Mash Whisky

Let's clear up some potential confusion first - according to European regulation this isn't whiskey. Bottles produced for the US market bear the term "straight rye whiskey", and bottles produced for the European market bear the term "rye spirit drink". Because of this, we can assume that the spirit has been matured for somewhere between 2 and 3 years, hence "not being whiskey". But having said that, does it really matter?

FEW Spirits are a grain-to-glass distillery based just outside of Chicago, in Evanston, Illinois. They were founded in 2011 by master distiller Paul Hletko, in honour of his grandfather who owned a brewery in the Czech Republic. The temperance movement which began in Evanston lead to the introduction of the American Prohibition in 1920. Even after the end of the prohibition, almost a century later, the city still maintained some restrictions regarding the sale of alcohol - something which Paul was instrumental in overturning.

FEW Rye is made from 70% rye, 20% corn and 10% malted barley, which is a somewhat unusual mash bill. It's far more common to see much a higher percentage of rye (circa 95%), or much lower (circa 51%) - probably due to sourcing MGP Rye being so common. Interestingly, too, instead of using traditional distillers yeast for the fermentation, FEW chose to use wine yeast for this expression.

Being grain-to-glass is something that FEW are very proud of, and boast on their website; it allows them to control every step of the process, such as the above. Paul describes their spirit as "liquid art", which is quite the claim! Let's see what the fuss is about.

Nose

White pepper and oak, leading into sweet maraschino cherries. Cinnamon and poached pears. Buttery. Some red berry sweetness, and a little mint chocolate.

Palate

Malty hot chocolate and vanilla cream. Toffee and brown sugar, followed by lots of dark fruit. Orange zest and white pepper in tow. There's a fair amount of baking spices too. A surprising amount of sweetness on the palate, more so than the nose would suggest. Similarly, less spicy that you might expect for rye.

Finish

A fairly short, crisp finish, and not much spice. The malty chocolate and oak stick around.

Overall

There's not much to complain about here! FEW Rye is a very well balanced dram; rye enough to scratch anybody's rye itch, but still sweet, complex and fruity (probably due to the wine yeast). This is a friendly dram, one that I'd choose to introduce somebody to rye. At ~£65 it's probably priced just outside of most peoples daily drinking budget, but I think it's definitely worth the money. Not only is this a great neat pour, but, thanks to it's sweet plate and velvety mouthfeel, it'd make one hell of an Old Fashioned!