Rough Rider and Pine Barrens are American Whiskeys produced by Long Island Spirits. The distillery was founded in 2007 and is located in Baiting Hollow, NY.

My boyfriend’s friend Dan is from Long Island, NY (although he lives in MA) and he recently gave these to my boyfriend when they exchanged Christmas gifts. Yes, I know it’s April but they had not seem each other in a while. I off course loved the gift because it’s product I had never tasted nor heard about.

Rough Rider Bull Moose (named after the Progressive Party which later became known as the Bull Moose Party, Long Island Native Teddy Roosevelt organized) is a Rye whiskey that is aged in three different barrels; new American Oak, bourbon cask and they finish it off in casks that previously held their Pine Barrens Whisky. (They don’t use an e in their whisky labeling of this product)

Tasting Notes

Nose: oak, leather, honey
Palate: leather, rye, honey and oak
Finish: creamy, burn with a strong finish

I always look forward to tasting a rye whiskey, but I was a bit let down by this one. There is nothing wrong with it, it is drinkable, but there is nothing special about it. To me it is simply an OK rye. If that is what you are looking for then this product if perfect for you. The price range is around $35-$40. I myself will be using it as a mixer rather than drinking it on it’s own.

Now on the other hand, I did like the Pine Barrens a tad bit more than the rye. The distillery is classifying this as an American Single Malt Whisky. What you need to note about this particular whisky is that it is not created using a regular mash. It is created from a barley wine styled ale beer.

Tasting Notes

Nose: pepper and oak (smells like pepper potato chips)
Palate: pepper, nutmeg and cinnamon
Finish: smooth and creamy

The smell of this whisky was very familiar to me, as it smelled like pepper potato chips, which I love to eat. This whisky is full of spices and if you were torn between this whisky or the Rough Rider I would recommend you to go for this one (priced around $45). There is more complexity and more taste.

I won’t go as far to say that I absolutely I loved it, because I didn’t, but it It has more bite to it and I could definitely drinking on it’s own. It was a lot better than I thought it would be after tasting Rough Rider first. There is so much potential with this whisky and a level of uniqueness that does make it worth trying.

Cheers!

PS: Thanks Dan for the gifts to Jim. I certainly appreciated it!

Note: The contents on my blog are solely my opinion. To me every palate is different! Although I may or may not like a product, I always recommend for people to try it and make up their own minds.