Two New Releases from Seelbach's Spirits!

Today, we have a special double release from the Seelbach's Private Reserve lineup. One which expands our creativity in blending. The other is our first foray into the straight Rye Whiskey category. First up is the Double Stacked maple finished bourbon. This is a unique blend of two types of bourbon with two types of maple barrels: an 8-year Kentucky bourbon that finished in Bissell Farm maple barrels for 14-months, and a 5-year 9-month Indiana bourbon finished in brûléed maple barrels for 3-month and 6-months. The goal here was complexity. Blending the different ages, sources, finishing barrels and times brought tons of layers of flavor. There's sweet stacked on oak. Creaminess stacked on spice. Everything working together for a unique but delicious bottle! At the end of the day, creativity and uniqueness only count if the bourbon tastes good, and this is one of my favorite blends we've released.
 
As we looked at exploring rye whiskey options I went through the same process as I did with the Wheated release. What did I like to drink that I thought was missing in the current market? I kept coming back to single barrel ryes I loved to drink from various NDP's seven or eight years ago. They were fruit forward with only hints of the mint and herbal notes. They were also priced incredibly well. That was the goal going into this blend. We tasted through twelve barrels and pulled out five that we believed met this criteria. The end results was a 7.5-year cask strength straight rye whiskey blend that was heavy dried fruit sweetness backed with baking space and subtle herbal notes. Everything we wanted and still under $70! This is an online only release so grab them while you can.

The nose starts fresh with white pepper, almonds, vanilla bean and turbinado sugar. It doesn’t tip off the maple finish initially. The nose begins to open up with some light spice, chocolate Cherries and hints of maple fudge.
 
The palate is a sticky bun. Molasses, fresh baked bread and pecans. It’s thick and delightful. Almost addictive as each sip has me returning for more of the sweetness!
 
The back palate brings a pop of leather and black pepper. A nice balance to the front palate. The finish is medium as the black pepper and sweetness dissipate. 

The nose is soft with notes of berries and cream with a bit of spice. Toasted orange peel provides a nice citrus note which is followed by rosemary and green apple.
 
The palate echoes the fruit from the nose. Tangerine and cinnamon sticks on the mid-palate. This moves to dried orange peel, oak and a fresh herbal note on the back palate.
 
What I love is that the rye is centered around center notes with the herbal and spice bringing complexity!