A little background

Pennington Distilling was founded in 2011 by husband and wife, Jeff and Jenny Pennington. They began by producing vodka and various other products, which allowed the distillery to grow and obtain the additional time and resources necessary to make their own quality whiskey. After 6 years of hard work and dedication, Pennington released their first whiskey: Davidson Reserve Rye. Since then, the company has released three more varieties of whiskey all made in-house: Davidson Reserve Four-Grain, Davidson Reserve Genesis, and Davidson Reserve Tennessee Whiskey. Recently, the company has also started releasing a barrel strength, single barrel variety of their Tennessee whiskey. They also make a variety of non-whiskey products including Pickers Vodka, Pickers Unplugged Vodka Soda, Whisper Creek Tennessee Sipping Cream, and Walton’s Finest Vodka.

This Davidson Reserve Straight Rye is made from a mash of 100% Tennessee White Cereal Rye from Renfroe Farms, a third-generation family farm in Huntingdon, TN. It is mashed, fermented, distilled, and aged in-house at Pennington’s facility in Nashville Tennessee. There is no age statement on the bottle but after speaking with the owner I learned that the whiskey in this particular bottle is almost 5 years old. Davidson Reserve Rye generally retails in the $50-$60 range.

(Tasted neat from a Glencairn Glass)

Color

Dark Amer

Nose

When I first cracked this bottle I was set back by the heavy sweet notes that initially emanate from the bottle, particularly maple syrup, fig preserves, and vanilla cream. However, in a short time, the rye character of this whiskey begins to come through with some baking spice, dried grass, cinnamon, and just a touch of toasted oak.

Palate

Davidson Reserve Tennessee Straight Rye Whiskey starts out as rich and buttery on the palate with plenty of sweet toffee and toasted oak. There is some cereal grain present and plenty of spice begins developing mid-tongue along with layers of dried herbal notes. Surprisingly, this whiskey drinks very easy and well below its proof, as there is almost no alcohol burn throughout the sip.

Finish

The finish is medium and characterized by heavily seasoned cinnamon apples, caramel syrup, slight oak, and a floral bouquet accentuated with some mint and dried citrus.

In closing

Davidson Reserve Tennessee Straight Rye Whiskey is exceptionally easy-drinking, provides a nice mouthfeel from the first sip, and demonstrates a nice range of flavors from a 100% rye mash bill. This is not the typical big, bold rye I would normally look for but I think it is very pleasant and would be perfect for someone who is new to the rye game or as the foundation for a whiskey-forward cocktail.

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