Alright I need to get my thoughts about this before the fold as there will be a treat for you. Speaking of treats this whiskey is certainly one for your tastebuds, of course that’s if you consider being kicked in the teeth as a treat. This is not a whiskey you throw into a cocktail or have when you want a calm sipping whiskey at the end of the day. This is a bar whiskey that you have when you want to wake up or if life has gotten just a little too boring.
Yeah I don’t regret this decision in my review.
What they Say: “Our Rye Whisky gains both complexity and finesse via our unique three barrel aging process. Our award winning rye whisky would not be possible without this unique three barrel regime. We hope you enjoy this as much as we enjoyed making it.”
Taste: 6.0 – There’s some smoke and sweetness at first, and it’s nice.
Aftertaste: 7.5 – Then the whiskey comes along and says hi by punching you in the face. It’s not really in a bad way mind you, and I’m totally okay with the punch to the face of flavor.
Burn/Smooth: 5.5 – It doesn’t burn and the warmth is nice and lingering. However a punch to face ain’t a smooth thing.
Aroma: 7.0 – It’s a very pleasant smell, there’s some heat, some smoke, and the smell of rye. It’s not overwhelming, but is by no means weak.
Honesty: 10.0 – It is called Rough Rider, it has Bull Moose, and Teddy Roosevelt is mentioned by name. As well the text isn’t massively wanky about their spirit, and has a nice graphic. In short it does not lose points, and Theodore Goddamn Roosevelt. So yeah – it gets a fucken 10 – I don’t care if it’s from New York, they made a whiskey that makes me imagine Teddy himself punching me in the face.
Mixability: 4.75
W/ Rocks: 5.0 – That delays the aftertaste and lessens the impact a bit. However it makes it a more smoky like flavor. Overall while I admire it, I am not a fan of it compared to neat.
Whiskey Sour: 4.5 – Overall it’s okay, but I’d take it neat once again.
Value: 6.0 – It’s a good whiskey, it looks nice in my bar, and it has the name of someone on the Mt. Rushmore Monument. It’s also not that costly compared to other whiskies of this ilk.
Google Shop Average: $36
Website: http://lispirits.com/
Reviewer Scores:
BuffaloJern: 7.5
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Metric Score: 46.75/70 |+| Metric Average: 6.67 |+| Reviewer Average: 7.5
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Final Thoughts: That may seem like quite a spread metric to opinion, but since I don’t need to have this mixed, and as evidence by not even getting a good picture in time before this was gone – I can handle the burn and punches this dishes out. It’s got a lot of power and heart and is a damn fine tasting whiskey.
