Four Gate Batch 7 “River Kelvin Rye” Review

On the surface there is nothing special about the Four Gate Batch 7 “River Kelvin Rye”. They got some barrels of MGP rye, aged at least 7 years, and blended them together. Yeah we all know and enjoy MGP rye, but there are dozens, maybe hundreds, of labels out there with MGP rye in the bottle… but they don’t taste like this.

Often the rye on the market is young, 2-4 years, and often it’s from average barrels. But here, spoiler, Four Gate has managed to get ahold of some true honey barrels and blend them together in a way that brings up memories of those killer MGP ryes from the early-mid 2000s before everyone started catching on. This is indeed something special.

Four Gate Batch 7 “River Kelvin Rye” – Details and Tasting Notes

Whiskey Details

Region: Indiana

Distiller: MGP
Bottler: Four Gate
Mash Bill: 95% Rye, 5% Malted Barley
Cask: New Charred Oak
Age: 7 Years
ABV: 56.6%

Cask Strength | Non-Chill Filtered | Natural Color

Batch: 7

Price: $175*

Tasting Notes

EYE
Polished oak

NOSE
Oak, rich dark fruit, cherry pie, complex baking spice (anise, clove, cinn, etc.), graham, honey roasted nuts, copper, leather, pepper, fresh pastries, vanilla and rye bread.

PALATE
Oak, spice, dried dark fruit, leather, herbal-pine, caramel, pepper, stewed fruit, pie crust, cocoa and roasted peanuts.

FINISH
Long -> Rye, oak, cocoa, spice tangerine-like citrus.

BALANCE, BODY and FEEL
Great, full, round oily.

Four Gate Batch 7 “River Kelvin Rye” – Overall
Aroma is like the best cherry pie ever… but more – it’s deep and dark running from dark fruit to dessert sweets with the entire baking spice rack sprinkled throughout and laid on a heavy oaken plank; Palate isn’t quite as deep as the aroma, but it’s no slouch in the complexity department and pulls in a lot of the same darkly fruity and sweet notes with some solid oak, but less spice and more of a rye bread character; Finish – is elegant and warm in its rustic fade.

This is so freaking good, it’s approaching Booker’s Rye territory for depth and complexity. It pulls just shy from the palate, but wow… this is good.

Four Gate Batch 7 “River Kelvin Rye” – Final Thoughts and Score

First the Four Gate Kelvin 2 and now this… they are just killing it lately. I’m stunned by the aroma, I keep sniffing and finding more to explore and more to love as it slowly opens with drips of water. So many multifaceted layers. Sad to say, however, that the palate doesn’t keep the same pace and while it is bold, compared to the aroma, it comes through muted and light even though it’s not. It’s a heavy warm palate that most other ryes would love to have, but in the company of this whopper of an aroma it takes a bit of a backseat.

Water definitely helps here and it goes from expressive to explosive as the aromas detonate out of the glass like a virtual rye bomb. If you’re looking for a deep heavy rye that’s bolder than just about anything else on the market right now, this Four Gate Batch 7 “River Kelvin Rye” would definitely fit the bill.

SCORE: 4.5/5

*Disclosure: The sample for this Four Gate Batch 7 “River Kelvin Rye” review was graciously sent to me by the company without obligation. The views, opinions, and tasting notes are 100% my own.

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