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Whiskey Review: Sonoma County Distilling Black Truffle Rye

We review Sonoma County Distilling Black Truffle Rye, the first commercial whiskey we know of to contain French black Périgord truffles.

OVERALL RATING

$80.00
  • Margarett Waterbury is a whiskey enthusiast and industry expert.
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Sonoma County Distilling Black Truffle Rye-Featured

Tasting Notes

About:

Appearance:
Medium to dark amber
Nose:
A lush, slightly damp nose of earth, wet green herbs, and young wood. That pungent truffle funk is present, but not overpowering, alongside warm, dusty spices like cinnamon and clove. Swirling the glass like it’s wine kicks up a more piercing fungus aroma.
Palate:
Rye brings the spice – black pepper, cinnamon, allspice – but there’s definitely something on the earthy side lurking just beneath the surface, with strong notes of mushroom, leather, and bitter aromatic herbs (stemmy thyme?). Sweetness is present but unobtrusive, like one of the more complicated honeys (buckwheat, chestnut). The finish kind of vibrates back and forth between black truffle and rye, first funky, then spicy, finally settling on spice at the exit. Conclusion: I’ll be honest, my expectations were sky-high in the “weird” column for Sonoma County Distilling Black Truffle Rye, but the truffle character was actually milder than I’d anticipated. That’s probably for the best from a flavor standpoint, but I’d gotten excited to taste something that would make my brain explode with strangeness, and this wasn’t it. However, it did taste pretty darn delicious, so I can’t really say I’m disappointed. FINAL SCORE: 86/100
Finish:
Comments:

Editor’s Note: This whiskey was either bought as a sample by The Whiskey Wash or provided to us as a review sample by the party behind it. Per our editorial policies, this in no way influenced the outcome of this review.

Margarett Waterbury

Margarett Waterbury is the author of "Scotch: A Complete Introduction to Scotland's Whiskies" and a full-time freelance writer and editor specializing in the beverage industry. Her work has graced the pages of numerous publications, including Whisky Advocate, Food and Wine, Spirited Magazine, Artisan Spirit, Edible Seattle, Sip Northwest, Civil Eats, Travel Oregon, and many others. She also boasts editorial experience as the former managing editor of Edible Portland and as a co-founder and former managing editor of The Whiskey Wash. In recognition of her talent, Margarett received the Alan Lodge Young Drinks Writer of the Year award in 2017 and was awarded fellowships for the Symposium for Professional Wine Writers in 2017 and 2019.

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