High West is a distillery in Park City Utah that makes a lot of high quality bourbons and ryes. You really can’t go wrong with any of their products. Their Rendezvous Rye is one of my favorites. They recently released a limited run of the Rendezvous Rye called A Midwinter Nights Dram. Interestingly, it is finished in port and French Oak barrels. Many bourbon and rye snobs will say that finishing the product in order to impart flavors is cheating at best and a marketing ploy at worst. In this case, I disagree. It is a fun and interesting drink for this holiday season.
First off, you can see the port in the color of the pour. The nose is almost all one note, cherry. It can make that first sip also seem heavy on the cherries. As you sip and let it sit, some of the vanilla and cinnamon flavors start to emerge and meld with the cherry. These are perfect flavors to bring out for the Holidays and to enjoy this Christmas Season. I wouldn’t recommend mixing it with anything, just enjoy it neat.
Bottled at 98.6 Proof.
More Bourbon Reviews:
Old Forester Birthday Bourbon
Pappy Van Winkle’s Family Reserve 20 Years Old
Old Weller Antique
Parker’s Heritage Wheat Whiskey 13 Year
Eagle Rare 17 Year Old