High West A Midwinter Night’s Dram (Act 8 Scene 3) Review

About – This yearly release from High West takes their flagship Rendezvous Rye and finishes it in both Port and French Oak Barrels. The Port is used to round of the fruity notes of the rye and the French Oak is used to accentuate the spice. Billed as the perfect Christmas whiskey, A Midwinter Night’s Dram is bottled at 98.6 proof and costs around $120, but is allocated so it could be considerably more depending on the store.

Nose – Nice and bright with stone fruit leading the charge and spearmint moves in swiftly behind that. A subtle baking spice moves in as it opens up along with vanilla and brown sugar.

Palate – Cinnamon graham crackers are the dominant note. Creamy vanilla custard, spearmint, and rye spice move in on the mid palate. Plum comes in on the backend rounding everything out. The finish is on the longer side of medium, starting with that sweet plum before shifting back to that cinnamon graham cracker accompanied by oak tannins that balance out the sweetness and a bit of leather as the finish continues.

Score – A-

Verdict – I am in agreeance on this being a perfect Christmas whiskey. It has all of the decadence you would expect from a whiskey with that billing. The Rendezvous Rye that servers as the base of A Midwinter Night’s Dram has gone through some changes over the years that have attributed directly to this product as well. After starting to incorporate their own distillate the quality dropped a bit, but it has since headed back in the right direction. If you love rye and love Christmas like I do this is a must keep on hand whiskey.