Roaming Man Batch 7 Tennessee Straight Rye Whiskey

A little background

Roaming Man Tennessee Straight Rye Whiskey is a very limited release from Sugarlands Distilling Co. in Gatlinburg, Tennessee. Nestled up against the Great Smoky Mountains, Sugarlands is a popular tourist destination who’s built their name from moonshine production. Roaming Man Whiskey saw its first release in the winter of 2016, with the first two batches selling out within 48-hours. The third release in November 2017 was gone in less than 5 hours, and by the 4th edition it was sold out in 30 minutes. Roaming Man Straight Rye Whiskey is Non-Chill Filtered, bottled at cask strength, and has a mash bill containing 51% Rye, 45% Corn, and 4% Malted Barley. This review was based on a sample from batch 7, an 11 barrel (25-gallon barrels) batch bottled at 122.6 proof and age statements of 3 years 10 months and 2 years 8 months. Retail price for a bottle is $50 for a 375ml.

(Tasted neat from a Glencairn.)

Color

Burnt Orange

Nose

Caramel notes are first to jump out of the glass, followed by citrus aromas. As the alcohol burns off, the scent of port and rolo candies come through. For the proof, the nose is inviting and doesn’t reveal the fact that this is a cask strength whiskey.

Palate

The proof is more present on the palate, although not overwhelming. Rye spice jumps out, along with sweet orange and pipe tobacco notes. The palate is oily and coats the mouth well. 

Finish

The finish is very pleasant and long lasting with plenty of delicious rye spice. Hints of cinnamon, orange peel, apple and vanilla stick around for quite some time. 

In closing

This is a very well balanced whiskey that has a lot of great qualities despite its young age. We found the nose to really draw us in and the finish had us coming back for more. For being 122.6 proof, the alcohol burn was minimal but did block some special flavors buried behind the alcohol. The addition of a little water brought out some enjoyable candy like qualities that some might find to be quite nice. At the end of the day, Sugarlands Distilling Co. is producing some really good rye whiskey and we’re excited for their stocks to continue to age. 

Note: The sample used for this review was provided at no cost courtesy of Sugarlands Distilling, Co. We thank them for the sample and for allowing us to review this wonderful rye whiskey!