Putnam New England Rye Whiskey comes courtesy of Boston Harbor Distillery, which set up shop in said harbor in 2015. Fitting for its location, the brand is steeped in history. It’s located inside a brick building first built in 1859, and the many businesses it hosted over the years have served as namesakes for the distillery’s spirits. The rye is named after the building’s original owner: Silas S. Putnam, a canny entrepreneur that sold horseshoes to both sides in the American Civil War.
Putnam comes in a tall, tapered vessel that recalls a bottle of The Macallan, and looks handsome on any shelf or household surface. The bottle also carries proof of another historical tidbit: it was made in the Vendome Copper & Brass Works still no. 1776, in a remarkably on-brand case of serendipity.
As for the spirit itself, it’s a young whiskey aged in American Oak barrels for less than one year. Its mash bill consists of 95% rye and 5% two-row malted barley, and it is 86 proof. It’s medium amber in color and has a nose of oak, vanilla and rich Luxardo cherry.
On the front of the palate it proves far more mellow than the mash bill and proof might suggest. Its first flavors are toffee, caramel, and butterscotch and is almost like biting into a nougat bar. The round, rich flavors dissipate quickly as the palate warms and the rye spice takes over with a peppery kick.
It’s a great experience. However, the flavors appear and disappear quickly without too much of a lingering factor. That being said, it’s a round, delicious rye whiskey with a surprising and satisfying sweetness
that’s enjoyable as a sipper or in an Old Fashioned.
Putnam is currently sold throughout New England as well as in Maryland, Arizona, Georgia, and the Nashville and D.C. areas.
Stats:
— 43% ABV
— $40-$50
CE Rating: ★★★
