shelf nails it.
The finish is long and goes from sweet vanilla, to herbs, to grass. As the finish ends, a slight medicinal note appears on the sides of your tongue and then moves to an earthy/grassy flavor that lingers long after anything else. I mean it’s not really a part of the finish, but an after taste… like something that doesn’t go away until you introduce something else to your palate. I don’t mind it, but I’ve never had this experience with any other whiskey.
8.5 - I’ll say again that this whiskey is unique and outstanding. It’s one thing to log flavor notes, but how well they come together is what makes a whiskey great. This is in the neighborhood of Michter’s 10 Year or Barrel Proof and considering their scarcity and shelf/secondary prices, I’d sooner seek out another one of these older NULU ryes from Prohibition Craft Spirits.
Glassware - Glencairn
Rested - 15+ minutes
Bottle opened - 2 weeks ago
Setting - winding down in the evening in a dimly lit room
Watching - Fargo Season 4
