Isaiah Morgan Rye

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Isaiah Morgan Rye

Unread postby Brewer » Sun May 01, 2005 5:41 pm

I mentioned about a week ago that I'd come upon a rye that I'd never seen nor heard of previously while visiting Morgantown, WV. I gave Mark a call from the liquor store, Ashebrooke, and told him about it. He hadn't heard of it before either; we each got a bottle. I've held off posting about it cause I'd hoped Mark and I could try it toghether soon, but schedules have put that off for a few more weeks. So, today I told him about the mysterious new rye from WV, and now I'll share my impressions & I'd ask Dave & Linn to chime in now, since we had a taste last Sunday.

The label says West Virginia Grown, Isaiah Morgan Rye Whiskey; 80 Proof. On the side of the label it says "Southern West Virginia's first distillery founded in 2002 by Rodney Facemire. Produced and bottled by Kirkwood, LTD., Summersville, WV." The bottle is green glass. When I first poured a drink last week, I was immediately suprised by the complete lack of color. :shock: It is as clear as water, and clearer than some municipal water! :wink: I was immediately unimpressed by this rye, as was Mrs. BourbonCat. Today I'm having my 2nd experience and it hasn't gotten any darker during the past week. :lol: It has the aroma of diluted white dog. The taste is smooth, sweet & without any complexity. There's a bit of heat after swallowing. I'd have to say that my impression today is more favorable than after my initial tasting, but I think of this as more of a novelty rye whiskey than anything. Since its coming right off the still, the distillery is making some good money off this bottling...there's no barrel expense, no storage expense, no loss to the angels. I'd really like to see it made available after some time in a barrel. That would make for a nice comparison.

We'll get a picture posted in the Whiskey Review section soon.
Bob
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Unread postby TNbourbon » Sun May 01, 2005 8:41 pm

Bob, after your initial posting last week, I asked a friend then planning to travel through W. Va. to try and find this bottling for me, and he arrived with a couple of bottles. Mostly, I concur with your notes -- it's essentially rye 'white dog', with a total lack of barrel notes, which made us wonder if this isn't some sort of equivalent to 'guaranteed less than 30 days old' corn whiskey, which this distiller also makes. Think rye crisps or lightly-flavored rye bread to get the flavor.
Anyway, interesting to try a new product, and I would try it again if it ever becomes a 'straight' whiskey (at least 2 years in barrel) to note the effects of the wood on it. But, I won't seek out any more of it, either.
Last edited by TNbourbon on Thu May 19, 2005 12:00 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Unread postby bunghole » Tue May 03, 2005 11:48 am

I've got nothing much to add other than it seemed less of a Monongehela style rye. More than likely it is an old family moonshiner's recipe. Raw; pungent, rough, and hot - a couple of years in a used bourbon barrel would surely do it some good.

It would be nice to talk to the distiller to see what kind of stills he's running and how large. How long they've been distilling, and how and why they started. All the usual ????'s

:arrow: ima :sunny:
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Unread postby tlsmothers » Thu May 19, 2005 12:27 am

OK, NY boys, you better save me a taste is all I gotsta say :wink:
"Drinking just to get drunk is like having sex just to get pregnant." --Robert Hess
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Unread postby Brewer » Thu May 19, 2005 9:31 am

tlsmothers wrote:OK, NY boys, you better save me a taste is all I gotsta say :wink:


You got it! :wink:
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Unread postby tlsmothers » Thu Jul 07, 2005 8:26 pm

Wow! I really liked this. Bob stopped by and shared a bit. It's sweet and grainy. Not what I expected at all. I figured I'd get a lot of spice and bite. Oh, so easy to drink.

I called and asked about distribution arrangements for NY. Waiting to hear back.
"Drinking just to get drunk is like having sex just to get pregnant." --Robert Hess
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Unread postby Mark » Thu Jul 07, 2005 9:10 pm

Yeah you know I'm with you LeNell, I really liked it as well. While I felt near $20 is alot for an unaged product it was still a very pleasant surprise.
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