Earlier this year, at the Restaurant and Bar Show, I was given a bottle of Middle West Pumpernickel Rye for review as I liked it so much and I wanted to share at an upcoming Drammers Las Vegas meeting. Fast-forward past my trip to Italy and that meeting just took place this past August. Below are my notes on the whiskey and tasting notes from my friends in Drammers.
About Dark Pumpernickel Straight Rye Whiskey From Ohio’s Middle West Spirits, this is some of what appears of the front label of this unique whiskey, “Handcrafted in the heart of the Ohio River Valley…Aged over three years, small batch craft…smooth…soft spice…”
Drammers Las Vegas Tasting Notes
We have a great group, usually less than a dozen of us, and we meet in a suite in one of the many hotels Vegas is known for. This particular night we probably had at least a dozen rare and unique bottles to taste through, and mine was selected pretty early on, before any palate fatigue set in. These were our collective thoughts:
Lots of citrus notes, especially orange right up front, followed by vanilla bean, toffee, molasses, seeded rye bread with butter. Ashley Norris, of @SipWithMe_LV on Instagram said it made her “nostalgic for (her) grandma”; Bob Brown, the organizer for our Las Vegas chapter of Drammers and @VegasDrams on Instagram, said that it had a “chewy body”; Shannon Lee, aka @LasVegasWhiskyEy said in her social media “if you see it buy it”; while Charlie Prince, the president of @DrammersClub simply stated, “I like this.”
There was about two-thirds of the bottle left so I offered it to Charlie to keep, and he said he would like to share it at his next meeting, which would be Drammers Austin, Texas. (I checked in with Charlie after his Austin meeting and he said the whiskey was “a big hit” there.)
From Middle West
We were founded in 2008, and opened our distillery for commercial production in 2010. Building on four generations of distilling traditions, we added our own deep experience in marketing and manufacturing, and focused on elevating the distinctive flavors of the Ohio River Valley. Our artisan spirits honor our roots; and reflect our originality as makers, our integrity as producers, and our passion for the craft of producing spirits from grain to glass.
Middle West Straight Dark Pumpernickel Rye Whiskey celebrates significant firsts. Handcrafted from scratch, this signature spirit is made in small batches and barrel aged for over three years in new white American oak casks. It’s America’s first Dark Rye Pumpernickel Whiskey. When you raise a glass with friends, let them know it’s proudly from the Middle West.
Check out their full line-up of spirits here:
https://middlewestspirits.com/spirits/
https://middlewestspirits.com/
Charlie Prince Teaser for Glenmorangie and Ardbeg Event
Fellow Drammers!
…We have got a BIG event coming up on Wednesday October 26th, where we’ll welcome as our guest speakers the National Brand Ambassador for Ardbeg, Cameron George AND the National Brand Ambassador for Glenmorangie Dan Crowell at the same time, whoa! This is going to be our biggest event yet!
Eve Bushman has a Level Two Intermediate Certification from the Wine and Spirits Education Trust (WSET), a “certification in first globally-recognized course” as an American Wine Specialist ® from the North American Sommelier Association (NASA), Level 1 Sake Award from WSET, was the subject of a 60-minute Wine Immersion video (over 16k views), authored “Wine Etiquette for Everyone” and has served as a judge for the Long Beach Grand Cru and the Global Wine Awards. You can email Eve@EveWine101.com to ask a question about wine or spirits.
