Redwood Empire Haystack Needle 8 Year Single Barrel Straight Rye Whiskey 750ml

AVAILABLE FOR IN STORE PICK-UP OR TO SHIP WITHIN CALIFORNIA

Producer: Redwood Empire Whiskey  
Category: Whiskey  
Attributes: Rye Whiskey 

8 year old single barrel rye

Mashbill: 90% rye 5% wheat 5% barley

Rested in Glen for 15 minutes

Proof: 122.8

This is the (updated) Haystack Needle from Redwood Empire. The older version was a single barrel bourbon with sourced juice from MGP. Some barrels were finished in different types of wine barrels with the oldest released at 15 years old. I was lucky enough to have tried both 14 and 15 year old unfinished bourbon versions of the Haystack Needle and they were fantastic. The updated version of the Haystack Needle contain spirit distilled and aged exclusively by Redwood Empire. This 8 year old rye is fantastic and on par if not better than older releases. That said, it is hard to judge bourbon versus rye, but I digress…

Smells have brought me back to my childhood on many occasion, but never with a whiskey. Well, not quite never…there are two: The smell of a dusty Wild Turkey 101 8 year old reminds me of my Nan (her favorite) as does this latest offering of the Haystack Needle. First off, on the nose there is the smell of my mom’s freshly baked Pumpernickel. Then we move over to my Nan’s house for smells of orange sherbet and JELLO butterscotch pudding. It takes about 15 minutes for the butterscotch note to show up in the glass, but it’s totally worth the wait. Then there’s my uncle Al; he’s a doughnut guy. While working for him as a young lad, he introduced me to two amazing things: good coffee and even better doughnuts. My doughnut of choice – technically a danish – is the bear claw. Slightly heat up one of these bad boys in the ol’ Radar range and you get a delicious mix of almond, brown sugar, cinnamon, and vanilla glaze. Round out the nose with some fresh brewed Orange Pekoe (premium black tea) and sweet oak. 

After nosing it for a wee bit, you get to the sipping and the experience only gets better. We go back to the pumpernickel, but toast it and spread on some Seville orange marmalade. This note is tough to draw out, but if you’ve ever been to Gold Country, Knott’s Berry Farm, or Disneyland in the 1970s, there’s a whiff of old-school hard candy. Another note, always a flavor that has really intrigued me – sassafras. It lends a sweet earthy and herbal note, like root beer’s better-tasting cousin. It’s rounded out with black pepper and herbal tea.

The finish on this is long and peppery. The rye spice and pepper mix well with the sweet citrus and almond.

Nose: pumpernickel (dark rye bread), black tea, sweet oak, orange sherbet, Jello butterscotch pudding, freshly baked bear claw

Palate: Pumpernickel (toasted) Rye spice, Seville orange marmalade, sassafras, black pepper, herbal tea, almond

Finish: Black pepper, herbal, tea, sassafras

Alcohol: 61.4%/122.8 Proof 

Notes: Ron Holt

Selected By: Jason Schneider and Zach Shelton

FOR SALE WITHIN CALIFORNIA ONLY 

At this time spirits available on BottleBarn.com can only be sold and shipped within the state of California or picked up at our Santa Rosa store. Please note price and availability in store may vary.