Ripe melon | Sweet floral scents | Light honey | Slightest hint of new oak | Intriguing

Honey | White peppercorn | Light oak | Mellon dew | Light syrup | Dashes of rye spice | Sickly sweet

White peppercorn | Dash of honey drizzled melon | Hint of dry leather | Mild lingering rye spice

Oftentimes when you see an untraditional whiskey, you expect to find one that has a unique mashbill, is barrel finished, or is a flavored whiskey due to having additives directly mixed into it. What you don’t encounter too often is an infused whiskey, which just so happens to be Standard Proof Whiskey Company’s specialty. In this case, the company combined their sourced rye with honeysuckle nectar. For those not familiar, Honeysuckle is a plant that is renowned for its colorful, fragrant flowers and variously colored fruit. In order to create Wildflower Rye, the company states, “to craft Wildflower Rye’s signature taste, we infuse our Straight Rye with natural honeysuckle nectar. This infusion process lasts for 10 weeks and is finished after another final filtration through our unique processes.”

If you’re trying to wrap your head around how this would taste, you wouldn’t be alone. Surprisingly though, Wildflower Rye works well when sipped neat. The sip kicks things off with intriguing aromas of sweet floral scents, ripe melon, and sweet honey. These carry over into the palate and form a near-sickly sweet combination that comes close but doesn’t go overboard. The sip carries over the sweetness and pulls forward a more mild rye spice note. This is clearly not for rye lovers who consider themselves a traditionalist. However, Standard Proof Whiskey Co. Wildflower Rye enhances their base product and elevates it just enough to be interesting, and certainly give you a conversation starter when pouring this for friends and family.