Hillrock Distiller's Reserve Dave's Pick #1 Barrel Proof Double Cask Rye Whiskey (750ml)

Before his untimely death in November of 2018, Dave Pickerell had established himself as a towering figure in the American whiskey industry. Fourteen years Master Distiller for Maker’s Mark, a luminary of whiskey knowledge and one of the nation’s pre-eminent distillers, he famously helped start WhistlePig and went on to consult to over one hundred distilleries. His final post was as Master Distiller for Hillrock Estate. Here in the Hudson Valley he was working to perfect what he’d started at WhistlePig: a true grain-to-glass estate rye: Grown, distilled, aged and bottled in the northeast, where rye whiskey originated with the founding fathers.

This is a rare opportunity to own not only a truly great rye, but one of the last whiskies produced and selected by the now legendary MD. The mash bill for this specially dedicated edition consists of 70% rye and 30% corn. Labelled as ‘Dave’s Pick #1’, it's a 6.5 year old whiskey aged first in a #3 char American oak barrel before moving to a #4 char barrel. While it needs a few minutes to dissipate the overwhelming dry, woody notes, the nose develops aromas of old books, leather, oak shavings, walnuts, cocoa, pepper and distant peppermint. It’s a fabulously robust, tactile, chewy rye that's expansive towards the finish, climaxing in a flood of coffee cake, vanilla cream and wood spices. The aftertaste adds flashes of rancio, caramel fudge and old fortified wine, checked by late tannins. As a single cask, it's difficult to compare with any mainstream rye. It comes bottled at high proof and limited to 623 hand-numbered decanters which are sure to be on collector's radars. 57.5% Alc./Vol.