A little background

Chicken Cock Whiskey has released Chicken Cock Kentucky Straight Rye Whiskey in select markets, “The Famous Old Brand’s” first Rye in more than 70 years. The introduction follows the fall 2019 launch of the brand’s anchor expression, a Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey. The reintroduction of a straight rye whiskey signals a return to pre-prohibition times when the classic spirit was more prevalent, while also honoring the brand’s history and heritage. Chicken Cock Kentucky Straight Rye is made in partnership with the Bardstown Bourbon Company as part of its collaborative distilling program, the new Straight Rye Whiskey was 100% distilled, aged, and bottled in the Bluegrass State. Chicken Cock Kentucky Straight Rye Whiskey is bottled at 90 proof, and can be found at an MSRP of $69.99.

(Tasted neat from a Glencairn Glass)

Color

Spring Honey

Nose

The nose is sweet and full of flavors such as mint leaf, brandied oranges, gingerbread, oak, dill, honey, and rye spice. This has a lot more going on that I expected! The complexity came as a surprise.

Palate

The palate is medium bodied. I immediately notice notes of Moroccan cinnamon-coated oranges (I’m not pulling that out of thin air, I had that dish in Morocco and it was delicious), dill, rye spice, honey, and mint leaves. The body gets more full as the “chew” progresses.

Finish

The finish is medium-long and maintains a lot of those rich flavors that the palate offered such as oranges, rye spice, dill, and honey.

In closing

Chicken Cock Kentucky Straight Rye Whiskey is a very solid rye! I was not expecting the intensity of flavor that this had given the proof, but I was proven wrong. It was packed full of flavor at every single aspect. I would be interested to see what this is like both at barrel proof, and with a few more years in the barrel! It is already delicious, it would be interesting to see how both of those changes affect the flavor.

NOTE: The sample used for this review was provided at no cost courtesy of Chicken Cock. We thank them for the sample and for allowing us to review it with no strings attached.