If you know anything about whiskey, you know that blending the spirits is nothing new. However, it truly takes an exceptional talent to have the senses needed to make this work successfully. Nearly anyone can blend whiskey. But only a handful of folks can turn blended whiskey into amazing products that blend seamlessly and like magic. Chief Alchemist Macaulay Minton is completely dialed in when it comes to producing a product that is unique and also makes you as giddy as a school girl.
Today we taste and share the Dark Arts Amburana Oak Stave Finished Small Batch Rye which has a mash bill of 95% rye and 5% barley. While each batch is naturally different, the blends are from six to eight year age statements and contain three barrels for each small batch. The whiskey is distilled in Indiana (most likely MGP) and the finishing and bottling happens in Lexington, KY. We tasted this sweet treat neat in our favorite mini Belgian beer glass - again and again - from sample.
If you were tasting this blind, you might be surprised that this is a rye whiskey, depending on your tasting skills. Light chestnut in color with sweet aromas of cinnamon, brown sugar, baked apples, baking spices and cinnamon. Did we say cinnamon twice? Yes. Yes, we did. The first and subsequent sips immediately greeted us with Cinnamon Toast Crunch cereal and we will die on that hill all day long! As stated previously, all batches are different but this one was incredibly reminiscent of the popular cereal. There is a savory sweetness to this, but not overly sweet. Sugar cream pie, warm apple cobbler, hints of pumpernickel and baking spices all lead us down a path to a persistent finish. Dark Arts Whiskey House is doing some really cool things and we're glad to start seeing it on the shelves at stores when we travel. Check them out!
ABV: 54.0% (108 proof)
Distillery: MGP for Dark Arts Whiskey House
Suggested retail price: $89.99
Drink The Bottles score: 91/100
