Maple candy | Syrup | Aged oak | Ground coffee | Ethanol

Sharp rye spice | Baking spices | Leather | Touch of rubber | Oak | Raisin | Dry

Rye spice | Peppercorn spice | Cinnamon spice | Chewy oak | Light leather | Lingering spice

Sugarlands Distilling Company first laid down barrels for their Roaming Man line in 2015 and released their first Roaming Man Rye batch in 2017. Fast forward to the present, and the company is utilizing those first four barrels to release a limited edition 10-year to celebrate a decade of those barrels aging. And aging they did, with the company stating those four original barrels lost 40-60% to the angel’s share.

Roaming Man 10 Year Rye is full of flavors from start to finish, for better or worse. The sip opens with an aroma full of maple candy, syrup, aged oak, and ground coffee, along with a noticeable dose of ethanol. It transitions to a midpoint that is a spice bomb, that mingles with drier flavors, along with an odd touch of rubber, which detracts. The finish carries forward the spice theme, adding in chewy oak and light leather before a lingering spice settles in.

It’s impossible to know what a whiskey will taste like after years of aging when you first barrel it, and it can be harder to guess what it will taste like with double-digit aging when you taste it for the first time. Roaming Man 10 Year is a nice nod to the brand’s decade-long milestone; however, it comes with its flaws. For all of its great flavor characteristics, there seems to be a negative component trying to counterbalance them, especially in the nose and palate. Overall, it’s a full-flavored sip that fans of the brand will be happy to try.