Baking spices | Faint molasses | Charred oak | Red Hot candy | Burnt brown butter | Fresh warm bread | Incredibly pleasing

Rye spice | Cinnamon syrup | Baking spices | Aged oak | Faint leather | Cherry | Creamy mouthfeel

Rye spice | Cinnamon stick | Leather | Charred oak | Light dried tobacco leaf | Touch of glacé cherries

While Kooper Family Whiskey Company is based out of Ledbetter, Texas, their latest limited edition rye started its life several hundred miles away. Initially distilled by KOVAL Distillery in Chicago, Illinois, the bourbon spent its first 9 months aging in 15-gallon new charred oak barrels with Koopers Whiskey Co. in Texas. The rye in these barrels was then transferred to a single 7 year-old used Buffalo Trace Bourbon barrel, where it was aged for over an additional 9 years. The result is a scant 231 375mL bottle release, made available exclusively at the company’s tasting room.

This latest limited edition rye from Koopers Whiskey Co. can best be described in one word: delicious. It starts with an incredibly pleasing aroma that focuses on well-defined scents of baking spices, charred oak, Red Hot candy, burnt brown butter, and fresh bread right out of the oven. A faint sweet molasses scent is also noticeable, which transitions to sweet cinnamon syrup and cherry in the midpoint. Additional notes of rye spice and baking spices reveal themselves, while aged oak and leather remind you of the years the whiskey spent aging in the Texas heat. Ending on a high note, the rye reveals rye spice and cinnamon stick notes along with more grounded leather and oak notes. A touch of glacé cherries literally adds the cherry–on-top tasting note to the experience.

On paper, Koopers 10-Year-Old Rye Finished in a Buffalo Trace Barrel has several warning signs, including: craft distillate from 2016, 15-gallon barrels, 10 years of aging in Texas, and being double-oaked. Amazingly, all of these traits actually play well in favor of the finished rye. The end result is an exceptional, incredibly flavorful whiskey that is much more than the sum of its parts. It’s a shame that Koopers 10-Year-Old Rye Finished in a Buffalo Trace Barrel is such a small run, because more rye lovers deserve to get a chance to taste this and see what is possible when a company is willing to go the nontraditional route to create their whiskey.