Spirit Review: Yellow Rose Distilling's Straight Rye Whiskey

Yellow Rose Distilling is another Texas whiskey distillery producing some damn fine whiskey. Their products include a blended whiskey, a bourbon, and a double barrel bourbon. I have only tried the Straight Rye Whiskey, but it's enough to make me pine for the others. This rye is good.

It's made from 95% rye, which gives it a little pepper and spice, but it's very drinkable straight or in a Manhattan cocktail or a Sazerac, the three main ways I drink rye. Sure, it's 45% ABV, but with a large ice cube, it becomes a very smooth whiskey with just a hint of spice on the finish. There's plenty of brown sugar and vanilla there, too, but the pepper makes it different from a standard bourbon. This is a straight rye whiskey, so it has been aged for at least two years, and that aging makes it smoother than some other comparable ABV ryes.

The lowdown: don't be afraid of Texas whiskeys. This one is a winner. So much so, I even bought my dad a couple bottles for Christmas. And that's saying something.