Rye

Minglewood Winter Rye

Minglewood Winter Rye

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.

Alberta Premium Cask Strength

Alberta Premium Cask Strength

Alberta Distillers is the oldest distillery in Western Canada, having produced alcohol for over 70 years. It is part of the Beam Suntory portfolio and is the source of rye whisky for a number of brands across the world, including WhistlePig. While the distillery does not produce a wide range of offerings under their own name, the ones they do have garnered a number of awards and mentions. A consistent entry in their lineup is the Alberta Premium Cask Strength. Released in yearly batches, it is bottled at slightly various proofages and is distilled from 100% Canadian prairie rye, something relatively unusual even in the rye whisky category, and aged for at least 5 years. A blend of pot still and column still distillation, it is aged in heavily charred (#4) first fill ex-bourbon barrels from the Jim Beam distillery, along with virgin oak barrels and second fill bourbon barrels. 

Workhorse Rye Standard & Strange

Workhorse Rye Standard & Strange

Producing whiskey for someone else is not the purview of only the giant distilleries. Craft distilleries do it too. Workhorse Rye was founded in 2011 by bartender Rob East. They focus mostly on rye whiskies and bitters crafted with local ingredients by workers paid a fair wage under good working conditions. The distillery cares very much about the ethics of their production and supply chain. A few years ago, they partnered with high end retail men’s clothing store Standard & Strange to release a one-off whiskey. Only 280 bottles were made, with a mash bill of 50% Admiral malt (heirloom barley from Yolo County), 25% Gazelle rye (from California), and 25% Purple Tibetan barley from south Arizona, all heritage grains. The maturation is comprised of 4/5 Mizunara Japanese oak and 1/5 ex-bourbon barrels. For some time, we thought the name of the whiskey was M.01XX, since that is featured prominently on the label.