Distillery: Sourced from MGP
Region: Louisville, Kentucky
Aging: 18 months in Caribbean Rum Casks
ABV: 50%
Proof: 100
Mash Bill: 95% Rye, 5% Malted Barley
Non-Chill Filtered: No
Price: $95
Appearance: Gold
Whiskey Story Before The Review
So before I get into this review, this bottle has a bit of a story behind it for me.
Quite a few years ago (before I knew what good whiskey was) one of my best friends from college started visiting me here in Pittsburgh every year for the last Pittsburgh Steelers game of the year.
He’d always fly into town for a few days, we’d catch up over a few drinks and enjoy the last football game of the year.
This particular year, a new cocktail bar had just opened up around the corner from my apartment and their drinks were delicious.
I told him we’d go there and see where the night took us and to my surprise, we actually ended up staying there all night.
A few minutes after we sat down, we started a conversation about whiskey with the guy sitting next to us.
My friend asked him, “What’s your favorite whiskey here?”
The man replied, “Well, are you talking top-shelf or cheaper whiskey?”
“How about each shelf – what’s your favorite from each?”
We initially said this because there were 3 shelves at this bar. The top shelf was expensive, the middle shelf was middle-tier, and the bottom shelf was the liquor they’d most likely use in cocktails.
The man then proceeded to share his favorite whiskey on each shelf, left to right as well as top-to-bottom.
But the most interesting thing happened – he asked for a few tastes of each whiskey on every single shelf!
My friend and I just went with it and we tasted probably 12-15 whiskeys that night and at the time, we didn’t really know what good whiskey was.
Well, after this guy’s explanation of each bottle and drinking some of the more expensive bottles the place had to offer, we quickly found ourselves having some favorites.
I remember my favorite of the entire night was Angel’s Envy Finished Rye.
So this bottle is basically the first top-tier whiskey I ever really appreciated.
As you can imagine, 15+ pours of top-shelf whiskey can be quite pricey and that’s exactly what my friend and I were thinking at the time. Straight out of college and not a ton of money, we started to panic at how much our bill was going to be.
Along comes the end of the night and we’re dreading looking at the bill.
The bartender brings us our check, and we open it and look at the damage…
The entire bill for both of us came out to be… just $75!
Both of us looked at each other in shock and I remember what a relief it was, but I was also quite confused.
Why would the bill be so cheap when we tried all the best whiskeys?
Well, it turns out the guy we were talking to all night got an extreme discount because he was a chef at the restaurant and hooked us up for sharing all the whiskeys with him.
I still remember this night as one of the best whiskey nights I’ve ever had in my life and reviewing this bottle took me back to that night and the fun I had with my friend.
So fast forward to now, sitting here writing this review…
The funny thing about Angel’s Envy Finished Rye is that I never knew that this was the whiskey I tried that night.
I had always thought it was the Angel’s Envy Bourbon (which is okay), but now that I’m smelling and tasting this bottle, I’m remembering that the Angel’s Envy Finished Rye is the bottle I had all those years ago.
So I hope you don’t mind me sharing this long story for the sake of capturing my memories in writing here in this review but enjoy the review of this lovely bottle of whiskey.
Angel’s Envy Finished Rye Tasting Notes
Nose: Smells exactly like my grandmother’s cinnamon toast – raw sugar cane, cinnamon, buttery toasted caramel, vanilla, allspice – borderline one of the best noses I’ve found on a whiskey
Palate: This whiskey tastes just like eating buttery cinnamon toast covered in maple syrup. But instead of using regular brown sugar, imagine you used raw sugar cane directly from Jamaica. You also get some notes of toasted oak, rye spice, and allspice
Finish: Medium finish with caramel, oak, sugar, rye spice, and allspice
Is Angels Envy Finished Rye an Approachable Whiskey?
Angels Envy Finished Rye is an extremely approachable whiskey. Right from the first sip, it hits you with beautiful sweet flavors that both beginner and experienced whiskey drinkers will appreciate.
Is Angels Envy Finished Rye Complex?
Angels Envy Finished Rye has quite a few layers of flavors. While I will say that this whiskey is extremely heavy on the sweet side of the spectrum, it’s absolutely delicious.
Most ryes will lean heavily into the spicy side, Angel’s Envy Finished Rye does the complete opposite. While you can still get a sense of the rye spices at the base layer, the rum cask finish dominates the flavor profile.
What are Angels Envy Finished Rye’s strongest attributes/flavors?
Angels Envy Finished Rye’s strongest attribute is the sweet and buttery cinnamon, sugar, and allspice combination that you get on the nose (and palate).
Is Angels Envy Finished Rye a go-to whiskey?
Even though Angels Envy Finished Rye is $95 per bottle, I would still consider this a go-to whiskey. If I could find this bottle on the shelf regularly, I would absolutely have it in my bar at all times.
Is Angels Envy Finished Rye priced accurately to its quality?
It’s hard to justify a bottle of rye whiskey being worth a $95 price tag, but this is one bottle that I think absolutely is. It offers a flavor profile you won’t find in any other whiskey and to be honest, it just tastes like a dessert that you can’t get enough of.
Conclusion for Angels Envy Finished Rye
Angels Envy Finished Rye is a bottle I held off on buying for a long while because of its price tag. After trying this bottle, I will definitely be buying another the next time I see it available at my local liquor store.
This is one of the most enjoyable pours I’ve had in a while so I definitely recommend you buy yourself a bottle the next time you see it.
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!
* Side Note: I have to note that when I went to Louisville, Kentucky to visit the Angels Envy Distillery, the tour only offered us a 1 glass tasting (and a piece of chocolate). While the tour was fun and I enjoyed the experience, they wouldn’t let us taste anything other than the base-level bourbon. I really wish they had let us experience the Rye as well because I’m pretty sure they’d 5x their sales in the distillery if they let people taste this one in the tasting.
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