Stellum Rye SiB Serpens N4 r/Bourbon Pick

Stellum Rye SiB Serpens N4 (r/Bourbon pick)

Cost: $60 for 750mL bottle through Seelbach’s

Age: 5 year

Proof: 118.58

Mash Bill: 95% rye, 5% malted barley (MGP rye mash bill)

Stellum Spirits was introduced as a new brand in 2021 by Barrell Craft Spirits. As I understand it, and as I’ve best seen it described in only a couple sentences, Stellum Spirits has a focus on creating quality blends and single barrel picks at a lower cost and with more consistency. Stellum achieves this by generally using lower age statement whiskey and minimizing the cost of the bottling process. Stellum Spirits is generally considered to have better rye whiskey than bourbon. Since Barrell has simply blown me away with a few of their products the last couple years, I really wanted to try out Stellum for a while, but haven’t quite pulled the trigger. When I recently saw a Stellum rye whiskey single barrel pick by r/Bourbon, I figured that’s probably the equivalent of trying the best that Stellum has to offer. So now that I’m a proud owner of this bottle, lets see what the verdict is!

Reviewed neat in a glencairn.

Appearance: Chestnut brown (1.2) in color, with thin quick legs, looking pretty thin.

Nose: Bright notes of mint and lemon zest dominate along with a sweet foundation of caramelized sugar, vanilla, and warm butterscotch. Hints of cedar and spice waft in and out. This has an aroma that makes me think it would make an excellent spring or summer time candle.

Palate: This has a slightly oily mouthfeel right out of the gate, but turns quite a bit thinner as the sip goes on. But more importantly, it coats the palate very well and evenly. Most of the notes I pickup are focused on the middle to front of the palate. It’s full of light fruit notes such as raspberry, apricot, and white grapes. There’s some spicier notes of allspice and a little cinnamon. That cedar note is coming back, but it might just be a blending of a little woody note and rye spice with a hint of a citrus zest.

Finish: There’s an immediate bite at the back of the throat with the swallow, and while none of the proof has been present to this point, there is an astringent note that shows up right after the swallow. The finish is rather long and a bit dry with notes of cedar and bright fruit linger. Oak hasn’t really made a presence in this entire experience until late into the finish as the sweeter notes fade and a dry, tannic oak note takes over.

Rating: 6.7/10 on T8ke scale

Overall: This was a really nice sipping rye whiskey, but it wasn’t that complex really. While there was a lot of prominent flavors that showed up in this cask strength barrel pick, it’s pretty consistent and even keel. I went ahead and poured a little Barrell Seagrass after finishing this pour to compare a Barrell Craft Spirits rye whiskey to a Stellum Spirits single barrel rye whiskey (granted, one’s a finished whiskey and the other’s not…) but there’s a clear depth and complexity that the Seagrass has that this Stellum SiB rye does not. So, in that respect, it’s clear why Stellum is the more economic brand from Barrell. On that note, I would also add that I feel it’s priced appropriately – not a bargain, but not a too high either. I think this would be absolutely fantastic over ice or even with a splash of ginger ale on a nice spring night. It’s refreshing, and not too complex which makes it a great candidate for a cocktail.