J= Journeyman Last Feather Rye, batch 17
F= FEW Rye, batch 15
UH= Union Horse Reunion Straight Rye, batch 1
Maker
J: Journeyman, Three Oaks, Michigan, USA
F: FEW, Evanston, Illinois, USA
UH: Union Horse, Lenexa, Kansas, USA
Age
J: NAS
F: “At least one year”*
UH: “Over two years”*
*Age statements like these are not in line with regulatory standards
Proof
J: 90 (45% ABV)
F: 93 (46.5% ABV)
UH: 93 (46.5% ABV)
Price
J: $50 (Michigan State Minimum)
F: $60 (Michigan State Minimum)
UH: $39 (MSRP)
Note: Received a complimentary bottle of UH from FleischmanHillard PR for review purposes.
Appearance
J: Medium copper.
F: A little lighter but still copper.
UH: Quite a bit darker. Shiny auburn.
Nose
J: Bananas, cherry bubble gum, alcohol, oak.
F: Christmas tree scented candle, orange peel.
UH: Cut grass, toasted grain. Similar to Canandian Club.
Palate
J: Banana, black licorice, alcohol.
F: Mild. Peppermint.
UH: Full bodied and sweet. Brown sugar, oak, alcohol.
Finish
J: Big licorice that lingers.
F: Spearmint gum.
UH: Grassy and sweet, then Grape-Nuts cereal.
Mixed: With ginger ale, in a Manhattan and a Sazerac
J: Brought big licorice to all three. Excelled in the manhattan.
F: Did fine in everything. Nothing offensive.
UH: Same as F above.
Parting words: This is one of those head to head tastings that ends up making me mad. The overall winner was Last Feather Rye, but with a couple concerns. I loved the licorice and banana flavors but those are flavors I don’t expect out of rye whiskey. Nothing wrong with that on its own, but those flavors combined with the absence of the word “straight” on the front label makes me wonder if Journeyman is flavoring its rye, a la Templeton. This is legal, but should be disclosed to consumers. If I had my act together, I would have emailed or called them to ask, but I didn’t think of that possibility until now. I’ll try to get that information in the near future. To be fair, FEW isn’t straight either, but with FEW there’s nothing in the glass outside of the typical range of flavors for American ryes.
FEW Rye was ok, but nothing too extraordinary. It drank like a less refined version of Bulleit rye. The mintiness does fine in cocktails but it was overwhelming neat. Reunion was a horse of a different color. Its profile was closer to a Canadian blended rye than any American rye I’ve had recently. It’s better balanced than FEW, but not as flavorful as Last Feather.
The elephant in the room with all of these is the price. Journeyman is $50, which is too high for a whiskey that isn’t a straight. FEW is $60, which is just plain dumb. Reunion is priced better and is a straight, but is still pushing it when it comes to price.
Journeyman is mildly recommended, FEW is not recommended and Reunion is recommended (at or near MRSP)
Sipology 