High Times with High West

Last weekend the WhiskyBros were faced with the difficult and dirty task of attending the Whiskies of the World expo in San Francisco. To make matters worse Mark was working the Johnnie Walker table which left me alone, in a room full of whiskey. As you can imagine, this put me in a quite an onerous situation.

 I managed.

While we will certainly write more about the event, the whisky, and the brilliant seminars the day before, I wanted to spend a minute on a new friend. High West Rendezvous Rye is a real treat, and while  Ryes tend not to be my prefered dram, I've said before and will say again that good whiskey is good whiskey, whatever it is.

 High West is a new micro-distillery started by a Californian named David Perkins, in Utah (of all places). Take whatever time (or drinks) you need to stifle your disbelief, that's where it is, and apparently, it's not a big deal to the locals. Even if it is funny.

 Like our own local Anchor distillery, his flagship product is a unique Rye whiskey. Rendezvous Rye is a blend of a 6 year old with 95% rye, and a 17 year-old that's 80% Rye. This would put it at one of the highest rye contents on the market, possible second only to Old Potrero's 100% (which if you ask me, is just a bit much).

 The Rendezvous Rye exhibits a maturity and sophistication I have never encountered in a Rye. It's age is certainly a factor in this, but it was obviously crafted with love and care. On the nose it is light and sweet, with only a hint of spice. The body starts with honey and jammy fruits,  with herb notes, leading into an intense and lingering rye spice finish. 

I'd give it a solid 90, definitely something I'm looking to find on the market....I'll let you know where to get a bottle.

 Update: Ok, I know I only posted this a few hours ago, but I LOVE Blackwell's, the bottle shop down the street from my house. They have it for $48 for a 750ml bottle.