Review #: 348
Description: Stellum Rye
Spirit: Rye
Background: This is a newer brand from Barrell Craft Spirits as a way to introduce a product at a lower cost point and with consistent flavors. Around $60, this is a cask strength batch of ryes from MGP, Kentucky, and Tennessee. The Kentucky and Tennessee distilleries are undisclosed, but they say they have a higher malt percentage to balance the 95/5 of MGP. It clocks in at 58.12% so let’s taste it.
Distillery – Various
Bottler – Barrell Craft Spirits
Brand – Stellum
Selection – N/A
ABV – 58.12%
Age – NAS
Nose – Vanilla, sweet almond, cocoa, cola, a touch of grassy rye in the background, honeywheat bread
Taste – Bright and sweet, fresh strawberries, vanilla frosting, brown sugar, cherry cola, butterscotch
Finish – Pops with rye and spices, clove, nutmeg, strawberry, cherry juice, toffee
Score: 7
Would I buy a bottle? Yes, even at $60. But Costco has this for $43 where I am which is great
Thoughts: I’ll be honest, I bought this a few months ago and just kind of forgot about it. Then I opened it and was really blown away. It’s sweet and rich, but enough rye to keep it complex. There’s things there to feed the barely legal rye lovers and the 100% hardcore rye heads. This is some house rye level stuff.