A little background

Lock Stock & Barrel 18 year rye whiskey is a Canadian-sourced whiskey that was made from a unique mashbill of 100% rye. It was double-distilled, and then a “robust cut” is aged in new, charred American oak barrels in cold weather for a whopping 18 years. It sits at an impressive 109 proof, which is something that surprised me given the age, and is sold at an MSRP of around $229.

(Tasted neat from a Halo Glass)

Color

Summer Honey

Nose

The nose is bursting with notes of extremely fresh apricots, tobacco, rye spice, and peaches. The white-flesh fruits are extremely explosive on the nose, it’s almost like I am smelling the real things! Added onto this are wonderful notes of honeydew, pine, and whole cardamom pods. Maple syrup and very slight hints of vanilla make their way in towards the end. This is one of the most complex noses I have experienced, it is truly amazing.

Palate

The palate is just as complex as the nose. It is bursting with flavors of stewed peaches, wet tobacco leaves, apricots, rye spice, and cardamom. These notes all cover the mid-back palate and stick there like there’s no tomorrow. Maple syrup, vanilla, orange rind, and pine all make their way in after giving it the good ol’ “Kentucky Chew” for a bit. On the front palate lives beautiful notes of sweet oak, tobacco and rye spice. This is absolutely wonderful, I never want to stop drinking this.

Finish

The finish is medium-long and pretty heavily concentrated on the mid-back palate. Present are beautiful notes of apricot, maple syrup, pine, rye spice, and faint cardamom pod. It does not last for forever, but it carries almost the same amount of flavor and complexity that the palate does, which is rare to find in a whiskey.

In closing

Wow, this is a bottle to get your hands on. I cannot say enough good things about this rye. It is difficult to maintain a high level of quality with a whiskey aged for this long, and they have absolutely nailed it. There’s not much else to say!