3 Great Rye Whiskeys to Try Now (2024)
Three great rye whiskeys
The term ‘Rye Whiskey Season’ isn’t a new marketing plan cooked up by a struggling PR firm to get an uptick in rye sales. It’s a personal invention dedicated to the time of year when I buy and recommend rye. It’s also the time of year when people ask me what sort of liquor they should buy as a gift for a friend. My response to those questions is where I try to find the rye lover or new rye adventurer.
Trying a new rye should not be engaged on a whim or a dare. It should be done with wonderous anticipation. It’s a slow slip into discovery to find a pleasant appreciation in the wide range of flavors that rye offers and to find new bottles to enjoy and share. Rye whiskey season is all about expanding horizons and discovering unexampled flavors. It’s also about supporting new distilleries and independent brands.
Red Hazel Spiced Whiskey
70 Proof | $35.00
Red Hazel Neat
For those looking to buy outside the mega whiskey industrial complex, Red Hazel Spice Whiskey is a woman and minority owned whiskey brand from Jacksonville, Florida. Built from the ground up by the sibling team of Ty Burtin and TK Burtin-Johnson. Red Hazel is a two-year-old triple distilled rye whiskey and at its heart and soul, it is small batch. Established from the cherished memories of family and friends enjoying cocktails and great times together. The fire behind Red Hazel is founder TK Burtin-Johnson. She brings a passion for connecting with people who enjoy well-crafted Old Fashions in a new fashion way.
Tasting Notes
Whenever I hear about an infusion of cinnamon and whiskey (especially Rye), I get nervous. Thankfully Red Hazel is nothing like the bottled WMD they call Fireball. The cinnamon is woven into TK’s rye, folded in with balance and care. The nose is semi sweet with enough heat to remind you of the proof without being loud or bitter. It’s autumn leaves with hints of apples. On the palate the lightness of the cinnamon gives way to the rye almost immediately, very politely. There are hints of warm baked apples in the finish with a mellowness that lets new rye whiskey drinkers feel welcome.
Sipped over ice, neat, or in a cocktail, Red Hazel presents with an element of semi-sweet spicey zest. RH Rye has a depth of taste that can enhance classic cocktails like the Algonquin or Boulevardier. It’s a dive into difference for a Rye whiskey drinker who might be tired of the harsh high Ryes and looking to get away from the Kentucky burn.
Greenwood Handcrafted Rye
Greenwood Rye
84 Proof | $35.00
Greenwood Whiskey Rye whiskey honors an almost forgotten page in the storybook history of America. Greenwood Whiskey gets its name from a small district in Tulsa, a free colony called Greenwood. Greenwood Whiskey is about merging resources to make something better – one of the founding principles that made the Greenwood District of Tulsa thrive. Greenwood is a premium Black-owned Whiskey that stares history in the face while at the same time looks towards a brighter future. Each founding member has taken a different road to success but all of them contribute to the idea of supporting and supplying resources to other young entrepreneurs.
Greenwood Handcrafted rye is built with a mash bill of 51% rye and 49% corn. It’s aged for two years in used American Oak barrels. This combination gives Greenwood impressive rye notes without overpowering the sweetness of Corn. At 51% rye, it is a high rye rye that doesn’t overplay its own rye-ness.
Tasting Notes
This rye strikes a delicate balance of smokey sweet notes and youthfulness. It’s a surprising rye. It’s like finding out your 18-year-old nephew took a college sophomore to Prom. You’re left surprised and impressed, all while trying to figure out how they did it. You’ll get vanilla aromas on the nose with subtle hints of butterscotch and sweet cherry wood. There is an undernote of citrus that adds to its enjoyable yet slightly complex profile. This is the rye to try when experimenting with Rye based cocktails like The Diamondback or the Old Pal.
Reboot Beverages - Mt. Pleasant Club Whiskey
104 Proof |$70.00
Mt Pleasant Ingleside Terrace Rye
Troy Hughes and John Loughner bonded together and forged Reboot Beverages LLC with a handshake while sitting at a firepit back in January of 2021, but that’s just the tip of this Rye origin story. Mount Pleasant Club Whiskey origin presents as a tale from a 1960’s comic book. Imagine finding a 110-year-old whiskey bottle in your row house in the Mt. Pleasant district of Washington D.C. That celebratory souvenir from the original builders back in 1911 sparked a quest for knowledge that led to the building of a brand, Reboot Beverages LLC. Now, replace the old whiskey bottle with a mystical item and you’ve got the makings of a silver age comic book.
Their Ingleside Terrace Rye is crafted in the Pennsylvania style. Its mash bill consists of 45% unmalted rye, 30% malted rye, 24% malted barley and 1% chocolate malt. As many of the rye loving imbibers already know, Pennsylvania was the birthplace of Rye. An invention crafted out of a longing for a whiskey similar to what they would’ve enjoyed in their home countries.
Tasting Notes
The use of malted barley in combination with chocolate Malt presents a unique flavor profile created by only a few mid-sized brands who dare to dabble in the Pennsylvania style of Straight Rye Whiskey. Brown sugar and lush cherry wood are the first and foremost flavors that ring out in all of the best ways. Of course, the sweet notes of caramel vanilla & clove will dance and delight your senses. You can thank the malted barley and chocolate malt for that. The finish is a wonderful trifecta based in warmth with hints of spice, pepper & cherry. It might start off barrel bold, but it can be tamed with a few drops of water.
Each rye has a unique story to tell, reflecting the region where it is produced, the distillery’s traditions, and the people who make it. Buying and sipping new rye can help you to learn more about the process and the rich history of this Spirit and America. Oh, did I mention that Rye Whiskey Season has an educational component to it?
Looking for even more American whiskey and rye? Check out our Fall Bourbon (and Rye) Releases You Don’t Want to Miss.