Caramel apple | Golden raisin | Butter | Passion fruit | Sweet oak | Great depth | Exceptional

Honeydew | Hay | Sage | Light oak | Surprisingly mellow resulting in tempered flavors

Pepper | Baking spice | Rye spice | Steady ramp up of heat | Leans dry | Light mustyness

Based in Denver, Colorado, Mythology’s philosophy is that “we each form our own Mythology through travel, connecting with others and our experiences.” Many of the company’s releases consist of blends of several different whiskeys, each labeled with a different person and animal on the front in the theme of the company encouraging everyone to “discover your spirit animal.” This 10 year old rye label is adorned with a woman and a bull which the company says represents the 10 long years of “perseverance to conquer an unrideable bull.” Strangely, this whiskey isn’t labeled straight, but that is also the case with many of the company’s other releases. Mythology Thunder Hoof Rye is planned to be released as cask strength single barrels and eight different small batches.

Right from the start, Mythology Thunder Hoof Rye features a flat out amazing aroma. Full of depth and a wealth of complex scents, it suggests this is going to be a whopper of a rye. Surprisingly, this bull is quite tame - at least in its midpoint. The palate is unexpectedly mellow, which makes it an easy sipper, but the flavors struggle to fully blossom. They’re unfortunately held back and disappointment begins to set in. Pepper and rye spice are soon introduced during the whiskey’s finish, but more importantly, this is where its age begins to finally reveal itself and the whiskey shows some life again. The combination of sweet red fruit, dry oak, and light mustiness showcase the greatness this whiskey initially opened with. For some, it will be too little, too late, but if you stay for the whiskey’s third act, you’re rewarded greatly. Despite its palate's shortcomings, its age and price do a lot to make amends for it.

The bottle in review is from Batch No. I.