Lock Stock & Barrel 21-Year Straight Rye Whiskey
As opposed to bourbon, rye is a tricky spirit to age for long periods. Lock Stock & Barrel believes they've done so with their latest release. Distilled in 1999 in copper pot stills from a mash bill of 100 percent rye, it was aged for 21 years in newly charred oak barrels and bottled at a stout 111 proof. While the nose has notes of cake, toffee, and spices, the flavor is full-bodied with secondary hits of caramel, cocoa, and cinnamon, with a smoky, oaky finish. Limited to roughly 1,200 cases, it comes in a display-worthy matte black bottle nestled inside a Japanese Shou Sugi Ban-charred wooden box.