Today is a special treat for Talking Bourbon, bottles of Very Olde St Nick (VOSN) are somewhat hard to find. It is also somewhat hard to find concrete and consistent info on them. One site mentioned it is made by Preservation Distillery, but their own web site does not mention this. They use whatever odd barrels they can find and produce very small batches. Not much is known regarding what actually goes into the bottles, and digging into it online brought a myriad of speculations. Mysterious.
One site mentioned that it was originally bottled by Pappy Van Winkle himself. And one look at the bottle will immediately remind you of Pappy, right down to the face on the bottle. Since they get odd barrels, they can only make so many of any one expression, VOSN, as stated above, can be somewhat hard to find. It can also get a little pricey. Also, their offerings change as they run out of some barrels and get others.
The Summer Rye Cask Strength is bottled at 117.4 proof and comes in the same type of corked bottle as the rest of the VOSN lines. We found this bottle for $160 for the 750ml.
This is the first time tasting anything from VOSN for both of us, and hopefully not the last.
NOSE
Matt: A very sweet aroma of caramel, fruit, and oak. And a slight bit of cinnamon, rye, toast, and pepper coming in behind. One cube brought out more sweetness, almost cake-like. I like it, a lot.
Todd: A good nose but I do not get anything that really stands out, just a lot of secondary scents, among them honey, cinnamon, leather, and raisins. Also get a fruit aroma, maybe strawberries or cherries, not sure. A cube opened up all the above. I like it as well.
TASTE
Matt: I get everything I got on the nose along with chocolate, leather, and a nuttiness. With a cube, I tasted more of the sweetness along with a little cedar. I like the taste as well; we have something going here.
Todd: Like the nose, except for sweetness, I don’t really get a dominant flavor. The ones I do taste are cocoa, sherry, leather, spice, and a little rye. It was not too hot neat but better with a cube. I also like this but not sure it really comes off as a rye.
FINISH
Matt: Medium-long with more sweetness and a hint of spice.
Todd: Long, and I agree with Matt, sweet and a little bit of spice.
OVERALL
Matt: This is a great rye. Even a contender for my favorite rye, which is right now E H Taylor. I would definitely buy this again even at that price.
Todd: I really enjoyed it, but in the end, as stated above, I am not sure I would have known this is a rye. And that is really my only argument against it. If I am in the mood for a rye, not sure I would pick Summer Rye.
Nose 4.75 out of 5
Taste 8.75 out of 10
Finish 4 out of 5
Total score 17.5 out of 20 barrels.
Well, while we both liked Very Olde St Nick Cask Strength Summer Rye, we do disagree a little on the name rye. That said, it is still a very good drink. And with all the conflicting information about VOSN, it makes for a good story. It will be a little pricey for some people’s budget, we get that, but if it is in your price range, and you actually find a bottle, we recommend buying it.