Chattanooga Rye Review

About – “Tennessee Rye Malt is our rich, malt-forward approach to rye. Inspired by one of our Experimental Distillery’s first batches of whiskey, our version of this rare and flavorful style was made from an abundance of slow toasted and drum roasted rye malt. The result is a bold reinvention of rye, brimming with sweet and savory notes of candied fruit, herbs, and spice.” As with their bourbon offering Chattanooga focuses on malted grains and features and extended 7 day fermentation period. Chattanooga rye is unfiltered, bottled at 99 proof, and has a retail price of $42.99.

Nose – The thing I notice immediately is how sweet this comes across for a rye whiskey. The predominant notes are a dense brown sugar and cinnamon. It gives the nose a nice sting more so from the amount of cinnamon spice than from the ethanol. As the cinnamon begins to fade out spearmint moves in and the brown sugar is still hanging around in the background.

Palate – Just like the nose this rye hits the palate with a lot of sweetness. I am getting a lot of cola flavor, there is some plum hanging around with that, and as it sits on the palate the cinnamon from the nose takes over leading into a medium finish that switches over to spearmint and leaves your mouth pleasantly tingling.

Score – B-

Verdict – Chattanooga may be a small distillery, but they are doing big things. This ranks up there among the most unique flavor profiles I have encountered in a rye whiskey. Overall it is a very good release. If there is any downside it is that I find it a bit too sweet for me personally. It leaves me almost with the feeling that I have had a mixed drink. If you have a strong sweet tooth this is probably right up your alley.