Buzzard's Roost Cigar Rye

Overview
Buzzard's Roost Cigar Rye is a rye whiskey sourced from MGP and finished in barrels cold-smoked with Kentucky cigar tobacco leaves, distinguishing it from typical flavored whiskies through a transparent, secondary maturation process. This release aims to deliver bold tobacco integration into a young, high-proof rye base, appealing to enthusiasts seeking innovative flavor profiles without gimmicks.

Specs at a glance

Good to know
Founded in 2019 by Judy Hollis Jones and Jason Brauner, Buzzard's Roost specializes in double-barrel maturation and partners with Independent Stave Company for custom barrel profiles. The cold-smoking process uses actual Kentucky cigar tobacco leaves in a toasted, level #1 char secondary barrel, applied to a balanced MGP rye for honest tobacco character.

Tasting notes

• Nose: Ashy smoke dominates alongside herbal scents, citrus peel, honey sweetness, cinnamon spice, and allspice notes.
• Palate: Smooth tobacco leads with bitter ash and herbal balance; spicy layers of honey, brown sugar, cinnamon, peppercorn heat, clove, licorice anise, lemon, and orange citrus unfold.
• Finish: Lingering peppercorn and clove spice with ashy tobacco persistence.

Notable details

• Production: Sourced MGP rye, minimum 105 proof bottling, non-chill filtered secondary finish in cold-smoked cigar tobacco barrels.
• Lineage: Buzzard's Roost brand emphasizes collaborative barrel innovation since 2019.
• Availability: Limited batch production positions it as a collector's item in a competitive rye market.

"Buzzard's Roost Cigar Rye successfully integrates tobacco smoke flavors into a well-blended young MGP rye, making it a worthwhile purchase at $75 despite market gimmicks." – The Bourbon Culture

Closing
A bold, smoke-forward rye that rewards rye purists with genuine tobacco nuance and youthful vigor.

Sources

[1] Thebourbonculture – "Buzzard's Roost Cigar Rye Review"

[2] Breakingbourbon – "Buzzard's Roost Cigar Rye Batch 3 Review | Breaking Bourbon"

[3] Thewhiskeywash – "Buzzard's Roost Whiskey Review: Char #1 Rye, Cigar Rye & Barrel Strength Bourbon"

[4] Thebourbonculture – "Buzzard’s Roost Cigar Rye Review"

[5] Breakingbourbon – "Press Release: Buzzard’s Roost Brings Back a Fan Favorite - Cigar Rye"

[6] Bourbonblog – "Cigar Rye Whiskey: Buzzard’s Roost New Releases Uses Barrels Cold-smoked with Aged Kentucky Tobacco"