Heritage Distilling Company Dual Barrel Rye Whiskey
By Father John Rayls
Rating: B-
Heritage Distilling Company (HDC), a craft distillery based in Gig Harbor, Washington, has won many awards since starting work in 2012. In fact, HDC is the American Distilling Institute’s most award-bedecked craft distillery in North America four years in a row now, from 2014 to today. And, for a trendy women in whiskey twist, HDC has majority female ownership. Add to that their eye on environmental impact issues.
However, their major emphasis, besides quality products, seems to be their local retail experiences. Many people cannot stop raving about the eye appeal and service provided locally.
The Whiskey
The Dual Barrel Collection Rye Whiskey is bottled at 92 proof and offered with a No Age Statement (NAS). Unfortunately, not much more is known about their products or the barrels used. This rye whiskey is aged in new American Oak barrels and then aged a second time in used barrels previously filled with aging vanilla extract. So, clearly an unusual spicy and vanilla-noted rye was the target. I’m just not sure the results are really what the distillery originally had in mind, though.
The Dual Barrel Collection Rye Whiskey has an appearance of dark gold and amber notes. There are highlights of gold with the light passing through the concoction. The legs are thin and sparse. The bottle and label seem designed to be ignored. There’s just nothing to grab your attention or to say “Hey look at me!”
The nose is is a very nice surprise filled with vanilla, oak and chocolate malted milk balls. It is somewhat aggressive and easily detected. Unfortunately, the palate doesn’t live up to the promise of the nose. It is a very light mouth-feel and drinks slightly hot from the very start. It is a mid-mouth experience with a lot of action on the roof of the mouth. A light flavor of caramel corn with some sweet vanilla and light cinnamon is briefly present. However, it transitions relatively quickly into a medium to long finish dominated by pepper. It continues to drink hot throughout the tasting experience.
The Price
You can expect to pay between $28.00 to $33.00.
