Whisky Review: Michael Kravitz's The Eagle Morning

This was a sample that I got from Michael Kravitz's "The Eagle Morning" project.

Check out his blog for the whole story, but the basic outline is that he originally filled a small cask with new make rye spirit and let it age for a number of months. After taking out the rye spirit, he refilled it with single malt whisky to make a rye-finished single malt. This is the result.

The Eagle Morning

Nose: solvents hit first but fade with time, young rye grain, sweet malt, vanilla, very floral, ripe and unripe fruits, very little wood, citrus, bubblegum. After adding a few drops of water, the young rye grain completely dominates.

Taste: lightly sweet malt up front, young rye grain and chocolate sauce build towards the back, vanilla throughout, grainy rather than woody bitterness at the back. After dilution, the palate is similarly dominated by the young rye grain notes.

Finish: grainy, a little hot, new make

While probably not to everyone's taste, I actually like this one a lot. Neat, the single malt and young rye characters are in pretty good balance. I especially like how floral the nose becomes. However, water was its Achilles heel - almost all depth and nuance was lost to the rye after adding even a little bit of water. So if you ever get to sample this one, I would recommend leaving it be.