Review: Tap Rye Sherry Finished Canadian Rye Whisky 8 Years Old
Review: Tap Rye Sherry Finished Canadian Rye Whisky 8 Years Old
The Canadian Tap brand is back with a third expression of its finished rye whiskies: Tap Rye Sherry Finished.
As with the maple and port versions of Tap, “finishing” here means the addition of actual amontillado sherry to the blend of rye whiskies, not aging in ex-sherry barrels, the traditional definition of “finishing.” (That said, Tap Rye Port Finished does spend a little time in port barrels as well.)
What’s really different is that this is the first Tap with an actual age statement. Now bearing a monstrous 8 on the label, this expression is a legit eight years old, aged in white oak. While all the expressions come from a blend of barrels, the original Tap is nonetheless significantly younger.
So how’s the new one come across?
Well, Tap’s Sherry Finished Rye suffers from the same problems as its forebears: The whisky just never goes very far in the flavor department. The nose is sweet and slightly tinged with citrus, vanilla, and sweet maple wood notes. On the body, heavy sugar notes make for an indistinctly sweet whisky. The palate veers a bit toward maple syrup, with a nose of cotton candy and more vanilla. But, just like with the port and maple expressions, that’s about where it stops. Any character from the sherry is all but absent in this whisky. Tap Sherry Finished may as well be either of the whiskies that preceded it — the oddball finishing just doesn’t do enough to distinguish it.
83 proof.
B / $40 / tapwhisky.com [BUY IT NOW FROM CASKERS]
Tap Rye Sherry Finished Canadian Rye Whisky 8 Years Old
$40
