FEW Rye Whiskey Review

I can’t say I always agree with Whisky Advocate, the World Whisky Awards or the Beverage Tasting Institute, but FEW Rye being an amazing whiskey is something I agree with them on 1,000%. I had this rye for the first time a few months ago at the Sassafras Saloon here in Los Angeles and I instantly fell in love. If this stuff wasn’t so hard to find I would have bought a bottle the very next day, but luckily for my bank account all the bottle shops around me were out (see the aforementioned awards for the reason).

If you look back at the review I did of the FEW Bourbon you’ll notice that to make their rye FEW just traded the positions of the rye and the corn in their bourbon mashbill. Some might call that lazy, but I call it tasty and in a field littered with rye whiskey clocking in at the barely legal 51% rye it’s creates a distinctive flavor that sets them apart in a quickly crowding field.

FEW Rye Whiskey Review

ABV: 46.5%
Age: 3 years
Price: $65
Distiller: FEW Spirits
Mashbill: 70% rye, 20% corn & 10% malted barley

EYE
Caramel with an orange tint

NOSE
A soft but dominant rye leads a complex procession of caramel, vanilla, brown sugar, cinnamon and wood. It feels like with each successive sniff the aroma makes subtle shifts with scents coming and going. Some I can’t quite put my finger on, but others like butterscotch, pepper, citrus zest, raw grains and roasted chestnuts come and go with ease. A very enticing nose.

TASTE
Starts off with a buttery rye, raw grains, cinnamon, light orchard fruit and some honey. A touch of citrus perks things up with a bit of wood and some baking spices. Just like the nose there are flavors that come and go and move about making this whiskey feel alive. It’s a complex arrangement of flavors that never stops moving.

BALANCE, BODY & FEEL
Perfectly balanced with a rich full body and a sublimely velvety texture. They aren’t kidding when they call it “luxuriant”.

FINISH
Long and slow it starts out with rye spice and moves on through notes of raw grains, under ripe orchard fruit, baking spices, wood and banana cream pudding.

OVERALL
I really… really… REALLY like this rye. If it weren’t $65 a bottle I’d make it my go-to rye instead of my I’m-feeling-like-a-really-good-rye rye (once I can find a bottle again locally that is) though with the way it tastes I’d say the price is completely justified. In my opinion it really is among the best ryes out there and if you get the chance to try it don’t pass it up.

SCORE: 93/100

*This sample was kindly given to me by the good folks at FEW for the purposes of this review.