The Whiskey Reviewer A World of Whiskey, Poured Every Weekday
By Richard Thomas
Rating: B-
291 Colorado Rye Whiskey
(Credit: 291 Distillery)
The stablemate to 291’s bourbon, their rye is made from 61% malted rye and 39% corn mash before being aged for less than two years in 10-gallon barrels. This whiskey also uses the distillery’s “El Paso County Process,” which is to add stillage from an IPA to the mash, and finished using staves of toasted Aspen wood. It was then bottled at a fairly high 101.27 proof.
The Whiskey
This rye has the look of polished brass in the glass. Swishing the glass leaves behind a coat with scattered, but quite thick tears.
The nose on 291 Rye is quite musty, a feature that often attends the use of malted rye, and here we have plenty of it. The scent is molasses and peppery spices in the main, underscored by spruce.
On the palate, overtones of spruce and cedar run over molasses and pumpernickel, and once again the whole thing has a pronounced, musty character. The whiskey goes down as musty pumpernickel, a big like flavorful bread that has traces of mold you can’t actually see.
Putting 291’s bourbon and rye together into a common experience, I can’t put my finger on what their El Paso County Process does exactly, but the influence of the Aspen staves is quite clear.
The Price
A bottle of this should set you back about $70.
