Review #: 349
Description: Stellum Rye Black
Spirit: Rye
Background: Not long after the release of the new Stellum arm from Barrell Craft Spirits, they have now released a special rye and bourbon dubbed, “Black.” Said to be from some of their older stocks of Indian, Kentucky, and Tennessee rye that go into the standard blend, but with no mention of actual years. It’s a bit of a head scratcher since Stellum was created to be at a lower price point, but with an MSRP of $100, it directly competes with the other labels of the Barrell brand. So let’s see if it is worth it.
Distillery – Various
Bottler – Barrell Craft Spirits
Brand – Stellum
Selection – N/A
ABV – 57.13%
Age – NAS
Nose – Lots of bright fruit, strawberry, pear, vanilla bean ice cream, toasted marshmallow, frosted flakes cereal
Taste – Strawberry jam, vanilla beans, toffee, rich caramel, butterscotch, apple crisp
Finish – Fruit sweetness lingers, some pleasant oak comes in with some baking spices. A little bit of rye comes in but blends with the other spices.
Score: 7
Would I buy a bottle? I think the value is there, but I prefer the rye punch of the standard batch. So no for me.
Thoughts: The similarities with the regular are apparent. The fruit complexity ramps up, but at the expense of some of the rye character. It’s a little more narrowed in the flavor where the regular bottle transitions and keeps you interested. The ambiguity of the info surrounding it also makes it a bit harder of a sell, but it is still great whiskey.