Butterfinger candy bar | Peanut brittle | Malt | Cinnamon | Orange rind | Oak | Light pine

Cinnamon | Honey Smacks cereal | Orange | Light grain | Sweet | Thin mouthfeel

Rye spice | Wintergreen | Malt | Lemon | Slightly bitter | Light clove | Pine | Short

Long Island Spirits was founded in 2007 in Baiting Hollow, New York. The company was the first distillery to be located on Long Island since the 1800s. It’s a farm-to-bottle distillery producing a range of spirits, including vodka, liqueurs, and various types of whiskey.

Rough Rider Bull Moose Rye is a unique pour in that it is a rye that was finished in both used bourbon barrels and single malt barrels. We’ve seen rye finished in bourbon barrels before, but combining it with single malt barrels definitely shows creativity on Long Island Spirits’ part.

The company doesn’t disclose how old the base rye component is or for how long it was finished for, but some assumptions can be made based on the whiskey’s taste. The rye base tastes young, featuring a thin mouthfeel and short finish. Surprisingly, the malt aspect of the whiskey comes through the most resulting in a sweet and malty tasting whiskey compared to your typical bourbon-finished rye. The finish does feature a mild ramp up in heat, but it quickly dissipates.

I applaud Long Island Spirits going out on a limb with this release. It remains to be seen if rye and single malt can form a perfect marriage. While you expect a good contrast of sweet and spice - and there is a degree of that - the flavors don’t mingle all that well together. That said, while the overall intensity is light and short, there are a good range of flavors present. If Long Island Spirits can increase the overall age of the rye, elongate the bourbon-barrel finishing time, and slightly reduce the impact of the single malt finish, a better balance might be struck.

The rye in review is from batch no. 53.