Sweet cinnamon spice | Vanilla | Light rye spice | Light candy corn | Dash of oak | Warming | Light

Lightly charred oak | Light grain | Touch of sweet vanilla | Dry cinnamon stick | Leather | Hint of caramelized sugar | Earthy

Dry oak | Leather | Burst of rye spice | Warming heat | Dry | Short

Very Olde St. Nick whiskey has a long storied past. The brand was originally released in the 1980s as an export-only whiskey to the Japanese market. It continued this way over the years, switching where it sourced its whiskey from along the way, with most speculating its original sources being Stitzel-Weller, Heaven Hill, and Willett Distillery. The brand made its stateside entrance in the market in the mid-2010s, and today, Very Old St. Nick Distillery is owned and operated by Marci Palatella, who also owns Preservation Distillery.

Unlike the bottles that used to share its name in the past, little is divulged about Very Olde St. Nick Winter Rye 2022. While it may come in one of the better looking vintage bottles on the market, for its asking price, modern consumers demand and deserve that more information is provided about the whiskey and not less. It would be nice to see the company disclose more information about this rye in the future. That note aside, the sip itself is a combination of typical rye scents with sweetness drizzled in. It starts with a warming opening of lighter scents of sweet spice and vanilla sweetness punctuated by light candy corn. An earthy midpoint follows suit with earthy flavors propping up spice and sweetness and is the highlight of the sip. Rounding out on drier notes of leather and grain, a burst of rye spice delivers a warming heat, albeit in a shorter manner. Overall, this is a good showing by the Very Olde St. Nick Distillery, however, I hope future iterations provide a bit more info on what you’re actually drinking, especially for the price it carries.

The bottle in review has a designation code of L-2G-2.