Review of Shady Knoll Orchards & Distillery Flagship Rye and Single Barrel Rye

 

Picture in your mind, if you will, the Hudson River Valley and the little New York village of Milford. The year is 1980, and Rick and Sherry Kneipper purchase a farm they called Shady Knoll. The neighbors had used the farm (with permission) to grow corn and raise cattle.

 

Rick had a dream.

 

Rick was a Wall Street lawyer and entrepreneur. One of his grandfathers was a dairy farmer, and Rick had always admired the patience and dedication it took to have a working farm. Rick’s vision was to turn Shady Knoll into exactly that. Rick wasn’t thinking cattle; he was mulling operating a distillery that would produce apple brandy from fruits grown on his farm.

 

If you think Rick wasn’t doing anything extraordinary, keep in mind that in 1980, there were only a dozen licensed distilleries in the entire country. Not 12 craft distilleries, but 12 distilleries in all, and those were the legacy distillers that survived Prohibition. It wasn’t until 1982 that the first “craft” distilleries were established. As such, Rick was treading unknown waters.

 

Like many of us who try to make our dreams a reality, Rick had a family to support, and distilling takes money; something that he didn’t have an abundance of at the time. Plus, as an entrepreneur, he knew he needed the knowledge to succeed. It wasn’t until 2011, when he and Sherry had enough of both, that they began the journey.

 

They started planning apple trees – 1800 of them – growing more than 120 varieties of the fruit. Then, in 2015, their son-in-law, Andrew Richards, became the Farm Manager and Head Distiller, assisted by their daughter Lindsey, their son Wallace, and their daughter Sybil, and made it a true working family farm. That same year, they constructed the distillery barn and equipment shed, purchased an apple grinder and juice press from Slovenia, and planted their inaugural crop of rye grain for distilling whiskey.

 

“Created from a unique blend of rye and corn grown on our family farm in the historic Hudson River Valley and malted barley from other New York farms. We double distill it in our French alembic Charentais pot still to enhance its flavors. Then it is aged in a combination of new oak barrels and premium used port barrels to create a smooth finish. We do all processing, fermenting, distilling, barrel-aging, and bottling at our family farm and micro-distillery.” - Shady Knoll Orchards & Distillery

 

Now that you know the backstory of Shady Knoll Orchards & Distillery, we can delve into some of its whiskeys. Everything except for growing the barley is done in-house and on-premises. We’ll look at the flagship Small Batch Rye and a Single Barrel offering. Both are five years old and matured in new, charred oak barrels before enduring a several-month finishing cycle in Portuguese Port casks.

 

These whiskeys (and more) can be purchased from Shady Knoll Orchard & Distillery’s online store. Should you grab some for yourself? We can answer that question after we #DrinkCurious, and thankfully, Shady Knoll was kind enough to provide me with samples of each in exchange for my no-strings-attached, honest review.

 

Note: To avoid repetition, I used a fresh Glencairn glass for each and let the whiskeys acclimate for 15 minutes.

 

Small Batch Rye

• Whiskey Type: American Rye
• Distiller: Shady Knoll Orchards & Distillery
• Age: 5 years
• Mashbill: 70% rye, 15% corn, 15% malted barley
• Cooperage: New, charred American oak barrels, then finished in used Portuguese Port casks
• Alcohol Content: 42% ABV (84°)
• Price per 750mL: $59.99

 

Appearance: The Small Batch possessed a rusty color and produced a medium rim with slow, crazed tears.

 

Nose: Rye spice and oak were the first things I smelled. As I continued sniffing, I found mild mint, floral rye, chocolate, oak, and a hint of plums. When I pulled the air through my lips, I could barely make out mint.

 

Palate: The flagship Rye had a buttery mouthfeel, with a potent punch of dark chocolate (which, given the lower proof, was unexpected). With my second sip, I could discern dark chocolate, hazelnuts, and leather on the front of my palate. Next came rye bread and an earthy quality. The back included oak, tobacco leaf, and clove.

 

Finish: Weathered tobacco leaf, leather, clove, dark chocolate, walnuts, and oak remained in my mouth and throat. It was a relatively soft, incredibly long, spicy finish. I timed its duration at 2:13 (again, the proof!).

 

Bottle, Bar, or Bust: Shady Knoll’s flagship Rye is a master class in getting rid of preconceived notions. At 84°, it is easy to assume that this sipping session would be dull. That couldn’t be further from the truth.

 

While its color was deep and dark (again, the proof!), I could taste its darkness. I’m not sure how else to explain that because it isn’t something I’ve ever experienced. There was so much character in this low-proof gem!

 

$60.00 is fair for a non-cask strength craft whiskey, especially in these times when so many distilleries are struggling to survive. I really liked what was in my glass; it earns my Bottle rating.

 

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Shady Knoll Single Barrel Rye

 

 

• Whiskey Type: American Rye
• Distiller: Shady Knoll Orchards & Distillery
• Age: 5 years
• Mashbill: 70% rye, 15% corn, 15% malted barley
• Cooperage: New, charred American oak barrels, then finished in used Portuguese Port casks
• Alcohol Content: 59% ABV (118°)
• Price per 750mL: $117.99

 

Appearance: The mahogany color was so deep I couldn’t see through it. A medium-thick rim discharged thick, syrupy tears.

 

Nose: My olfactory sense took a huge hit of wine and cocoa notes. I put the glass down for another 5 minutes, then tried again. This time, I found Bit-O-Honey candies, cocoa, ripe plums, figs, rye spice, and tobacco. Taking the vapor into my mouth tasted like exactly nothing. That’s not supposed to happen! I tried a few times to no avail.

 

Palate: As I started my sipping journey, I encountered an airy texture with plenty of dark chocolate. I took another, and discovered flavors of old leather, tobacco, and dark chocolate up front. The mid-palate featured notes of plums, raw honey, and rye spice. Earth, coffee, and cocoa formed the back.

 

Finish: The finish was a gusher of very dark chocolate, bordering on baker’s chocolate. Oak, coffee, earth, leather, and rye spice played second fiddle to it. Cinnamon came out of nowhere and seemed glued to my tongue. At first, things diminished at 48 seconds, yet the duration ran 1:20, making it medium-to-long.   

 

Bottle, Bar, or Bust: I’m just mesmerized by how delicate a whiskey can be at this proof. It drank far more like it was 90° or 92°. This Rye is one of those dangerous pours where you really must pay attention to what you’re doing, otherwise you’re going to get schnockered and not find that out until you stand up.

 

The wine had a serious impact on the whiskey. In some ways, it tamed the spice; yet the chocolate and oak kept a strong presence. Nothing about it was overpowering.

 

As impressive as the Single Barrel Rye was, it is expensive. If you’ve got money to burn, grab a bottle. For my review, price is the sole factor of my Bar rating, and it pains me to say that.   

 

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Final Thoughts: There are Port casks, and then there are wet Port casks. It seems fairly obvious that Shady Knoll used the latter, because the color of even the 84° was darker than you’d ever imagine. Moreover, the Port influence was bold, which is something that shouldn’t happen with a dry cask.

 

Color me impressed – very impressed. 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.