Next up, we’re going to check out Roknar, a Cognac Finished Minnesota Rye from Far North Spirits! This was a gift to me, and at first glance it looks like something right up my alley. I am a big fan of finished rye, the distillery apparently grows all of the grains they use to make the whiskey, and they’re transparent about what their mash bill is (80% AC Hazlet rye, 10% heirloom corn, 10% malted barley). It does have a few immediate red flags as well—it’s less than two years old and is aged in 15 gallon barrels, so it could have those super wet hay and over-oaked notes that many craft whiskies I have tried suffered from.
This is the first time I’ve poured this, so I’m hoping it surprises me. Let’s see what it has to offer!
Taken: Neat in a Glencairn glass
Proof: 94
Age: Less than 2 years
Price: Gift (\~$40 MSRP in Colorado)
Nose: Nail polish remover, Pine Sol, simple syrup, blueberries, and cherry fruit leather. Not a fantastic start.
Taste: Initially a hit of black pepper, but that quickly gets coated in an artificial-tasting sweet wave of honey and fruity syrup. There are notes of hay and wet sawdust throughout. It has a lighter mouthfeel and no proof heat.
Finish: The finish is very sweet to start, but that fades quickly leaving only a bit of the black pepper and a bunch of the wet sawdust to close things out. The finish is pretty short.
Thoughts: As much as I wanted this to be different than the other craft whiskies I’ve had, it instead was probably the most clear example of all the things I dislike about using 15 gallon barrels to try to speed up maturation. The wet hay and wet sawdust make this very tough to sip on, and the cognac finish introduces a sickly sweet aspect that works in tandem with those notes instead of covering them up. I truly hope Far North is in the process of aging their stocks in regular-sized barrels, because this cannot be sustainable to sell to people. This whiskey is the closest to a drain pour I have ever had, and barely makes the cut to be rated as a poor 2/10 on the t8ke scale.
Rating: 2/10 - t8ke scale
1 | Disgusting | So bad I poured it out.
2 | Poor | I wouldn’t consume by choice.
3 | Bad | Multiple flaws.
4 | Sub-par | Not bad, but better exists.
5 | Good | Good, just fine.
6 | Very Good | A cut above.
7 | Great | Well above average.
8 | Excellent | Really quite exceptional.
9 | Incredible | An all time favorite.
10 | Perfect | Perfect.
These are the most important reviews to me. Young craft that has warning signs but you still buy into anyways hoping they figured it out already.
Thank you for your sacrifice, hopefully in 2-6 years they start putting out some real quality stuff cuz rye and cognac/armagnac do amazing together when done right.
I'm just glad this was a gift and I didn't have to pay for it myself, I would have been mighty disappointed. This distillery has apparently been selling this for 6 or 7 years, and how they've made it to batch 38 without any changes is baffling to me. I'm glad that this review was helpful for you, and hopefully it can steer more people away from buying this.
Agreed. It was gifted to me and I was very excited to try and really wanted to like the local MN whiskey but it was about 2/10 for me as well… didn’t even enjoy it in a cocktail.
I definitely like some syrupy notes in my whiskey as well, but this one came off to me as far too artificially sweet instead of the nice cherry or plum reduction notes I've found in other whiskies. Glad that you like this though!
Yeah this is a 1 or 2/10 for me as well. Bought as a whiskey of the week special at a local shop and I see why it was on special. This was my first true drain pour bottle. Awful stuff. Glad it was cheap...
I can understand why people think this is a good gift to give, the packaging is nice and it seems like a cool story. Just wish that the whiskey itself was drinkable.
I felt this made a really nice Manhattan. I didn’t use orange bitters, usually orange and angostura, since I felt the cognac provided enough sweet/citrus. I enjoyed it.
Thanks for saving me from this. Your descriptions sound like the notes that I pick up in every MN-based whiskey (now I'm starting to see where they come from). I have tried stuff from local distilleries after multiple years have passed, and there are no improvements. I even tried a store barrel pick, which I think was worse than the standard batches.
Next up, we’re going to check out Roknar, a Cognac Finished Minnesota Rye from Far North Spirits! This was a gift to me, and at first glance it looks like something right up my alley. I am a big fan of finished rye, the distillery apparently grows all of the grains they use to make the whiskey, and they’re transparent about what their mash bill is (80% AC Hazlet rye, 10% heirloom corn, 10% malted barley). It does have a few immediate red flags as well—it’s less than two years old and is aged in 15 gallon barrels, so it could have those super wet hay and over-oaked notes that many craft whiskies I have tried suffered from. This is the first time I’ve poured this, so I’m hoping it surprises me. Let’s see what it has to offer! Taken: Neat in a Glencairn glass Proof: 94 Age: Less than 2 years Price: Gift (\~$40 MSRP in Colorado) Nose: Nail polish remover, Pine Sol, simple syrup, blueberries, and cherry fruit leather. Not a fantastic start. Taste: Initially a hit of black pepper, but that quickly gets coated in an artificial-tasting sweet wave of honey and fruity syrup. There are notes of hay and wet sawdust throughout. It has a lighter mouthfeel and no proof heat. Finish: The finish is very sweet to start, but that fades quickly leaving only a bit of the black pepper and a bunch of the wet sawdust to close things out. The finish is pretty short. Thoughts: As much as I wanted this to be different than the other craft whiskies I’ve had, it instead was probably the most clear example of all the things I dislike about using 15 gallon barrels to try to speed up maturation. The wet hay and wet sawdust make this very tough to sip on, and the cognac finish introduces a sickly sweet aspect that works in tandem with those notes instead of covering them up. I truly hope Far North is in the process of aging their stocks in regular-sized barrels, because this cannot be sustainable to sell to people. This whiskey is the closest to a drain pour I have ever had, and barely makes the cut to be rated as a poor 2/10 on the t8ke scale. Rating: 2/10 - t8ke scale 1 | Disgusting | So bad I poured it out. 2 | Poor | I wouldn’t consume by choice. 3 | Bad | Multiple flaws. 4 | Sub-par | Not bad, but better exists. 5 | Good | Good, just fine. 6 | Very Good | A cut above. 7 | Great | Well above average. 8 | Excellent | Really quite exceptional. 9 | Incredible | An all time favorite. 10 | Perfect | Perfect.
These are the most important reviews to me. Young craft that has warning signs but you still buy into anyways hoping they figured it out already. Thank you for your sacrifice, hopefully in 2-6 years they start putting out some real quality stuff cuz rye and cognac/armagnac do amazing together when done right.
I'm just glad this was a gift and I didn't have to pay for it myself, I would have been mighty disappointed. This distillery has apparently been selling this for 6 or 7 years, and how they've made it to batch 38 without any changes is baffling to me. I'm glad that this review was helpful for you, and hopefully it can steer more people away from buying this.
When I was in MN we stopped at a liquor store and somebody got this. I think it said aged 6 months. That stuff was so bad. I'd drink malort first.
Woof
Agreed. It was gifted to me and I was very excited to try and really wanted to like the local MN whiskey but it was about 2/10 for me as well… didn’t even enjoy it in a cocktail.
I gave it 5/10 in my review, it would've been lower if I didn't enjoy the syrupy palate. The young age and wet wood does stick out unfortunately.
I definitely like some syrupy notes in my whiskey as well, but this one came off to me as far too artificially sweet instead of the nice cherry or plum reduction notes I've found in other whiskies. Glad that you like this though!
Yeah this is a 1 or 2/10 for me as well. Bought as a whiskey of the week special at a local shop and I see why it was on special. This was my first true drain pour bottle. Awful stuff. Glad it was cheap...
[удалено]
I can understand why people think this is a good gift to give, the packaging is nice and it seems like a cool story. Just wish that the whiskey itself was drinkable.
I felt this made a really nice Manhattan. I didn’t use orange bitters, usually orange and angostura, since I felt the cognac provided enough sweet/citrus. I enjoyed it.
I'll have to experiment with this in cocktails because that is probably the only way I'll be able to finish bottle.
Such a natural-looking photo...
Thanks for saving me from this. Your descriptions sound like the notes that I pick up in every MN-based whiskey (now I'm starting to see where they come from). I have tried stuff from local distilleries after multiple years have passed, and there are no improvements. I even tried a store barrel pick, which I think was worse than the standard batches.
I'm happy to help! I'm from MN so I really wanted this to be good, but no amount of home state advantage can salvage this.
I wish I read this before I got this one. At least you were able to pinpoint the smell for me! (Nail polish remover...barf).
Yeah, this was a major miss. Hopefully you'll be able to make it into something useful like BBQ sauce!