If you're in search of high proof, quality rye whiskey, this email is for you. Last year was our first time revisiting this rye since 2022, and we loved the barrel we selected. When I first tried it I remember thinking "this is a Thomas H. Handy killer." We are back again with another single barrel! This is now the fourth barrel selection from Dad's Hat for Seelbach's. In 2011, Dad's Hat founders Herman Mihalich and John Cooper set out to bring back Pennsylvania rye. A style of rye that was had been missing for decades.
Dad's Hat spent two years researching distillation and production techniques. They eventually settled on locally sourced rye grain with a mash bill of 80% rye, 15% barley malt and 5% rye malt. After a week long fermentation the mash is ready for a double distillation and barrel aging. I first tried Dad's Hat back in 2018. After revisiting some 4+ year old barrel samples in 2020 I was shocked. Dad's Hat has truly created a rye whiskey that outshines a great story, and that can especially be said with today's 6-year release.
The nose is pronounced cinnamon and stone fruit on the front palate, followed by a combo of milk & dark chocolate, BBQ smoke, sweet mesquite, wafts of freshly picked dill; overall a delicious dance between sweet, smoke and salinity.
The palate is rich, dense dark chocolate mousse, mouth-filling smoke, hints of leather, a delicate and pleasant undercurrent of menthol, mouth-watering salinity, long smokey, leathery and chocolatey finish with a trailing note of freshly brewed espresso.
