The Basics: 

Kentucky Artisan Distillery

94.2 Proof

NAS

$90 MSRP

Nose:

Earthy, lemon preserves, pralines, cocoa powder, bell pepper, Fruit Stripe gum, and mint.

Palate: 

Prune, candied lemon peel, mint, grape, confectionary sugar, and green oak. 

Finish:

Medium with notes of candied pecans, golden raisins, and pear. 

Final Thoughts:

One of the four core products in the Coalition lineup is their rye whiskey finished in Sauternes barrels from Bordeaux, France. For those who aren’t well versed in the wine world, Sauternes is a sweet white wine made from grapes that have been intentionally affected by Botrytis cinera, otherwise known as noble rot. The result is a grape that has slightly shriveled with more condensed sugars in the fruit. Now… let’s get into the tasting. Right up front there are clear earthy notes and something that I can only describe as bell pepper. After sitting in the glass for a while, I started to get sweeter aromas like lemon preserves and and pralines. The palate brings more sweetness than the nose with flavors of prune, grape, and confectionary sugar, along with green oak. The whiskey rounds out with a distinct golden raisin and pear note. Overall I found that there was a lot of complexity to this whiskey, and some clear sweet white wine influences from the Sauternes barrels that I really enjoyed (golden raisin, confectioner’s sugar, etc.). However, there is also an earthy raw oak note throughout that is reminiscent of what I find on younger craft whiskeys. For those who are fans of wine finished whiskeys, this might be one to check out as I do not believe there are any other Sauternes finish whiskies on the market, let alone a rye whiskey.