"Lionesses of Israel"

Released December, 2023

The barrel is a tribute to the brave soldiers of the Karakal Battalion of the IDF, the "Lionesses of Israel". Am Yisrael Chai! #FuckHamas

Age: 8 years, 3 months
Type: Straight Rye
Proof: 120.7
Mash bill: 95% Rye/ 5% Malted Barley
Distillery: MGP
Bottler: J&B
Tasting notes:

Nose: All kinds of things going on here. It smells like a confectionary and it's minty and has herbal bits like thyme and oregano but never too much of any of those. And then there's this deep note of Faygo Grape, in a good way. But wait. There's more. There's a note that is best described as horchata.

Palate: It starts out with green apple and then it leaves really quickly and heads back to the herb patch but then it leaves again and this is where it gets wild. It does just what you'd think an MGP rye would do. It does a 180 and gets all these raspberry and cherry and baked pie crust notes. And that's fun.

Finish: Long, inviting, more sweet notes than herbal notes.

Overall: MGP ryes can be worth bottling at 4-6 years. And they can be great. But if you want that complexity, it seems like 8+ years is what you need. And this is a fine example.