The Prideful Goat is a non-producing distiller (NDP) brand founded in 2020 by Kristopher Hart and Randall Sullivan. Kristopher has a show on ESPN in Houston called Whiskey Neat, and Randall has his own show called Bourbon Real Talk. Kristopher and Randall partnered with Giant Texas Distillers (formally Gulf Coast Distillers) to create The Prideful Goat brand, but they do everything from choosing barrels, blending, quality control to label design. The first release of The Prideful Goat line was in September of 2020 with a 15 year cask strength unfiltered Kentucky sourced bourbon. The following year in December 2021 Kristopher and Randall released their first batch of The Prideful Goat 6 year rye whiskey. I reached out to Kristopher and he answered my many questions about The Prideful Goat brand and this rye release. Each Prideful Goat small batch rye is created from around 30 to 33 casks, sourced from MGP. The barrels come from Indiana as young as 4 years and are aged for another two years in Texas. Let’s see what makes this goat so prideful.
Taken: Neat in a Glencairn glass, rested about 15 minutes.
Sourced by: MGPi.
Proof: 116.
Age: 6 Years.
Batch #: 2.
Mash bill: 595% Rye, 5% Malted Barley.
Retail price: $65
Appearance: Dark amber.
Nose
Lots of toffee, graham cracker, sage, cloves, apricots, some lemon citrus, cinnamon spice and subtle pecan. As this pour opens up, the sweet toffee and herbal notes become more focused while the spice stays well balanced in the mix. This smells just like a toffee flavored cinnamon spiced graham cracker, topped with apricot jam.
Palate
All the sweet and dark toffee notes from the nose move to the palate with a delicious amount of toffee, caramel, sage, clove and apricot with some lemon citrus. The mouthfeel is very good. After the toffee-fest, cinnamon spice kicks in and covers the palate with some very delicious oak. The overall balance is very well done making this a very tasty and easy sipper, drinking way below its proof.
Finish
Cinnamon spice lingers for a very long time with toffee, sage, apricot, and pecans. A very good amount of delicious oak enters to create a medium long finish with graham cracker coming back around.
Conclusion
This is another bottle I’ve revisited since my original review. I now call this my “graham cracker bottle”. My original review said, “This little goat has exceeded my expectations and is a good value to boot” and I still stand by that statement. While it’s not super complex, I love what this profile delivers and to be honest, I haven’t had a rye quite like it since. Kristopher also mentioned to me recently (May 2023) that they have a few new things in the works including a rum finished rye. I love what these guys are doing and appreciate the emphasis on value. I’m looking forward to trying what they have coming down the pike.
Rating: 6.7/10.
1 | Disgusting | So bad I poured it out.
2 | Poor | I wouldn’t consume by choice.
3 | Bad | Multiple flaws.
4 | Sub-par | Not bad, but better exists.
5 | Good | Good, just fine.
6 | Very Good | A cut above.
7 | Great | Well above average.
8 | Excellent | Really quite exceptional.
9 | Incredible | An all time favorite.
10 | Perfect | Perfect.
