MGP 5 Year Old Rye (SMWS RW5.1 "The Spice of Life")

I won't lie to you, dear reader: I hardly know anything about rye whisky. Only that I like it, especially "high rye" mashbills - this one is 95% rye, 5% barley - and I often get really interesting flavors like bubble gum and mint and smoke and other intriguing things. But my exposure is low, and I haven't had very many at all. So I bought this bottle of Indiana distiller MGP's rye from the Scotch Malt Whisky Society ("SMWS," who also occasionally releases other spirits like rum, gin, bourbon, etc.) on a whim, purely out of curiosity. 

Here are the official notes:

Spice galore, buttery roasted fennel caramelised on the edges with garlic and herbs but at the same time caraway seeds, dill and minty aromas made this a very calm and relaxed experience. A mouthcoating dry spiciness with notes of blueberries and mulberries, a delicate hint of liquorice, sweet tobacco and well-integrated tannins. After reduction, a walk through a pine forest to a shop selling all manner of essential oils while on the palate a spiced rum and clementine baba as well as traditional boiled dandelion and burdock sweets. The mash bill for this rye whiskey consists of 95% rye and 5% malted barley, matured in a #4 char new oak barrel with #2 char heads.

Interesting! I like all of those, and am curious as hell about "garlic" and "blueberries" together. Anyway, enough talk, have at you! Bottled at 55.8% ABV. Here we go:

Nose: A softer, spicier nose than I was expecting. Butter, pepper, fennel, carraway, garlic (!), thyme... the official notes are pretty much spot on. "Calm and relaxed" is a good phrase as well. 

With water: A bubble gum note begins popping out a bit. Orange peel, too. Twizzlers. 

Mouthfeel: Thick, viscous. 

Palate: Follows the nose closely, with a ton of alcohol burn throughout: dried blueberries like you get in trail mix, licorice, bubble gum/tutti frutti, oak, pepper, mint. Very pleasant.

With water: I understand why they say "rum" here, but I get more of a rum-finished scotch type flavor. Heavy blueberries. Some fragrant floral candy: like lavender candy, almost. Cotton candy (!). Hints of violets, oak, and pepper. Very interesting. 

This is one of those situations where I like the nose neat, but the palate reduced. Water tames the alcohol, brings out a fragrant side, and cuts the licorice note quite a bit, but removes the weird spicy garlic butter aspects. 

Finish: Dry pine, carraway, mint, pepper, oak. 

Verdict: A lovely rye. Enchanting, even. Again: I know nothing about rye whiskies, and have very little experience with them. Hundreds of bottles of scotch, yes. Rye? Probably five bottles over my lifetime. But I know what I like, and I like this. It's heavy-bodied, medium complexity, all the flavors integrate well, and there are a few surprises tucked in there. Good stuff. Recommended (for what it's worth, which isn't much, ha!).