Butterscotch | Creamy caramel | Canned fruit cocktail | Baking spices | Light raisin |  Cinnamon cake | Brown sugar | Delicious

Cinnamon stick | Charred oak | Rye spice | Touch of vanilla cream | Leather | White peppercorn | Touch of French toast

Rye spice | Butterscotch | Vanilla frosting | Light oak | White peppercorn | Gentle lingering spice

Pinhook Tiz Rye Time 9 Year is the sixth bottle in the brand’s vertical rye series, following last year's 8 year old release. Last year saw the highest proof for the vertical rye series yet, only for this year’s release to top it, coming in at 111.2 proof. This year's edition is made up of a blend of 20 barrels in total, which is the lowest number of barrels to be used in a release for this series to date. The price continues to increase year after year, with this year's release now coming in at over $90, marking another first for this series. It will most likely not be its last price increase either, as the series approaches its final destination of 13 years old.

Rye distilled at Ross & Squibb tends to have a sweet spot of around 9-11 years old, and Tiz Rye Time is no exception. The whiskey starts with an intoxicatingly sweet aroma that sucks you in, thanks to delicious scents of baking spices, candy sweets, and a pleasing canned fruit cocktail note. The palate becomes slightly drier in nature, highlighting cinnamon stick and charred oak, along with spices, a hint of sweet vanilla cream, and a touch of French toast. The spice from the midpoint carries through to the finish, accompanied by a pleasing sweetness thanks to butterscotch and vanilla frosting.

Up until this point, the Tiz Rye Time vertical series has been above average but nothing more, with releases having a hard time standing out not only from one another but from the rest of the market. That all changes after aging for 9 years and a high proof point. This is arguably the best release to date in the series, and sets the bar high for the final four releases over the coming years. Displaying the sweet and fruity notes of a classic 95/5 rye along with a solid vein of spices, Tiz Rye Time 9 Year is a great place to start if you haven’t tried any from this vertical series yet.