Wednesday, August 7, 2013

Temptation & Redemption Bourboun-Rye tastings (plus Old Overholt)

Color me a fan of whiskey tastings. My favorite local cocktail bar, Sugar House, does these every once in a while and I make every one that I can. On the menu for this week's tasting was Temptation Bourbon, Redemption High-Rye Bourbon, Riverboat Rye, and Redemption Rye. Sadly the Riverboat Rye was scratched in favor of Old Overholt for some reason, but I wasn't going to let that get in the way. The Redemption/Temptation bottles all come from LDI and this tasting was meant to show the progression of high-corn to high-rye whiskeys.

Temptation Bourbon

Proof: 82 (41% ABV)
Price: $23
Mashbill: 75% corn, 20% rye, 5% malted barley

Very, very sweet. It tasted a little young, but didn't have too much of the young-spirit flavor (at least to me... my friend found that element overpowering in this bottle). This was not a very complicated whiskey... sweet almost the whole way through with the exception of a little spice mid-palate. The main flavors present were corn and citrus.
Redemption-Temptation Bourbons & Rye
Whiskey tasting lineup (- Riverboat, + Old Overholt)

Redemption High-Rye Bourbon

Proof: 92 (46% ABV)
Price: $26
Mashbill: 60% corn, 38.2% rye, 1.2% malted barley

As you'd expect, this had a little sweetness and a little spice. They worked well together to give this a nice balance and offer some more flavor than the Temptation did, potentially due to the higher proof. I really enjoyed this one and dubbed it my pick of the night. Could make for a good casual sipper or a good base for a bourbon cocktail that you wanted to add a little more spice to.

Old Overholt Rye

Proof: 80 (40% ABV)
Price: $20
Mashbill: 53% rye, 32% corn, 15% malted barley

Described as smelling awful by my friend and two-dimensional by one of the bartenders enjoying the tasting, this guy didn't win many people over. While I didn't love it, I didn't find it as offensive as others. The nose didn't really offer much up to me and the palate was somewhat bland. If I got it for free I wouldn't complain but this is simply a basic rye that is best suited as a mixer, not a primary element.

Redemption Rye

Proof: 92 (46% ABV)
Price: $29
Mashbill: 95% rye, 5% malted barley

Redemption Rye was extremely spicy with a lot of pine. A couple of my neighbors rated it as their favorite but this one was too young and aggressive for my tastes. I'm a rye fan, but this pour made my tongue feel like it was being electrocuted. I believe this is the same juice as is used in the Bulleit Rye, which I enjoy, so apparently I like my rye mellowed a bit. Despite all this, I can definitely see why the other guys had it as their favorite. The strong spice and pine notes make for a very assertive rye that would probably be great if you are looking to make a cocktail with a lot of spice.


Overall, I'd take the Redemption Bourbon if I had to choose one of them though I'd most likely pass these bottles up the next time I'm looking for a value whiskey. For the $20-$30 range I think you can do a lot better if you are looking for sweet (Evan Williams Single Barrel), sweet-spicy (Old Grand Dad 114), or spicy (Rittenhouse & Bulleit Rye).

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