Pinhook Bourbon’s newest debut, the Vertical Series Rye 7-Year, is meant to showcase the whiskey maker’s approach to blending.
A statement from Pinhook explains that the Rye 7-Year is blended from 28 casks, hand picked from their stash. This approach “allows the barrels to act as terroir throughout a nine-year arc,” the distillers noted.
Pinhook’s Vertical Series follows a single group of bourbon and rye barrels sourced from Midwest Grain Products (MGP) as they mature from four to 12 years of age.
The Rye 7-Year is made with a mash bill of 95% rye and 5% malted barley. It’s from barrels with similar fill dates.
For example, the distiller’s notes explain, the 4-Year version of this rye was proofed at 97, and it had a nose of tangerine peel, cinnamon stick, and toffee, with a palate of dried apricot, molasses, toaster cedar, and clove.
The 7-Year release clocks in at 105.1 proof, and it shows notes of caramel, orange zest, cedar, and clove on the nose, followed by a palate of chocolate, root beer, cardamom, and tobacco.
“It has been amazing to see how this rye has matured throughout the years,” said Sean Josephs, founder and master blender for Pinhook. “From its first rendition to this most recent release, the liquid has been transformed. We’re no stranger to pushing boundaries and this series might be our biggest boundary-breaker yet. We only wish we made some more.”
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True to its racehorse roots, Pinhook showcases Tiz Rye Time on each of the Vertical Series bottles, Tiz Rye Time being a thoroughbred colt that competed at Churchill Downs, Keeneland and Saratoga Springs racetracks. Born in February of 2017 and bred in Kentucky, Tiz Rye Time continues to be a Pinhook farm favorite.
With the same horse on each bottle representing this series, Pinhook officials say, the different vintages can be identified by the geometric shapes on their labels, which change every year, as well as the age statement on the top label.
The Vertical Series casks are aged and blended at Castle & Key, the former Old Taylor Distillery, in Frankfort, Kentucky. The brand has held a distilling partnership there since 2017. Pinhook 7-Year Vertical Series bottles have a suggested retail price of $77.99.
For more information, check out www.pinhookbourbon.com.