What we’re drinking: Angel’s Envy Cellar Collection Series, Vol. 5 Straight Rye Whiskey Finished in French Oak Extra Añejo Tequila Barrels
Where it’s from: Founded in 2010 and located in downtown Louisville, KY, Angel’s Envy is best known for its array of American whiskeys that undergo secondary barrel finishing.
Why we’re drinking this: Angel Envy’s foray into wood maturations (Triple Oak) won our Best Bourbon category for this year’s Spill Awards, so we’re fans, obviously! I’m always geeked to try whatever the distillery is experimenting with next.
I’ve been digging tequila barrel finishes in my whiskeys, so hearing that Master Distiller Owen Martin was using extra añejo barrels for his first Cellar Collection expression made me happy. As a reminder, the Cellar Collection is an ongoing series of releases where Angel’s Envy is (usually) aging its whiskey in former wine casks, but Martin went in a different direction.
The Best Spirits Bottles of the Year
The Spill’s team of judges select the best gin, bourbon, canned cocktail, value bottle, rum and a whole lot more“It’s no secret that at my last company, I had years to experiment with aging in tequila barrels,” says Martin, formerly of Denver’s single malt experts Stranahan’s. “But here it was like, how will this apply to a bourbon or a rye as opposed to the malt whiskey I was working with before? But I had an opportunity to work with 150 barrels, and I was comfortable shooting from the hip on this one.”
For this release, Martin traveled to Hacienda Patrón in Jalisco, Mexico to collaborate with Patrón’s master distiller, David Rodriguez, on the project. The final result is a Straight Rye Whiskey aged up to seven years and finished in Patrón French Oak Extra Añejo barrels for up to 12 months. From there, it’s blended with an older Straight Rye Whiskey, aged for more than 11 years.
How it tastes: Coming in at 104.2 proof, this Angel’s Envy release is incredibly well-rounded with notes of fruit (mainly apple), baking spices, cloves, vanilla, cooked agave, black pepper and a little spiciness from the rye and grassiness from the tequila barrels.
Fun fact: If you’re wondering about release number four in the Cellar Collection, it was a rye finished in ice cider casks (the Angel’s Envy website makes it admittedly difficult to figure out this expression was part of the collection). While Vol. 5 is Martin’s first original release, he was also part of a project to bring back the first three editions.
“The first three were all bourbons and fortified wine barrels,” he says. “Granted, this was an era where it’s not as ubiquitous as it is. It was sherry, Tawny and Madeira. For the re-release, I was blending to recreate those releases. To be completely honest, it one of the biggest pain in the ass projects I’ve ever had because normally I’m blending to make the best product I can. But in that case, it was like a whole second set of stipulations of trying to flavor match to a prior release.”
Where to buy: A limited release, Vol. 5 of the Cellar Collection is available now for $269.
More Like This
Join America's Fastest Growing Spirits Newsletter THE SPILL. Unlock all the reviews, recipes and revelry — and get 15% off award-winning La Tierra de Acre Mezcal.
