Peerless is a distillery I’ve fallen in love with when it comes to it’s ethos and history. The bottle design of their whiskey shows their mentality is full force: bold, unique and high quality. As an individual who strives to have similar aspirations to Peerless, I feel a personal connection to them just thanks to the sheer dedication to their craft they have!
Peerless does have a storied history, dating all the way back to the 1880s, and it’s a history it carries with them to this very day. Despite Peerless going through a period of inactivity, it was revived by a fifth-generation descendant of the original owner, who still helms it to this very day with the same ideals as his ancestor all those years ago.
Today I’m looking at Peerless’ Rye Whiskey, but will it make me fall in love with it the same way the distillery’s story has? Let’s find out!
Somewhere between Auburn and Mahogany.
Up front there is a bold start of honey, spice, and everything nice (I couldn’t help myself, apologies). Following the powerful open, notes of vanilla, apple and charred oak work with the honey and spice for a delicious foray of flavour that’s powerful, but simple. Little to no alcohol burn on the nose, very impressive!
A bold oak front enveloped in warm honey and caramelised pear, supplemented by accents of baking spice and subtle milk chocolate make for an incredibly cosy and warm palate, especially when sipped by the fireplace in the winter.
Prominent notes of vanilla and sweet orange start the finish, slowly revealing a rich butterscotch taste with an undertone of hickory smoke. As the finish’s main act concludes, a spicy aftertaste lingers for a while, but no burn in the throat. One thing I observed while writing this was peculiar, but not unwelcome, pumpkin notes that lingered once the main spicy aftertaste has subsided. The finish has a lot going on!
This is the exact sort of whiskey I enjoy: interesting, powerful, and in a way, well paced. The nosing is quite simple, but lays the groundwork that is then expanded upon in the main palate, which in and of itself then sets the stage for the finish to absolutely soar in ways not many other drams do, especially in such an underappreciated part of the tasting experience!
The blend of punchy spice and embracing sweetness is such a beautiful orchestra of flavour that it’s hard to truly express. Each sip brings out something new, which is a trait I love in any great spirit, but especially in whiskey! Although rye is a genre of whiskey I don’t get to experience much thanks to residing in the British isles, this bottle really shows why that is such a tragedy, and why I still love rye despite my lack of ability to access it easily.
As for who I think this is best for, this is an interesting case as this whiskey is clearly meant to be drank neat. However, if you like to drink whiskey in any other way, be is on the rocks, diluted with water, in a mixer or even in a cocktail, this is still a fantastic dram for that! It has a focused powerful flavour that lets itself be known through any medium, and since the complexity is handled in such an elegant way, the whiskey still shows elements of it’s undertones in even the most powerful of mixers.
This is a dram that simply needs to be tried by any whisk(e)y enthusiast. Normally I’m quite critical of a bottle when it has a price tag this high, and I’ll usually dock points for that. Not this time. Peerless deserve this price tag as this, to me at least, is up there as the new gold standard for premium rye whiskey.
