Tamworth Distilling Chocorua Straight 100% Rye Whiskey Review

 

One of the constant challenges that brands have – whiskey or otherwise – is how to grab your attention while you’re looking at their competitors at the same time. With whiskey, some offer fancy bottles, others opt for flashy labels, and still others price theirs exorbitantly, thinking that these things convey quality.

 

Then, there’s Chocorua Straight Rye Whiskey by Tamworth Distilling. They went with an unusual label – not flashy, but it is an attention-getter. It looks like someone tore a page from an old book and pasted it onto the bottle. 

Aside from the necessary TTB required information, Tamworth includes the story of Chocorura from RH S.S. Andros in his 1838 publication Chocorua and Other Sketches. It is a long poem about Native American Pequawket Chief Chocorua, who went on a trip and left his young, ill son with a local settler named Cornelius Campbell. As the story goes, the son accidentally got into a bottle of poison and died. Chief Chocorua returned, found his dead son, and, in an act of revenge, killed Campbell and his entire family. The other settlers chased Chief to the top of a mountain; the Chief leapt from it to his death while cursing the white settlers.  

 

Chocorura (the whiskey) is a Straight 100% Rye that’s made from scratch by Tamworth Distilling in Tamworth, New Hampshire. Founded in 2015 by Stephen Grasse, Tamworth is a farm-to-glass operation. Before opening the distillery, Stephen was responsible for developing well-known spirits, including Hendrick’s Gin and Sailor Jerry Rum.

 

“Our story is as old as America itself, planting our flag in the heart of a historic New Hampshire village. We’ve set up our distillery in accordance to the land around us, not against it. What we take, we give back. And what we have, we give to you. Taking a cue from the 19th century Transcendentalists of New England, we pull our inspiration and our ingredients from the environment that surrounds us. From start to finish, each spirit embodies our scratch made ethos: local, house-milled grain, pure White Mountain water, herbs and botanicals from the woods and our garden, and local fruits and vegetables.” – Tamworth Distilling

 

Tamworth Distilling utilizes a 250-gallon copper still manufactured by Vendome, and sources its water from the Ossipee Stratified Aquifer, which rests upon granite bedrock. The grain is from a single crop of organic rye grown in Maine.

 

This #DrinkCurious opportunity was made possible by Tamworth Distilling, which provided me with a sample of Chocorua in exchange for my no-strings-attached, honest review. Let’s see what this whiskey is all about!

 

• Whiskey Type: Straight American Rye
• Distiller: Tamworth Distilling
• Age: NAS
• Mashbill: 100% Maine-grown rye
• Cooperage: 53-gallon new, charred oak barrels
• Alcohol Content: 45% ABV (90°)
• Price per 750mL: $55.00

Appearance: I poured Chocorua into my Glencairn glass to sample it neat. The topaz-colored liquid generated a medium rim with medium-spaced, thick, fast tears.

 

Nose: Given that this was a 100% rye mashbill, I allowed Chocorua to rest for about 15 minutes before approaching it, especially as there was a dominating aroma of mint as I was filling my glass. Even afterward, the mint was bold. I found vanilla, cherries, hazelnuts, and freshly-baked rye bread. When I drew the air through my lips, there were sensations of cocoa and mint.

 

Palate: Chocorua’s mouthfeel was silky and somewhat light. The front of my palate detected honey, very dark chocolate, and rye bread, while my mid-palate plucked grass, mint, and butterscotch. The back featured cinnamon, dry oak, and clove.  

 

Finish: Flavors of grass, cinnamon, rye bread, clove, and slightly bitter cocoa remained. It was spicier than the palate; the sweet notes were nowhere to be found. I pulled out my stopwatch; the duration lasted 1:07, something I’d classify as medium.

 

Bottle, Bar, or Bust: Chocorua tasted somewhat young. It wasn’t harsh like many younger Ryes can be, but it lacked the panache that longer-aged ones possess. At the same time, the difference between many 95/5 Ryes I’ve tried and this 100 Rye was notable. Yeah, it was spicy; yet it was also sweeter than I had expected from a pure Rye.

 

I found the mouthfeel very welcoming, and I suspect that, combined with the lower proof, lent to making Chocorua an easy-drinking experience. Could this be a decent mixer? Sure. Does it hold up poured neat? Absolutely. Frankly, I appreciate everything that this American Rye is. Moreover, $55.00 for authentic craft whiskey is about the norm in today’s market. If you do the math, Chocorua has the makings of my Bottle rating. 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.