TRANSCRIPTION 🔗
Jake Lewellen: Welcome back to Five Minute Fridays and I'm excited to talk about a brand new release coming from Proof and Precedent. You may have not heard about this brand as it's brand new and it's got some really cool people behind it. you've got Brian Hara sipping corn, you've got Matt Cusack, and then you have one of my best friends in the entire world, Marcus Neiman, helping them kind of blend this brand new 11-year-old straight rye whiskey coming out of Illinois, coming in 121.6 proof or 60.8. and it's a small batch blend of of rye whiskeys from Illinois, which is which is unique. And I'm excited to talk about this. One because whiskey is such a relational thing. And it's cool to have one of my longest friendships, you know, be a part of the conversation here today. And so I got to try this last week with Marcus and excited to talk to you all about this. But first I want to take a moment to talk about rye whiskey in particular. And I think it's having a moment right now, whether it's the Finished rye whiskey that Angels Envy just released, and that Peach Brandy Cask, or this proof and precedent, or Silverthorn has a 13-year-old, or Dark Arts, their 15-year-old rye whiskey they put out, or Joseph Magnus has a new batched rye. Rye is having a moment. And I'm really excited to talk about this because I think this shows that. rye whiskey can be great, especially in that 10 to 15 year spot where we think bourbon a lot of times, rye whiskey is also phenomenal there as well. So let's get into this. cheers to to Brian, Matt, and Marcus on this project and launching it. but I can already tell you this is a good one, and let me tell you a little bit about it. So on the nose, it's very fruit forward. it's kind of that apricot peach note up front. it does have a little like bruleeed sugar notes as well. and candied oranges kind of on the back end, but it does have some additional flavors, kind of warm baking spices. it's got a little bit of like honeysuckle note as well. it does really kind of smell hot toddy-ish in the glass which is really very enjoyable to to sip on so let's take a sip At 121.6, almost 122. it's got a ton of body, a lot of complexity, very warming, just kind of the first drink of the night as I do this from a review perspective. So warm up the palate. Now let's actually have a drink and tell you about it. So this ride whiskey continues those fruit notes. They change a little bit. more like cocktail syrupy notes, like a fruit cocktail syrup. but it does have those warm baking spices that that pull through there. and when I say warm baking spices, this kind of leans into like that star andise kind of note. And it brings just a a roundedness to this whiskey overall. it's got character and depth on the back end where you're getting a lot of wood and oak influence. So it's got a lot of body there, but also it it gives its age a little bit there on the back end. I mean this hits All the notes, even though I know the mash bill on this one, it doesn't lean to a certain profile. it's fruit forward, but it's it's got some complexities like a high-ride bourbon would. and so that's where I find this nice intersection, even though it's a higher rye mash bill from a rye whiskey perspective, it does have some bourbon characteristics on the back end, which I think is is great for a bourbon drinker. if you're not Really into rye's. This doesn't have a too much spice, right? Sometimes we think of rye having too much spice or too much spearmint, maybe. This has a well-rounded complexity to it. and so I'm really excited about this one. It does carry a price point. You can buy this at Sealbox. and so you know what I would say with all NDPs, give them a shot. this one is a great rye whiskey that I think if you're a rye fan, you will really enjoy. I think Rye is having a moment and these guys showcase it in this release. So let us know your thoughts if you're able to try it. I put this up there with the top rye whiskeys I've had here in 2026. but I'm looking forward to see what they do here in the future. Thanks everybody for listening to this episode of Five Minute Fridays, and we'll catch you next time. Cheers.