Devil's River Small Batch Rye Whiskey Review

 

Sin Responsibly. That's the tagline for San Antonio’s Devil’s River Distillery. More on that later. The backstory is that Devils River is named for a waterway discovered by a Texas Ranger named John Coffee Hays. That part is meaningful to the distillery because the Devils River is the limestone water source used to proof down this whiskey.

 

A few years ago, the distillery got my attention via an aggressive social media campaign. A friend who owns a liquor store down in Florida had an open bottle and gave me a taste. He was waiting for my reaction. He laughed when he saw my face, then gave me what was left in the bottle (about 50ml), hoping I’d cover it.

 

I’ve reviewed a handful of whiskeys from Devil’s River, including its flagship Bourbon (Bust), a Barrel Strength Bourbon (Bust), an Agave Bourbon (Bottle), and Distiller’s Select Straight Bourbon (Bottle).

 

Quite a while back, Devil’s River sent me 50ml of its Small Batch Texas Rye whiskey. It accidentally made its way behind another bottle in my whiskey library and has been overlooked until now. My apologies to Devil’s River; this wasn’t done purposefully.

 

Devils River is distilled from a mash of 51% rye, 45% corn, and 4% malted barley. Although it carries no age statement, Devil’s River suggests it spent at least four years in new, #4 charred oak barrels. The whiskey is chill filtered using a proprietary system, packaged at 45% ABV (90°), and a 750ml has a suggested price of $35.99.

 

Let’s get down to business and #DrinkCurious. A very belated thank you to Devil’s River Distillery for providing me with this opportunity.

 

Appearance: I poured this Rye whiskey into my Glencairn glass to sip neat. The whiskey possessed a bronze color. A medium rim held tight, refusing as long as possible before releasing droplets that crawled back to the pool.

 

Nose: The first smell that hit my olfactory sense was corn. That’s unexpected with American Rye. Rye spice and mint fought for attention. Lost in the background were dill and charred oak; when I inhaled the vapor through my mouth, I found dusty corn.

 

Palate: My lips and tongue encountered a light, watery texture. I tasted brown sugar and cinnamon on the front of my palate. Midway through were flavors of caramel and muted cardamom. The back included soft oak and baked apples.

 

Finish: Muted cardamom, baked apples, and soft oak remained. Just as those faded, black pepper made an appearance. I timed the finish at 2:23, classifying it as a long duration. Nothing could be considered a burn in my mouth and throat.

 

Bottle, Bar, or Bust: Devil’s River Small Batch Rye is something some folks call barely legal. That’s not derogatory; it simply means that the main ingredient has a minimum requirement of 51% or more, and the whiskey has the lowest allowable content (in this case, rye grain). That’s the main reason why corn was so prominent on the nose.

 

Unfortunately, the palate lacked depth. I suppose it was well-balanced; all the flavors seemed unenthusiastic. Almost nothing in the sipping experience resembled Rye short of the finish’s termination.

 

Is Devil’s River Small Batch Rye bad? No, but it is unmemorable, so much so that once the finish passes, you’ll forget you were drinking whiskey. That translates to $40.00 for a disinterested yawn. There’s no reason to give this one a Bar rating, and as such, the only option is a Bust. Cheers!

 

 

My Simple, Easy-to-Understand Rating System

• Bottle = Buy It
• Bar = Try It
• Bust = Leave It

 

Whiskeyfellow encourages you to enjoy your whiskey as you see fit but begs you to do so responsibly.