Mark and Andrew Morrison began distilling in 2016 in a building that used to house the Minglewood Coal and Ice Company, a company that lasted nearly a century providing ice and coal to Wayne County until its closure in the 1950s. Located in Wayne Country, Ohio, the distillery has been seeking to make a name in the region, banking on word-of-mouth to fuel their growth instead of overextending and sacrificing quality. Their portfolio has white spirits like vodka and gin but they have a much larger variety of whiskies, ranging from bottled-in-bond bourbon and rye to a few flavored whiskies. The Minglewood Winter Rye is distilled from local winter rye, the plant being especially useful by lasting through the winters so it would grow rapidly after the snows left for early spring foraging.
Distillery: Minglewood Distilling
Age: NAS
Strength: 44%
Price: $34.02
Location: Wooster, OH
Nose: Black cherry, rye, spice
Palate: Almond, cherry, pecan, brown sugar
Finish: Cherry, rye
Comments: Want to learn more about Minglewood from the source? Check out our Whisky Wisdom interview with Andy!
Adam – I love the sweet palate on this rye. It feels almost like a cocktail in a glass. The cherry and rye flavor elements coupled with the spice are a perfect trifecta. It’s not complex, but not all delights need to be on a warm summer afternoon. I’ve had other batches of the Winter Rye and come away not as impressed but this one has hit the mark. I don’t often specifically delve into ryes, especially American ones, but this one hits a nice mark for me. My one quibble is that Minglewood is not very transparent about their whiskies on the bottles or websites. I don’t need all the details but would appreciate knowing the mash bill, even if it changed from batch to batch.
Bill – On the back side is some candied almond. It leaves me with a residual taste that finishes like a wine. Not quite earthy but more fruit forward. It feels like a wine in my mouth afterwards. Infinitely approachable. Anyone at any level of whisky exploration can have fun with it.
Anyone at any level of whisky exploration can have fun with it.
Henry – A sweet nose of candied pecans and almonds, brown sugar and corn syrup opens to a sweet – but not as sweet as the nose – palate. There is toast and vanilla there, but the fruitiness predominates. The finish is clean, light and juicy without being cloying.
Ben – Almost like candied cough syrup but not quite. Like being at a fancy restaurant and seeing the weird fancy stuff on your salad and loving that. The Winter Rye is like Umeshu, the plum wine in Japan.
