Review #212: Saints Alley The Heretic Batch 3 (blend of bourbon finished in Rhum casks)

MASH BILL: This is a blend of MGP high rye bourbon (36% rye) and Ironroot Republic Distilling heirloom corn bourbon. The ratio is undisclosed, but the blend is finished in French Rhum Agricole casks for an undisclosed amount of time. 

AGE: NAS

PROOF: 107 

COST: $80 for 750mL bottle

Saints Alley is series of releases featuring a collaboration between Chris “LiquorHound” Trevino and Ironroot Republic Distilling. Each release features a blend of MGP high rye bourbon and Ironroot Republic Distilling bourbon but differing in how each is finished. The Heretic is finished in Rhum casks. Rhum vs Rum – what’s the difference? Rum is a spirit distilled from molasses while Rhum is a spirit distilled from sugar cane. While I’m not a rum afficionado by any means, from what I understand this results in a little more “terroir” in Rhum vs Rum because it's “closer to the source” so to speak. Molasses is a byproduct of turning sugar cane to sugar. So, Rum uses a mildly processed form of sugar cane. Whereas Rhum uses sugar cane in its raw form. Let’s see how this blend is and if the Rhum cask finishing shows up!

Reviewed neat in a Glencairn.

APPEARANCE: Polished mahogany (1.6), very viscous with numerous slow, medium bodied legs.

NOSE: I get the Rhum profile right away with caramelized sugar, a little earthy spice, and a touch of bright citrus. There’s a little spiced apple note as well. Vanilla and a mingling of nutmeg and allspice as I dig a little deeper. There's an earthy grain note as well which I normally find with a high malted barley content, but in this case it has a slight sweetness to it that makes me think it could be from the heirloom corn bourbon (also, when I rub a little of it around on my hands and take a whiff, I definitely get an sweet corn note). There's a light ethanol string, but not offensive.

PALATE: Thin on the palate, but a slight oiliness coats the palate well. Caramelized sugar with a touch of strawberry syrup, roasted sweet corn, and buttercream frosting at first. Spice notes start to appear after the initial sweetness with candy cinnamon Red Hots, nutmeg, and allspice. A light vanillin oak note shows up late going into the finish. There's a little rum note that weaves in and out sip after sip. While this sipped hot at first, halfway through my dram the proof heat dissipated.

FINISH: Short, dry finish. A lot of spice lingers on the palate with a light caramelized sugar sweetness. Those notes are so short lived though, that the finish that leaves proof heat as the only discernable note long after the other notes are gone.

RATING: 5.5/10

OVERALL: I got the Rhum cask influence, I could definitely pick up on the MGP high rye spice, and I got signs of that Ironroot Republic heirloom corn. So, I would say this was a very successful blend in that no one component downed out the rest. That said, it’s kind of a blah blend at the 30,000ft view and only has discernable parts as I really dig into the notes. I tend to think this is probably due to some younger whiskey in the blend, neither having developed a lot of depth and barrel character. I do think the Rhum cask finishing was just the right amount of time as the Rhum was there, more so on the nose than anywhere else, but just enough to compliment the blend and not steal the spotlight. It’s an average finish bourbon blend at best, though. I think in today’s whiskey world, there’s a lot of other finished bourbon blends that I think do more for my palate at a lower cost.

 

1 | Disgusting | see my 1/10 ratings

2 | Poor | see my 2/10 ratings

3 | Bad | see my 3/10 ratings

4 | Sub-par | see my 4/10 ratings

5 | Good | see my 5/10 ratings

6 | Very Good | see my 6/10 ratings

7 | Great | see my 7/10 ratings

8 | Excellent | see my 8/10 ratings

9 | Incredible | see my 9/10 ratings

10 | Perfect | see my 10/10 ratings