Sometimes I get little breaks from court while I am out of town, and rather than just sitting around I will seek out local liquor stores to see if they have something my local doesn’t have. On a recent trip out of town, I stumbled upon a bottle of Redemption 10 year old High Rye which is Barrel Proof at 114.4 Proof. Not a terribly high Proof but I decided to give it a try.

Redemption is a non-distiller producer who sources their whiskies from Midwest Grain Products, formerly Seagram’s, in Indiana. While not Kentucky Bourbon, MGP produces some great rye and bourbon whiskies. Many distillers will source the rye version of their whiskies from MGP. Barrel, Smooth Ambler, High West, and many others source bourbons and ryes from MGP. MGP knows what they are doing. Cask strength bourbon from MGP is often excellent and this one is no exception.

First off, cool bottle with this string creation to secure the top. Color is light mahogany which is really nice on a bourbon. Nose is mouthwatering sweetness and rye spiciness that is perfectly balanced. Palate is slightly sweet with dominant anise and baking spices, which fades into cocoa that reminds me of good dark chocolate. Mouthfeel is somewhere between medium and full bodied. The spicy finish lingers.

It’s no kidding a high rye bourbon taken to its logical conclusion-cask strength after ten years. The cocoa spicy finish on the end is just great. I think I need to have some of this with it.