E. H. Taylor Straight Rye Whiskey

I bought this whiskey on a trip to New York. I specifically hunted it down. In the UK it's £120 a bottle. I bought it in Bowery & Vine for $55. Totally thrilled.

This was my first taste of American rye and it has changed my whisky drinking life.

Pours into the glass with a rich oily orange amber hue. One of the best looking whiskys I've seen in the glass.

Nose is sublime. A 24 or 25. Stunning. It's the moment I discover that I love rye. The rye grain in this just has an amazing perfumed aroma. Intense aromatic rye, dusty rye chaff, apricot and peach fruit, some sort of exotic floral, orange blossom, sugary sweetness like a hyper concentrated sweet wine, a concentrated grape vinous, subtle fresh oak, ever so slight eucalyptus. I could go on and on, but let's get to the taste.

Peppery spice, light burn, intense rye grains, orange blossom, apricot, crystal demerara sugar sweetness, eucalyptus, stem ginger. the intensity gives way to some slight subtle oak and creaminess but no dryness. There's a subtle complexity to this whiskey that builds and builds.

Finish is spicy with the undulating notes of rye grain, floral and sweetness lingering on and on...

An extraordinary whiskey. I've already got plans to get another of these in the UK and I'll gladly pay for it.