Bourbon

Bourbon Review: J. Rieger’s & Co. Bottled-in-Bond Straight Bourbon Whiskey

We review J. Rieger’s & Co. Bottled-in-Bond Straight Bourbon Whiskey. It was distilled in the spring of 2016.

OVERALL RATING

8
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J. Rieger & Co. Bottled in Bond Straight Bourbon Whiskey (image via Suzanne Bayard)

Tasting Notes

About:

Aged for six years in new American white oak barrels, 50% ABV, mash bill: 56% corn, 30% rye and 14% malted barley, SRP $59.99/ 750ml bottle.
Appearance:
This is golden brown in color.
Nose:
At first, this gives off warm notes that remind me of freshly turned autumn leaves and roasted root vegetables. It has a sweetish baking spice aroma like snickerdoodle cookies, light colored caramel or Lyle’s golden syrup, and brewed Lipton tea. There’s a green note like tender pea shoots that adds interest. It’s quite a lovely nose.
Palate:
Limp and silky on the palate, this offers up decadent flavors of spun sugar, honey, toasted French bread, Honey Nuts cereal, and sweet tea. It has a lightly toasted sweetness to it that almost reminds me of wheat whiskey. It’s reads as sweet without being cloying because it has a crisp and light feel to the body and gentle tannins on the finish. It’s extremely well composed and goes down very easy. The finish ends rather abruptly, leaving a hint of yeast and toasted pine nuts, but not much else.
Finish:
Comments:
This is a delicious whiskey, but it really falls off on the finish. It’s clean with no off flavors, but it feels a touch lacking. I’m a neat-whiskey-thank-you kind of gal, but I decided to give this a chance on the rocks. It surprised me by bringing out the vanilla on the finish along with a suggestion of golden raisins. It’s quite decadent. You’ll have to visit Kansas City for the ultimate decedent experience: long, long-time Kansas City chocolate makers Andre’s Confiserie Suisse can’t ship their Rieger’s-infused Chocolate Shots.

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.

Suzanne Bayard

Suzanne Bayard struck out to the West Coast with her now husband almost a decade ago to explore the intersection of wine and policy in its world-class wine regions. She manages a Portland, OR bottle shop by day as the wine buyer and newsletter editor. She is also the Director of the Deep Roots Coalition, an organization of 30 Willamette Valley wineries that educate on and promote dry farming and sustainable practices. She joined the Whiskey Wash to explore two other passions: writing and whiskey.

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