Produced by Glacier Distilling Company in Coram, Montana, Trapline Rock & Rye is a flavored whiskey that seeks to capture the essence of pre-prohibition medicinal draughts. In the nomenclature of the fur trade, a trapline is the route along which a trapper sets the tools of their trade, becoming experts in the lay of the land. Trapline is sweetened with local honey and house-made bitters with the goal of enhancing the natural spice character of the rye itself.
This review is from a 50ml mini bottle so will not have the benefit of additional fine tuning sessions.
🛒Sourced: Free - A gift from somebody I think, found it in the back of my cabinet.
🧪Proof: 80 proof, 40% ABV
🎨Color: Y4 - a Mountain Dewesque yellow
🥔Mash Bill & Production: 51% organic rye from Vilicus Farms (Havre, MT), 24% malted rye, 25% corn - Based on their house rye offering.
- Age - No Age statement
- Barrel Entry Proof - around 118 (that's their cask strength bottling)
- Char - #3, 15-gallon white oak barrels from the Barrel Mill in Minnesota
- Batch Size - Small
👃Nose: A truly rippling amount of rye spice along with some botanical notes reminding me of certain gins. There is a bit of nose tickling astringency but more from the additives than the alcohol.
😜Palate: Very sweet and honey forward. I do get a little bit of a floral aspect with the honey and there are loads of rye spice and a bristle of cinnamon. Towards the finish, I'm getting a little bit of a citrus or lemon peel note.
💦Finish: Short and reminiscent of soda syrup, a bit sticky.
🏆 Overall: 5/10 - Good - With a smashing nose and bright palate, it's a touch too sweet for me straight. The honey infusion is lovely and you do get the wildflower, but it just about entirely. overwhelms the rye grain and barrel character. I suspect you could get close with unaged spirit.
💵Would buy again? Happy to have tried it this once.
⚖️Rating Scale:
2 | Poor | I wouldn’t consume it by choice.
3 | Bad | Multiple flaws | Struggle to get through the bottle
4 | Serviceable | Mixing or ice recommended.
5 | Good | Drinkable Neat | An agreeable dram indeed.
6 | Very Good | Any flaws offset by interesting flavors | A cut above.
7 | Great | You find yourself reaching for this one often | Well above average.
8 | Excellent | Serve to Impress Guests | Really quite exceptional.
9 | Incredible | An all time favorite | You guard this bottle jealously
