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Please read and drink responsibly.
Classification: Rye Finished in a Rum and Used Bourbon Barrel
Company: Two Souls Spirits
Distillery: Sourced from Green River Distilling
Release Date: July 2024
Proof: 127.9
Age: 5 Years, 3 Months
Mashbill: 95% Rye, 5% Malted Barley
Color: Dark Amber
MSRP: $100 / 750mL (2024)
Molasses | Brown sugar | Sweet oak | Peppery spice | Cola | Barrel char
Molasses | Vanilla extract | Baking spices | Coating mouthfeel
Rye spice | Barrel char | Hazelnut | Dried dates | Receding molasses | Long
The kitchen sink doesn’t always work, but sometimes you end up with something unusually unique and wonderful like “The Colonel.”
Two Souls Spirits often helps bring attention to distilleries that you may not have heard from, but in this release’s case, you’ve probably heard of the Bardstown Bourbon Company owned Green River Distilling. Now a major source for non-distiller producers, you’ve likely had their bourbon and might not have even realized it. But for “The Colonel” Two Souls took it two steps further, finishing the company's rye in an ex-rum and bourbon barrel for a considerable amount of time. The result is what you’d expect: big flavor.
The rye began its journey aging in a new charred oak barrel for 1 year. From there, it entered into an ex-rum barrel for an astonishing 3 years. Given the heavy rum flavor that was then present, Two Souls finished it in an ex-bourbon barrel from a notable undisclosed Kentucky distillery for another 13 months. Typically, this number of barrel types and flavors results in a messy flavor profile, but “Kentucky Colonel” somehow manages to skirt this issue.
The rum influence on this rye is unmistakable, which is to be expected given it was in the barrel for 3 years, which no one finishing in rum barrels does. While there is no denying the rum influence on its flavor profile, I enjoyed how much I could taste it in this release. In the last few rum-finished whiskeys we reviewed, such as Peerless Rum Barrel Finished Bourbon, and Old Elk Rum Cask Finish Rye, we took issue with the meagerness of the rum influence. Here, the rye’s spiciness melds well with the strong molasses flavor found throughout this whiskey’s sip. The rye’s high proof also brings out potent notes of vanilla extract, baking spices, barrel char, hazelnut, and dried dates. In more ways than one, this whiskey features a lot of the big flavors you get on a barrel proof bourbon, with the sharp hit of rye spice, and the twang of the rum influence. It’s a whiskey that comes at you from all angles, and if you’re up for it, it's an extremely fun pour.
Two Souls Spirits Triple Cask Rye “The Colonel” is a 149 bottle release and the bottle in review was #138.
