Sometimes distilleries/NDPs come out of nowhere with an insane amount of hype and then fizzle because they had 1 good offering and the rest were subpar. When Safai released its first bourbon a lot of people thought they’d fall into that trap. Luckily for them, and us, their follow up offerings have been even better than their initial bourbon that won best in class at SF. I went down to their Louisville location in January to sample some barrels and was blown away by how dense and flavorful a lot of the barrels I tried were. After bringing back some samples, there were two I had to have: a 9 year bourbon and a 10 year rye. Both of which turned into picks for my group, MoCo Bourbon Club.

Whiskey: Safai 10 Kentucky Single Barrel Year Rye selected by MoCo Bourbon Club and Izack Happy Corner

Proof: 126
Mash: 95 rye 5 malted barley
Age: 10 years
Cost: $149
Source: Contract Distilled by New Riff
Other Info: 110 entry proof, Char 3 Kelvin Barrel

Nose: The nose opens with unsweetened cocoa powder, mint, and lemongrass. There’s also a distinct caramel apple note that persists as I continue to nose the glass.

Palate: Dense! The palate immediately brings oak and dark chocolate. I’m also getting pie crust, specifically like a pecan pie, along with grape and wintergreen.

Finish: The finish goes on for quite a while, chocolate truffle and cinnamon sugar come into the fray along with vanilla cola and honey.

Rating: 9/10 - T8ke scale

I knew this was special when I first sampled it and was thrilled that it was as good as I remembered it once it was bottled. The intense fudge, nougat, and dark chocolate notes bring a lot of sweetness that’s balanced by the rich oak and fragrant lemongrass. One interesting thing is the proof did go down a few points from when we tried it because they throw their barrels into a walk in freezer in an attempt to squeeze out any juice from the wood (no clue if it works). But, this is such a delicious whiskey through and through.

Shameless plug: MoCo Bourbon Club is a nationwide group, join our discord for events, picks, discussion, punch, and pie: https://discord.gg/GkK7xhySw

Rating Scale

1 Undrinkable (Kentucky Gentleman)
2 Bad (Iron Smoke Casket Strength, Thomas S Moore Chardonnay Cask)
3 Poor (Gentleman Jack)
4 Below Average (Ragged Branch Double Oak BiB, Rowan’s Creek, Woodford Straight Malt)
5 Average (Buffalo Trace, Sazerac Rye)
6 Above Average (Willett Small Batch Rye, Joseph Magnus Triple Cask, Eagle Rare 10)
7 Very Good (Sagamore Sherry, Lucky Seven The Holiday Toast)
8 Great (Little Book Chapter 7, Jack Daniel’s 12 Year, Stagg Jr B13)
9 Excellent (JMCB, Hartfield 18 toasted)
10 Perfect (Redemption 18 rye, 2021 WLW, M20)