I’d like to thank Four Gate Whiskey Company for providing a review sample with no strings attached.
Ordinarily, I do tasting notes over the weekend in order to allow me to spend more writing time on the essay that goes in front of each review on writing night. Well, now that it has warmed up (we are above freezing for the second day in a row!!!), I’ve spent the last three days running a smoker and the only thing I could smell, during the time I would usually do a tasting, was smoke. So tonight you are getting raw, unfiltered, day-of-tasting notes without the benefit of a second tasting.
It also means that I don’t have quite as much time to write an intro essay so instead, I’m spending all of this time writing excuses about why I couldn’t write something more interesting. Yay! Intro!
Four Gate Whiskey Company is a company that is making quite a name for itself as an innovative barrel finishing whiskey company. I’ve only had five of their eleven releases but already I’ve had bourbon finished in gin/Orange Curaçao barrels, bourbon finished in Cognac/rum barrels and as of tonight, a rye whiskey finished in a barrel that has previously aged Ruby Port and then rum. Some of these are home runs, some are super weird, but all are very interesting. Here is what the company has to say about the barrel finishing of tonight’s rye.
The secondary casks originally were originally used to mature ruby port, a fortified wine from Portugal in which the wine is removed from barrels and stored in tanks to prevent further aging, leaving the resulting product sweeter and brighter on the palate than other styles of port wine. The barrels found a second use with Virago Spirits in Richmond, VA where the barrels were used to age a blend of rums, imparting them with a lush molasses sweetness that pairs excellently with the bright red fruit of the ruby port.
The most interesting thing about this whiskey is that it is the third in a series featuring the same rye whiskey. I initially reviewed the first of the series in July of 2020. It was a 7-year-old Straight Rye whiskey from Indiana that featured the 95% rye/5% malted barley recipe made famous by MGP (and even though the company didn’t confirm it, I assume that is exactly what it was). You can read what I had to say about Batch 7 here. They then performed two barrel-finishing experiments using that same whiskey. One I did not get a sample of, but the other is tonight’s whiskey. My tasting tonight featured both the Batch 7 (unfinished whiskey) and Batch 11 which spent an additional 40+ days in a second barrel. Let’s see how it turned out.
Four Gate Whiskey Company: Batch 11, Ruby Rye Springs
Purchase Info: This sample was graciously supplied by the producer for review purposes. The suggested retail price is: $185
Price per Drink (50 mL): $12.40
Details: “95/5 Indiana Straight Rye” (going out on a limb to say that means MGP though this has not been confirmed by the company), 56.7% ABV, 7 years old, 1,444 bottle batch. Finished in a cask that previously aged both Ruby Port and then Rum.
Nose: Bubblegum, mint, caramel, red fruits, and allspice.
Mouth: Whoo, that's spicy. Cinnamon, red fruits, and mint.
Finish: Spicy and long. Notes of Bubblegum, molasses, cinnamon, and mint.
Thoughts: This is damn good. If you can afford to splurge on this one, and you like high-proof ryes, do it. I think this is almost the best thing I've had from Four Gate (I loved Batch 6, but this was almost as good). I can see saving up to splurge on this one.
Comparison to the Unfinished Rye: Ruby Rye Springs has a much softer, yet more complicated, nose. It is sweeter and really shows off what the finishing barrel brought to the party. The Unfinished rye is sharper on the nose and almost antiseptic by comparison. The unfinished rye is delicious, a good rich 95%- style rye. Good cinnamon and minty rye notes. Somehow the Ruby Rye Springs is even better. It retains the spice and minty herbal rye notes but adds a nice layer of sweetness and fruit to the top. They used a deft touch on the barrel finishing. If I hadn't known this was barrel-finished rye, I would not have guessed. I would have just thought it was a rye whiskey with nice fruit notes and a complex finish. It was only through the comparison, that I saw what had been accomplished. It is hard to improve on a barrel-strength "Indiana 95% Rye" but Four Gate has done it. My hats off to them. Nice Work!
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