Bourbons on high-rye side of the spectrum
I’ve always sought out the dark spicy notes of rye when drinking whiskey. I prefer its dry toastiness to the more cloying dominant notes of corn found in most bourbons. Rye’s powerful flavor, traditional in the whiskeys made in Maryland and Pennsylvania, gets added to bourbon in Kentucky to punch up the taste. High-rye style bourbons came into favor in the days of peaty scotch and hoppy IPAs, and stuck around for people like me to enjoy.
Bourbon, legally defined and regulated by the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau, is required to be 51% corn, which can tip the flavor to the sweet side. Many “high-rye” bourbons (which are not legally defined) balance the required corn with up to 36% rye in the mash bill (the combination of grains in the “recipe”). For reference, American rye whiskey must have 51% rye in its mash bill.
Here are some favorites for those who prefer their bourbon on the rye side.
High West Bourye
Released every February at an apres ski party at the distillery’s Park City, Utah, saloon, Bourye is a secret blend of mature bourbons and ryes that changes every year, but always focuses on a flavor profile accentuating the “earthy notes of a sweet corn field in fall (bourbon) combined with a dry rye spice finish,” says Brendan Coyle, the master blender for High West.
“Bourye was our first foray into what I call ‘eccentric blending,’ where we mix finished rye and finished bourbon,” adds Coyle. The resulting limited release is a rich treat for high-rye fans.
Four Roses Single Barrel Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey
Four Roses Master Distiller Brent Elliott gets paid for his palate. He gives seminars on tasting whiskey, so I asked him to describe the particular flavor rye adds.
“It doesn’t really taste exactly like anything else. It’s minty, spicy, herbal, with notes of cinnamon and nutmeg, at the same time bringing cocoa and caramel ... plus fruit like apricot or pear.”
That colorful description explains why Four Roses and other whiskey makers use a mash bill that’s high rye (35% for the Single Barrel) — rye adds a ton of flavor. Says Elliott of high-rye drinkers like me: “The rye speaks to ‘em.”
New Riff Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey
New Riff Distilling offers just that — a newish approach to traditional whiskey making. Located just across the Ohio River from Cincinnati, and just a half-hour from Lawrenceburg, Indiana, where much of the country’s rye for blending is distilled, New
Riff came on the scene in 2014, offering a rye-centric “progressive style of whiskey.” Says co-founder Jay Erisman, “high-rye wasn’t a style when we were born.”
They use 30% Northern European rye grain that is cleaned through sieves before the mashing process begins. The mash bill shows a lot less malted barley (as low as 4%) than that of most bourbon, which, according to Erisman, “makes extra room in the recipe for the rye to really shine.”
He asserts that rye ages faster than bourbon, which leads to high-rye bourbons showing better younger — a plus for those of us who don’t want to wait more than four years (and pay the extra money) for extra aged whiskey.
Lisa Futterman is a freelance writer.