Company: Mingo Creek Craft Distillers
Distillery: Liberty Pole Distillery
Region: Washington, Pennsylvania
Aging: Aged in Barrels for 3-4 Years
ABV: 55.7% ABV
Proof: 111.4 Proof
Mash Bill: 59% Pennsylvania Rye, 41% Peated and Malted Barley
Non-Chill Filtered: Yes
Price: $65
Liberty Pole Peated Rye Whiskey Batch 6 Tasting Notes
Appearance: Dark Honey
Nose: Peat, brown sugar, caramel, toasted oak, vanilla, rye spice, malt, nice notes of light fruit, citrus zest, light cinnamon spice
Palate: Chocolate, malt, well-balanced peat, smoke, rye spice, leather, tobacco, citrus, oak, cinnamon spice, oaky tannic spice, rich brown sugars and caramel
Finish: Long finish with an oily and buttery mouthfeel – leaves you with rich heavy oak and rye spice balanced with a perfect amount of peat, sweet sugars and fruit
Is Liberty Pole Peated Rye an Approachable Whiskey?
Liberty Pole Peated Rye Batch 6 has a bit of heat and spice to it at 111.4 Proof, but it’s exactly the kind of heat and spice you want in a whiskey.
Each sip coats your mouth with a ton of flavor and the peated barley adds just the right amount of peat without overpowering the rye spices and barrel flavors.
If you’re a fan of peated whiskey or looking to start exploring into the world of peat, this is an excellent bottle for you.
Is Liberty Pole Peated Rye Whiskey Complex?
Liberty Pole Peated Rye Whiskey Batch 6 is very complex and has a lot of layers of flavor to it.
On the nose, you get an extremely wide variety of notes ranging from the peated barley to rich brown sugars and oak from the barrel.
Following quickly behind on the nose is rye spice, hints of cinnamon, and citrus fruits.
On the palate, my taste buds were immediately met with rich malt, chocolate, and peat.
Right from the first sip, my mind thought of chocolate malted milk balls, but with a nice twist of peat.
I’m a huge fan of peated whiskey so this was a combination I was quite impressed with.
Oftentimes, peat will overpower a whiskey and blow out your taste buds.
However, this pour balances just the right amount of peat to complement the malt, rich barrel oak, and rye spices.
Then on top of that, you get another layer of flavor that rounds each sip out well with sweet brown sugar, caramel, and citrus.
The finish pulls it all together with an oily and creamy mouthfeel that leaves you with lingering rye spice, leather, and tobacco.
What are Liberty Pole Peated Rye Whiskey’s strongest attributes/flavors?
Liberty Pole Peated Rye Whiskey’s strongest attribute is the delicate balance of peat, rye spice, and rich barrel flavors.
I’ve tasted a lot of peated whiskeys and more often than not, peat is the singular focus of the whiskey.
There are some pricier bottles of Peated Scotch like Bruichladdich Octomore and higher-end Laphroaig and Ardbeg Whiskeys that create a nice balance of peat and sweet flavors where the peat is not super overpowering.
This bottle reminds me of those Scotches but with a bit more emphasis on rye spice.
Is Liberty Pole Peated Rye a go-to whiskey?
Liberty Pole Peated Rye Batch #6 could easily be a go-to whiskey for me.
This is one I may have to go back and get myself a backup bottle.
I love the peat, I love the rye spice, and I especially like the combination of the two paired with rich oak and caramel notes from the barrel.
Unfortunately, this is a limited Spring 2024 edition which has only 1052 bottles available so it’s likely one I’ll reserve for special occasions to share with friends and possibly to share with friends who say, “I hate peat”.
I have a feeling this is a perfect bottle to convert them (at least I can hope).
Is Liberty Pole Peated Rye priced accurately to its quality?
At the $65 price point, Liberty Pole Peated Rye Batch 6 absolutely delivers on its price tag.
The Peated Scotch bottles I mentioned earlier in this review go for 2-3x that price.
Also, the Liberty Pole distillery is located just 30 minutes from my hometown in Pittsburgh, so it’s a pleasure to see them releasing a bottle of this quality at a very nice price point.
Conclusion for Liberty Pole Peated Rye
I’ve been following the Liberty Pole Distillery for at least 4-5 years and have been buying bottles back when they were aged less than 2 years in barrels.
They have come such a long way and my favorite part about Liberty Pole is that they continue to experiment and explore fun new ideas on how to create quality products.
I recently picked up bottles of their Peated Bourbon finished in Orange Curacao barrels and also a Peated Rye finished in Oloroso Sherry Barrels.
As far as I know, they’re one of the only distilleries producing a peated rye whiskey.
In addition to that, they are taking it a step further and experimenting with finishing their whiskeys with unique barrels and flavors.
I’m pretty sure you will be seeing Liberty Pole making its mark in the future and I’m also sure you’ll be seeing more reviews on them from me.
I’m looking forward to what they will produce next.
If you have a chance to pick up this bottle, I suggest getting one before they’re gone.
You can also order one from the Liberty Pole Distillery website.
Let Us Know What You Think
I hope you enjoyed this tasting experience with me.
If you decide to give this bottle a shot, please let me know on social media via Reddit, Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter.
Thanks for reading and cheers!
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