Finally, a Rye vodka from my own home state of Minnesota! On the nose, it's rather strong and sweet, and smells almost alarmingly like a Sharpie pen. That smell sadly doesn't go away immediately, but it gives way to a great, spicy body and it goes down very smooth. The aftertaste is alarmingly bitter, and - you guessed it - it tastes like a Sharpie pen smells. As a shot, I felt straight-up poisoned. As I write this, it's sitting in my stomach pretty uncomfortably. I am extremely, deeply disappointed, not the least because this is marketed as a top-shelf product and sold at a top-shelf price. I've done 1 zł shots of Krakowska behind gas stations in rural Poland, and I *still* find this almost undrinkable. Rye vodkas tend to be absolutely amazing to my palate; earthy, natural, and soothing. This is none of those words, and I really have no idea what went wrong in its production. I want SO BADLY to see Americans start producing and drinking more vodka from home-grown old-world ingredients, but if this is anything to go by, we have a long way to go. I'm only rating it two stars instead of one because the body is rather good, and because I'm still so excited that someone even *tried* to make an American rye vodka.
Reviewer: Sam W.