Rare Perfection 14 Year

A little background

Rare Perfection 14 Year from Preservation Distillery is made from a bourbon mash bill and aged in the freezing cold warehouses of Canada. Although technically Canadian Whiskey, it was distilled from a 4-grain wheated bourbon mash bill with just a hint of rye and malted barley. According to Preservation Distillery, the cold climate where this whiskey was aged has helped create its thick buttery body without the heavy lumber notes on the finish. This is due to the wood not expanding nearly as much in the cold northern climate. Rare Perfection 14 Year is an Overproof whiskey bottled 100.7 proof with a retail price of $159 bucks.

(Tasted neat from a Glencairn Glass)

Color

Golden Amber

Nose

Tropical notes are first to jump out of the glass, such as pineapple, toasted coconut, and citrus. There’s an underlying lanolin and slight chemical quality, however, not in an off putting or offensive way. It’s weird, but I like it! Upon further nosing, brown sugar, almonds, and golden raisin notes come through as well. Wow, I could seriously nose this whiskey all day!

Palate

The palate on this whiskey is thick, buttery, and downright tasty. Brown sugar notes are right up front, followed by orange, lemon, and a hint of cherry. As the palate begins to fade, delicious butterscotch flavors make an appearance.  Yum!

Finish

The finish is pleasantly long with lemon and citrus that evolves into a touch of cherry and cinnamon. The Butterscotch notes from the palate continue to linger around throughout the finish.

In closing

My initial reaction to Rare Perfection 14 Year is how unique this whiskey really is. The creamy mouthfeel and delicious tropical flavors are unlike anything else I’ve tried. Well, besides Rare Perfection 15 Year which shares many of the same flavors, only with a higher ABV and a much more viscous body. There are certainly some very unique tastes and smells going on in this whiskey that I feel most will enjoy, while some might not. Rare Perfection 14 Year is probably best classified as a “most will love it, a few might not” whiskey. As for myself, I personally loved it.