Yesterday I spent the afternoon at John Lipman's house, where he was holding a sample of Cheryl's rye new make spirit (not whiskey since it never went into the barrel.) Now last may at the ADI meeting in Louisville I tried some of her rye new make and thought it was the best thing I drank all week. This spirit is a little different and was made on her new still. I love it and it shows that the craft distillers can make a good product. Tom McKenzie had already prooved that to me with his rye white dog that was wonderful with orange blossom honey aromas that were out of this world. Cheryls white dog is just as good but in a different way.
This white dog is 100 proof and has a nose that is citrus flowers and sweet spice. The taste is sweet peaches and apricots with some sweet spices such as clove and nutmeg. It has no mouth burn but there is a pleasant warmth going down and the finish is a WOW! Iy is long and sweet, but not unpleasently sweet. I would love for this to be aged in a large barrel for about 6 years. This is top notch rye whiskey.
It is interesting that both of the rye white dogs from craft distillers that I really like come from New York State. Tom's reminds me of fall with the rich honey flavor and Cheryls is a summer's day in the orchard. I would hate to have to choose between the two of them. Great whiskeys and I hope they both have great success in the market so that they will be picked up by a Kentucky distributer.