Journeyman Last Feather Rye Whiskey Review

By Father John Rayls

Rating: A-

My first introduction to Journeyman Distillery was part of the first collaboration project between craft distilleries,  Four Kings Rye. This was somewhat interesting, but not enough to make me jump up and add it to my collection. One of the four contributors to Four Kings is Journeyman Distilling, located in Three Oaks, Michigan and pying their trade in the former Featherbone Factory.

Maybe the parts are better than the whole, however, because Journeyman Last Feather Rye (Certified Organic) is a rye whiskey worth noticing. The whiskey is produced in a small batch format, aged in small barrels. It is bottled at 90 proof and is offered in 750ml and 200ml sizes. Especially unusual is that it is a wheated rye, 60% rye and 40% wheat, creating a sweet and spicy effect.

The Whiskey
The rye whiskey is dark combining a dark brown with orange tints demonstrating polished copper highlights in both bottle and glass. The legs are appealing, as they slowly form around the glass and eventually drain.

The nose is most appealing indicating a sweet spicy oak with a leather and vanilla presence. The palate is a very pleasant surprise with notes of caramel, vanilla, cinnamon spice and pepper.  It’s unusual in that the cinnamon remains while the pepper continues to grow and operate in the background. The caramel sweetness continues throughout the tasting experience. There is a light creamy mouthfeel with all most all of the action occurring at mid-mouth and further back even slightly down the throat.

The finish is medium to long as the pepper continues to grow in influence even gradually growing into a white pepper presence. It never becomes too hot, but walks a fine line between warming and hot. It approaches the line, but never crosses it creating a very warm sweet and spicy experience.

The Price
You can find it anywhere from $38.00 to $45.00 for a full bottle on the Internet.