BOTTLE DETAILS
- DISTILLER: Produced by Angel’s Envy but distilled by MGP Ingredients
- MASH BILL: Not disclosed
- AGE: 6 years, 5 months, but also contains 11 year-0ld whiskey
- YEAR: 2025
- PROOF: 104.2 (52.1% ABV)
- MSRP: $269.99
- BUY ONLINE: Angel’s Envy Online Bottle Shop
STEVE’S NOTES
SHARE WITH: Any American whiskey fans–rye lovers especially, in this case–who really enjoy finished whiskies.
WORTH THE PRICE: Despite it being delicious (see below), $270 is a little steep for my budget.
BOTTLE, BAR OR BUST: Bar. Master distiller Owen Martin’s blending skills are worth experiencing.
OVERALL: Angel’s Envy has put an incredible amount of work into this creation (click here for deeper details), beginning with the story behind it, the marketing effort and Martin’s mastery of cask finishing. I don’t recall as large or coordinated a push for any prior AE release, which says a lot about the brand’s desire to see it succeed.
Martin is known among the media for his dedication to finding exceptionally high-quality secondary casks, “never just another barrel, or a different barrel to finish with,” as he often says. He didn’t just call another Bacardi-owned brand and say, “Send me some used tequila barrels.” He went to Mexico, specifically to Patron Tequila, to select its best French oak casks, which are used to age its Extra Añejo tequila for 44 months. Martin wanted that specific wood’s spice and complexity, and any remaining tequila flavors contained within.
In Louisville, he selected aged MGPI rye stocks (6.5 to 11 years) that blended well on their own and which he thought would benefit from a long co-mingling (up to 12 months) in those used Patron XA casks. What he got was a rye blend with impeccable polish and manners; a whiskey with complexity from front to back, bereft of bite and deserving of long, thoughtful sipping. (At a recent public tasting, there were some decadent cocktails made using this whiskey, but for me, this is best sipped neat.)
The nose starts off with honey, golden raisins (if you’ve tasted sultanas, that’s an even better reference), crushed white grapes and confectioner’s sugar–aromas contributed by those French oak casks and the residual tequila within them. This array of scents will keep you nosing happily for a good while.
On the palate, it’s clearly rye whiskey: slightly spicy, appropriately grainy and familiarly minty and dill-y. Its texture is what’s unique: warm, soft and slightly viscous, not at all lean like many ryes. Fruit notes practically vibrate on the palate, especially the sweet, peppery flavors of freshly expressed orange and grapefruit peels. Initially, the honeyed finish is relatively short, but each subsequent sip puts down another layer of French oak character, and its tannins dry the palate in a way that says, “Give me another sip. Oh, and another!”
This, like the boldly blended rye Martin made for AE in 2023, is how cask-finished rye should taste: firstly like itself, then with beneficial accents. The wildly popular but polarizing Caribbean rum cask-finished AE rye was never my thing. It was too sweet, too far removed from the whiskey itself. In my opinion, however, this tequila-cask-finished rye offers a vastly different and superior experience.
BRAND NOTES
With the bold expression of the straight rye whiskey and the exceptional extra añejo barrels, Angel’s Envy has created a remarkable addition to its Cellar Collection Series. Key details include:
- Innovation Process: This unique expression begins with Straight Rye Whiskey aged up to 7 years was finished in French Oak Extra Añejo barrels for up to 12 months, then blended with an older Straight Rye Whiskey, aged for over 11 years, to lock the entire flavor profile together into a cohesive, yet layered experience
- Tasting Notes: Within its golden caramel color, the new Cellar Collection expression is floral and fruit-forward on the nose, with a toasty vanilla and subtle clove smokiness. Flavors of baking spices and cracked pepper are tempered by herbal agave syrup for an earthy tobacco and brown sugar taste. The French oak finish ensures the liquid is soft and balanced, with orange blossom honey and tropical fruits.
Disclaimer: Bourbon & Banter received a sample of this product from the brand for review. We appreciate their willingness to allow us to review their products with no strings attached. Thank you.
