Distillery: Nightside Distilling
Proof: 90
Age: NAS
Mashbill: Undisclosed
BACKGROUND: Nightside Distillery was started 7 years ago and proudly wears the name of "America's Smallest Distillery" coming out of a building that is only 496 sq foot! They started off making clear liquors from a 15 gallon beer still, and eventually grew to making whiskeys and more in a 100 gallon still. The founders and core workers are all military and first responders who love the craft. Nightside prides themselves on being a staple in the community, working to give back and share their craft.
NOSE: The nose is dominated by a dry woody and oaky smell with very light and faint vanilla notes. There is a surprising lack of rye spice or baking spice notes but there is a slight ethanol burn on the back end. (20/25)
PALATE: Nightside Rye has a creaminess and smoothness that was very enjoyable. It started off with flavors of oak, baking spice, and fresh ply wood. There was also some faint clove notes that crept in there at the end. Overall the flavors were quite light but very smooth and creamy. I was surprised by the lack of spice on this one. (30/40)
FINISH: The finish was made up of more young and wet oak as well as bitter dark chocolate and graham crackers. It was medium in length with a lighter mouthfeel. (20/25)
VALUE: Nightside Rye has an SRP of $45 which is a very fair price (7/10)
Overall: 77/100
FINAL THOUGHTS: Nightside Rye Whiskey is a tasty and smooth rye whiskey. It is dominated by smooth oaky notes. It drinks more like a high rye bourbon than a rye whiskey as it didn't have much spice to it. I would recommend this to anyone who wants to get into whiskey or is new to rye whiskeys. If you want to get yourself a bottle you can visit the distillery on Washington state.
Similar & Slightly Better Whiskey: FEW Rye Whiskey
Similar & Equal Whiskey: Templeton 6 Year Rye
Similar & Slightly Worse Whiskey: Black Maple Hills Rye Whiskey (Green Label)
Tell us what you think and give us some feedback!
Scoring Legend:
96-100: The perfect dram, juice of the gods
90-95: Near perfect, truly incredible whiskey
85-89: Amazing whiskey, will always try to keep a backup bottle of this
80-84: Very good, some minor flaws here or there
75-79: Good, quite enjoyable to drink, Will try and keep a bottle on the shelf
70-74: Solid, wouldn’t go out of my way to get this
60-69: Decent, would offer this up to non whiskey drinkers
50-59: Not my cup of tea
Below 50: Give away
