NV Pikesville 6yo Straight Rye 110 proof 55%
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Heaven Hill's 80-proof standard Pikesville is a summer favorite, so I was eager to try this. A woody depth to it at 6 years old: 110 proof-hot, stewed plum and horehound candy, and sizzling rye spice behind it. It's a jawbreaker: full and hot in the mouth, with sweet grassy spice, bitter rye grain as it progresses, and crackling sugar near the end, just before it all smooths into a savory layered finish. Exciting ride, great ending.
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Jim Murray, Whisky Bible
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a light spice tingles in Demerara rum fashion. Carry on nosing and you will, if patient and able enough, find unusual depths to which few whiskies reach. The tantalising chocolate-liquorice at about three quarters depth is one the aromas of the year. Taste: after that nose, the delivery just had to be majestic. And it is. The rye grain fair rattles against the teeth, the sugars 0 crystalline, dark and tinged with both molasses and muscovado – help bring its salivating qualities to maximum. Then those spices… those wonderful, bustling, fizzing spices. Finish: a lovely mix between ulmo and Zambian forest honey keeps the sweetness lingering to the end. The rye, of course, continues to sparkle and spice its way to the last embers of the fade… which is a long way away. Balance: the most stunning of ryes and the best from Heaven Hill for some time.