In the summer of 2018, the late, legendary Dave Pickerell returned to our barrelhouses with one mission in mind: create the best Rye Whiskey for use in the world's best cocktails. He knew he wanted a mashbill of 100% rye to capture a full-flavored spice. He just needed to land on the ideal age statement and bottling strength to realize his dream. It didn't take long for him to arrive at perfection: a rye aged not less than six years, carrying a strength of precisely 96.56 proof. A sturdy thread of cinnamon and citrus binds it all together. Stir or shake as you choose. But always sip in good company.
What you smell and taste in a whisky is highly subjective.
Even the pros do not always agree on the tasting notes. Therefore, we have combined the tasting notes from several sources into a cross-section Nose, Palate, and Finish to find the commonalities between two whiskies. We use the Aroma Wheel with its concentric circles of increasingly specific tastes and smells (general in the center; more specific the further out you go) to find Exact, Secondary, and General matches between two whiskies. We also take into account other important factors like mash bill, barrel type(s), ABV, region, ratings, price and more. We then weight each factor based on what we believe to be the approximate importance it has in determining whether two whiskies are similar.
We're all different.
Again, we cannot stress enough that what you smell and taste in a whisky is likely going to be different than the person you're drinking it with. Whisky Mates is meant to be a guide to help you find what you like drinking, using the best methodologies available. In the end, rely on your own palate to tell you what you like and don't like.