1794 Maryland Four Grain Rye Whiskey

1794 Maryland Four Grain Rye 45% abv

Since this is Preakness weekend I figured I’d grab a bottle of real Maryland whiskey.

This whiskey is a four grain rye whiskey mashed, distilled and bottled by Twin Valley Distillers in Rockville, Maryland. I don’t know much about these folks and I doubt you can find this outside the Delmarva but you can check out their site, www.twinvalleydistillers.com. One day I’ll get down to Rockville and visit them. I found this particular bottle to be quite enjoyable but a very light rye.

The smell is much lighter than you would expect from a rye. Light rye and dill spice, something waxy like wax candles/plastics, oak and grass and corn. This is a very odd smell for a whisky. Not bad but nothing like you would expect.

The taste is much better but still odd. Light rye spice, oatmeal, cereal grains, dusty corn, some green apple. It is very unique but enjoyable.

The finish is short with the dusty corn and light rye spice.

No issues at all with this. It’s young and light and is a different take on a Rye whiskey. I personally love that it’s 100% Maryland whiskey. Fairly priced as well ($30). If you are in the Maryland/DC area and find a bottle of this I would recommend it. Otherwise, I would recommend you look at your local distillers and see what they are up to. Many times you will find duds, but every so often you will find something really enjoyable…..like this particular bottle

Overall Grade: C