Rye grain | Honey | Light lavender cake | Oak | Toasted dinner rolls | Cigar box

Pronounced spiced honey | Rye spice | Baking spices | Peppercorn blend | Dried mixed fruit | Velvety mouthfeel | Flavorful

Rye spice | Spiced honey | Peppery oak | Leather | Baking spices | Light lingering heat

Two Souls is no stranger when it comes to Finger Lakes Distilling rye, having previously sourced a barrel from the distillery for a past release. For their latest offering, the company is once again visiting the New York distillery k, this time focusing on a unique five grain rye offering. Besides the unusual honey spirit barrel used to finish the rye, the most unique aspect that will catch many people’s eye is the rarely used oat grain and Spelt, a type of grain rarely used in whiskey that many have never heard of. Spelt is actually part of the wheat grain family and is also known by the name dinkel wheat.

Honey-finished whiskeys have become increasingly common over the last few years, but honey spirit barrel-finished whiskeys are a rarity. The result is a fusion of spices honey and rye spice that play well together. The impact of the spelt is most noticeable on the nose, where toasted dinner rolls and light lavender cake push against rye grain and oak. A spiced honey note is prominent in the nose and joins a plethora of spices and dried fruit in a flavorful combination that highlights the honey spirit barrel thanks to its velvety mouthfeel. A spice-filled finish brings the sip home but is never overpowering. Overall, this is a unique and nicely done barrel-finished rye from Finger Lakes Distilling that provides a great talking point thanks to the use of unique grains and rarely used finishing barrel choice.

The bottle in review is number 66 out of 79.