Review: Sentinel of the Desert Rye
Tuscon’s Whiskey del Bac has made a name for itself with its “mesquited not peated” American single malt. The Arizona distillery uses mesquite wood as the fuel source to smoke their barley rather than the traditional peat, creating a unique character for Whiskey del Bac that stands out from other single malts. However, in 2022, Whiskey del Bac developed an interest in the impact of mesquite on rye whiskey. Rather than retooling the distillery operations to temporarily distill rye, they opted to source rye whiskey and finish it with their mesquited single malt barrels. Let’s take a look at Batch 3 of Sentinel of the Desert Straight Rye.
Batch 3 starts with rye distilled by MGP in Lawrenceburg featuring the popular mashbill consisting of 95% rye and 5% malted barley. The base rye is comprised of barrels ranging from 2.5 years to 4 years of maturation. Young rye is entered into freshly dumped Whiskey del Bac mesquited single malt barrels. The majority of the single malt barrels are 15 gallons in volume, but a smaller amount are 53 gallons that previously held Whiskey del Bac’s Ode to Islay. Prior to dumping, the 15 gallon barrels held malt whiskey for approximately 13 months. Sentinel of the Desert is finished for 3 to 6 months in the Arizona climate, including the summer season. Adding to the uniqueness, after dumping the finished rye, Sentinel is subjected to the “Pima County Process,” which involves filtering the whiskey through a bed of mesquite charcoal. Sentinel’s mesquite charcoal filtration takes roughly 2 hours for a 500 gallon batch. The first three batches of Sentinel have used intact barrels for finishing, but beginning with the coming Batch 4, Sentinel will utilize staves from deconstructed single malt barrels.
Sentinel of the Desert comes with a friendly price along with the uniqueness of mesquite, but does it work? Let’s get into it!
The nose kicks off with a lovely floral aroma followed by juicy pear. As the glass sits for a moment, familiar young MGP rye notes surface by way of cinnamon, dill, and lemon zest. For a rye of its youth, the nose is pleasing, but there isn’t much influence from the mesquite. When sipping blind, there isn’t anything on the nose that would suggest the utilization of mesquite.
Sentinel’s palate opens with a pleasing black licorice note followed by mild cinnamon. The palate quickly transitions to a sweeter nature with honeydew melon and sticky honey. The back end of the midpalate balances things out with a slight hint of pine. Given the youth of the rye, the mouthfeel is surprisingly thick. Much like the nose, there isn’t much discernible influence on the palate from the mesquite.
The finish ushers in an enjoyable herbaceous character followed by more sticky honey. Lemon zest adds to the medium-length finish and initially brings the sensation of a home remedy for the common cold or cough. For the first time with this package experience, mesquite smoke noticeably makes its presence known. The hint of smoke at the end is a nice balance to the overall flavor profile.
Given the youth of the base whiskey, I enjoyed the bottle more than anticipated. Rye at this particular age range is often sharp, but there are no sharp edges for Sentinel, most likely due to the mesquite charcoal filtration. The mouthfeel is much thicker than anticipated. While the base whiskey is young, there is something to be said about aging in 15 gallon barrels for several months in the Arizona climate that adds body and character. Sentinel is enjoyable neat, yet priced nicely for use in a cocktail. However, the utilization of mesquite doesn’t play a major factor on the overall profile of this whiskey. If a consumer is looking for a smoky rye whiskey, this isn’t it. Despite the marketing of mesquite, if the lack of smoky character isn’t that important to a buyer, Sentinel is a good pickup at a good price.
92 proof.
B / $40 / whiskeydelbac.com
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