Country: USA - Tennessee
Distillery: Sugarlands Distilling Company
Type: Straight Rye (51% Rye - 45% Corn - 4% Malted Barley)
Age: 3 yr 6 mo
Cask: American White Oak
ABV: 57.55%
Proof: 115.1
Price: $56
Nose: Toasted oak, cardamom, dusty malt, spearmint, grapefruit zest, cinnamon.
Palate: Dried fruits, toasted oak, caramel, baking spices, browned sugar, butter, char smoke.
Finish: Citrus, peppermint, ginger, cloves, nutmeg, black peppers, tannic dryness, a touch of tobacco.
I am always a happy man after I find a sample of the new Roaming Man batch every year in my mailbox. I am stoked to see how their whiskey is changing over the years. This time I have Roaming Man Batch 10 Tennessee Rye Whiskey in my glass. My latest review on their whiskies was on Roaming Man Tennessee Straight Rye Whiskey Batch 9. I found Roaming Man Batch 9 the most suitable batch for the adventurous palates as it is complex, bold, hot but also balanced.
With Roaming Man Batch 10 we have the same recipe, a lower proof around the same age. Tasting the new make spirit from the distillery, now, I can see some of the house characters better and how aging in Tennessee changes the character of the whiskey. The vegetal character which is huge on the new make is totally lost after aging, replacing the dominant character to spice and fruitiness with oak impact. With average evaporation of 23.6%, it is really not hard to imagine the
The nose has intense toasted oak with cardamom, dusty malt, pleasant spearmint, grapefruit zest and cinnamon, Nose starts hot for a single second, then it develops into a fresh but dark one.
The palate is not as dark as Batch 9. It offers lovely caramel, toasted oak, dark honey notes with patisserie cream, baking spices. Deeper tones like buttered sugar, char smoke is also developing beautifully. I loved the palate!
The finish is peppery and dry. Next to citrusy start, you can also feel peppermint, ginger, cloves, black peppers making you feel the spicy notes in every way. A touch of tobacco and tannic dryness is very well balanced.
Verdict
Wish it was easier to score a bottle of Roaming Man and keep these bottles as a bookshelf collection that I could visit from time to time. Roaming Man Batch 10 was certainly not the wildest rye whiskey in its range, but it was a very well-balanced and delicious one!
I can't wait for Batch 11 as it was just released in late February and I am pretty sure Sugarlands Distillery will surprise us again!
