If you’ve noticed a distinct trend on this site it’s that overall we’re not big fans of sherry casking. It’s often just the result of a tax avoidance, and usually is used improperly and to ill effect. However we have been known from time to time to enjoy that bit of sherry, and it seems that while a nice 12 year scotch may not be helped with it – it seems Rye and Sherry might just be the combo we needed. That or maybe these Limestone Branch Distillery folks know what they are doing.
That said this does suffer from being better straight but not being a great sipper overall, what praise it does get comes in the spice and mellow aftertaste. Basically everything else about it from mixing is just you making that aftertaste go away – even if it does work well enough in some cocktails. It’s also slightly endeared to us because when we saw the actual price versus what we paid – we certainly got this for a steal.
What they Say: “Made according to Minor Case Beam’s Motto: ‘Craft only the finest whiskey.’ Limestonebranchdistillery.com”
Taste: 5.0 – That has some heat to it almost like – *Checks* wait this is 90 Proof, well that explains that. Sadly you get more of that than rye.
Aftertaste: 8.0 – Here it mellows out giving you a nice slow long delicious rye and spice flavoring that’s honestly astounding.
Burn/Smooth: 6.5 – That has some kick to it, but it’s a bit spicy like a high proof whiskey would normally be. That being said this could have gone far worse.
Aroma: 6.0 – There’s a whiff of the rye flavor, but it’s faint and you really have to dig deep to get the rye and smoke. What’s there is nice, but you wish it was more.
Honesty: 7.0 – They say little. The bottle looks great and stands out. So while they don’t go super out of the way to earn points, they earn them without losing ground.
Mixability: 6.0
W/ Rocks: 5.5 – You remove the harshness (mostly) from the slight over proofing, and you get more of the flavor, but it’s now abrupt instead of nice and long-lasting.
Whiskey and Coke: 6.0 – That is improved over the rocks as you still get some of that flavor, but most of it is gone.
Old Fashioned: 6.5 – So that is actually a pretty good old fashioned. The flavor of the bitters/orange/sugar helps the missing aspect of the long slow rye, but with how this fares on rocks it’s better here.
Value: 4.0 – Oofa doofa. Now we bought this on a likely pandemic based clearance, but that price is a bit painful for something that overall isn’t winning any hearts or minds. The aftertaste alone saves this an entire point though.
Google Shop Average: $47
Website: https://limestonebranch.com/
Reviewer Scores:
BuffaloJern: 6.5
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Metric Score: 42.5/70 |+| Metric Average: 6.07 |+| Reviewer Average: 6.5
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Final Thoughts: Overall just a nice rye, some heat, some spice, and some proof that maybe if you choose to use sherry for reasons beyond paying less money – you might just make something good. It’s a bit sad that the actual cost here is just shy of 50 bucks, but if you like us can find it for cheaper – it’s certainly worth a sip.
