Apple caramel | Apple strudel | Mint | Nutmeg | Cinnamon | Leather

Cinnamon apple | Nutmeg | Cinnamon slurry | Seasoned oak

Apple strudel | Mint | Rye spice | Lingering heat

Lost Lantern’s latest five single barrel release marks the company’s fifth anniversary and revisits the original distilleries that they initially launched with in 2020. New York Distilling Co. is based in Brooklyn and is focused solely on producing gin and rye whiskey. Just like Lost Lantern’s first single barrel release with New York Distilling Co., this rye was finished in a used apple brandy barrel. However, this time around, the company nearly doubles the base whiskey’s age and over triples the finishing time, for a whopping 3 years and 7 months.

The rye’s aroma is excellent, filled with rich scents of apple, caramel, and baking spice. Mint and leather also join in, adding a touch more depth. The palate starts big with a caramel-coated apple flavor, then moves to nutmeg and a sweet cinnamon slurry. The finish layers on even more apple notes but a shade deeper, resulting in an apple strudel-like taste. Mint returns from the nose, with rye spice ramping up quickly. Notably, the flavor drops off quickly at this point, leaving a lingering heat.

Featuring a 9 years age statement and sporting a wonderful reddish dark hue, it stands out especially since this is a rye. The finish is definitely present throughout the sip, and this is one time more is better. Many apple brandy finished whiskeys don’t go the length with their finishing and are never as pushed as the finishing style requires. Not everyone has the time to finish a whiskey for 3.7 years, and this is a case where the results speak for themselves. Though the finish is shorter than I’d like it to be, and what's left in its wake is rather hot-tasting, there is a lot to enjoy with this release.

Lost Lantern New York Distilling Co. 9 Year Old Rye Apple Brandy Finish Anniversary Cask is a 84 bottle release.