Forward/Slash has been putting out some of my favorite craft whiskey blends, from Rhapsody in 2023 to Thornhurst Rye earlier this year. We are back today with an absolute flavor bomb - a 12-year single barrel rye finished in a Zymarium Meadery Boyseberry Mead barrel.
Michael Buffa and Tim Bradstreet's interests in whiskey quickly evolved into an obsession... doesn't that sounds relatable? Michael founded the Orlando Whiskey Society to find more obsessed whiskey drinkers and Tim quickly focused his interest to what smaller independent distillers were creating utilizing their products into numerous bar programs. They both became champions for whiskey brands creating interesting whiskeys.
Zymarium sources only high-quality honey from within two hours of their Orlando facility. They never heat their honey. This keeps the volatile aromatics and enzymes intact for mead production. The honey is unfiltered to preserve the local pollen. Combine this with the fruity richness of a boysenberry. You have the perfect finishing barrel for a herbally sweet well-aged rye. This 95/5 rye is coming in at 12 years old, and 106.72 proof, and completely delicious. Buckle up, this is a wild ride.
The nose has a woodsy, sorghum-like sweetness to it, that pulls you in all sorts of directions from deep honey to heavy fruits to waves of rich, aged rye.
The palate is truly like nothing I’ve ever had before. Theres this beautiful, floral-kissed fruit syrup to the front of the sips, immediately moving into a plump, honey-like texture down the tongue with little nips of candied herbal tingling as it progresses. Underneath all that, a snapshot of this well-aged rye before a saturation of jammy purple fruits blanket the tongue.
The finish rests here for quite some time - an enveloping, jammy, Sangria-like linger with chocolatey, oaky, baking spices, singed citrus peels, and freshly baked gingerbread cookies.
Subsequent tastes continue to draw out more oaky rye character, but also have you licking your lips like you just stuck your face in a tub of honey.
An incredibly unique finished whiskey.
