Perhaps few Rye whiskeys capture the annual attention that A Midwinter Night’s Dram receives. Bottled by High West Distillery, this is their Rendezvous Rye finished in French oak port barrels. The combination leads to flavors most enjoyers compare to various notes of the holidays in a glass, which explains why it’s released toward the late fall. Each year is labeled with an Act, indicating the year, and a scene, which tells you the day of bottling. In the case of a Midwinter Night’s Dram Act 9 Scene 1, this means our bottle was bottled in 2021, on day 1 of bottling.
If you’re looking for the most current Act, Act 10, I’ve yet to get to try it, so we’re visiting last years offering which I was lucky enough to receive as a present!
A Midwinter Night’s Dram Act 9
- Age: No Age Statement (NAS)
- Base: Rendezvous Rye
- Mash Bill: A blend of MGP sourced Rye (95% Rye, 5% Malted Barley) and High West Distilled Rye (80% Rye, 20% Malted Rye)
- Finish: French Oak port barrels.
- Proof: 98.6 (A.B.V. 49.3%)
- Secondary Abbreviations: MWND
Sight: A lovely tawny-auburn.
Smell: The nose starts off with deep, jammy plums and fresh figs mixed into rye spices and light Christmas tree essence. Warm toasty vanilla comes through followed by a luxurious caramel, bursting ripe blackberry, and a raspberry sauce. Toasty pecans and baking spices join in with a little bit of an undercurrent of star anise and an underlying green peppercorn or herbaceous notes.
Sip: The vanilla leads off like a bomb with a nice caramel note and then a rush of raspberry and blackberry notes running from fresh to preserved. A light sweetness runs though, and notes of star anise, clove, and other baking spices join excitedly. The body is nicely balanced, and feels rich, and there’s a bit of chocolate and cigar going on here too to balance some of the sweeter dessert elements.
Savor: The finish carries forward a pleasant vanilla that underpins the entire mix. It’s full of subtle pressed plum and berry notes, complete with a bit of the port like tannins that you might associate with the skins. The rye spice grows with some of the oak influence as it lingers, complete with a little touch of that evergreen flavor.
A Midwinter Night’s Dram Act 9 is a beautiful mix of well balanced rye spice and delicious vanilla laden port. The influence of both elements stands taught, and they play a balanced and beautiful game of tug of war across the palate. The flavors are clear, clean, and deliciously demonstrate what one would expect from the holiday. With the profile, it’s not hard to understand how just sipping this by the tree, you favorite people, holiday decor, or a fire is worth the price of admission.
In Cocktails
In a Manhattan the fig and berry notes of the port explode out with the sweet herbal, fruitiness of the sweet vermouth. The amazing vanilla notes grab some caramelization, and sweet baking spices run through adding complexity. Other notes pop out, like chocolate covered cherries and raspberry jam. The dessert like vanilla icing elements give way to hints of espresso and cigar. Overall, the Manhattan that A Midwinter Night’s Dram Act 9 makes is special, unique, and deep.
A Midwinter Night’s Dram Act 9 vs Act 8
Over time, the make up of a Midwinter Night’s Dram has shifted. Originally, the mash bill was made up of not only MGP, but also some very old Barton distillate (some as old as purportedly 15 years+). While you’re unlikely to find any of the original acts, you still can come across acts that are primarily MGP and really leveraged French oak port barrels. A friend of mine was kind enough to provide a sample with one of these previous versions, Act 8.
Color wise, they’re quite similar, but the nose reveals some critical differences. Where Act 9 shows of it’s fruit from the port as the primary influence, Act 8 shows off this creamy vanilla and ice cream like sweetness. There are beautifully jammy notes that join in, with some rye spice, but the focus is more on the vanilla and dessert notes. This carries forward to the palate where the vanilla is more dominate, showing off the pastry cream like elements, including the texture. The spicing is great, and the fruit is more like a drizzled syrup and chopped preserved fruit add-in. The ending carries this linger forward, showing an amazing amount of vanilla. While they’re clearly very much related, the flavor profiles are significantly different.
In Review – A Midwinter Night’s Dram Act 9
A Midwinter Night’s Dram Act 9 is nothing sort of amazing, and a wonderful bottle at the original MSRP. Original MSRP is the operative piece of this statement though, which was only $99.99. This year the MSRP went up to $129 (and $150 in the state of Ohio). The secondary has shifted as well, going from $200ish to over $250 in some cases on the most recent batch. The problem is that while this is a delightful finished rye, it doesn’t overwhelm something like Isaac Bowman (admittedly a bourbon), which retails for around $40. So is it good? Sure, but it no longer justifies it’s price for either MSRP or secondary.
Be aware, the shifts in Acts also create potentially large shifts in the taste. So their Act 10 may be better or worse than the Act 9.
