Review: Bender’s Whiskey Small Batch Rye 7 Years Old Batch #2
Review: Bender’s Whiskey Small Batch Rye 7 Years Old Batch #2
What we’ve got here is Canadian rye, aged for seven years, then shipped off to San Francisco’s Treasure Island for bottling by a craft distilling operation, Treasure Island Distillery. The label says seven years, but actually for this second batch, the mashbill has been updated (now it’s 92% 9 year old rye, 8% 13 year old corn) and, as you can see, it’s technically a nine year old spirit, not merely seven. Distilled first in a column still, it goes through a second pot distillation before aging.
Bender’s a real guy — name’s Carl Bender — and we got to try his baby.
For a seven (er, nine-plus) year old whiskey, Bender’s has a lot of youth on it. The nose offers cereal notes, but it’s tempered with menthol while being punchy with earthy, leathery, hogo notes. The body kicks things off with baking spices and a bit of apple pie character before quickly chasing those earlier earthier elements down the rabbit hole. Look for cigar box, wet leather, some mushroom, and a bit of rhubarb. Over time these seemingly disparate elements begin to meld and merge together, ultimately creating a fairly compelling whole.
In a world of interesting ryes, Bender’s finds a unique home. Worth a spin.
80 proof. Reviewed: Batch #2, bottle #3415.
B+ / $42 [BUY IT NOW FROM CASKERS]
Bender's Whiskey Small Batch Rye 7 Years Old Batch #2
$42
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Good old rye whiskey. Usually a rye whiskey has its own unique flavor all its own. This one sounds like another one that my son-in-law will have to try, because he is definitely the whiskey drinker in the family.