Review #1290 – High West Midwinters Night Dram Act 7 Scene 2

This is the 7th iteration of High West’s annual port finished rye whiskey release. Introduced every fall, this port finished rye is bottled at 49.3 percent ABV and features a unique blend of HW and MGP rye as well as port finishing time. Let’s see how it is. I have a second sample of this as well, to do in an upcoming Act 5 vs Act 6 vs Act 7 showdown. Let’s dig in.

Review #1290 | Rye Review #592

Distiller: Various

Bottler: High West

Selection: N/A

ABV: 49.3% ABV

Age: NAS

Nose: Heavy clove, rye spice. Faint mustiness. Some juicy fruits, like currant, cranaberry, raspberry. Ethanol, cocoa, pepper.

Taste: Medium mouth feel. Some heat, but not much. Sweet, musty corn. Hefty rye spice. A bit of tobacco. Juicy fruits like blackberry and strawberry. Musty and young. Something tells me there is less MGP here than previous releases.

Finish: Short but mild and juicy. Molasses, maple syrup., cranberry, blackberry, currant. Sweet honey.

Overall: Far less spicy than previous batches, with about the same amount of port influence. The base has changed considerably, though, and is clearly much younger. I’m looking forward to comparing this to older batches, blind, to remove bias, but I can’t say I like this as much as my gold standard: Act 3.

Thanks for reading!

Rank: 5

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Decoded:

1 | Disgusting | So bad I poured it out.

2 | Poor | I wouldn’t consume by choice.

3 | Bad | Multiple flaws.

4 | Sub-par | Not bad, but many things I’d rather have.

5 | Good | Good, just fine.

6 | Very Good | A cut above.

7 | Great | Well above average

8 | Excellent | Really quite exceptional.

9 | Incredible | An all time favorite

10 | Perfect | Perfect