High West A Midwinter Night's Dram Act 14: Sherry Casks Join the Port Finish for the 20th Anniversary

High West Distillery has released A Midwinter Night's Dram Act 14, the 14th annual edition of its seasonal rye and the release marking the distillery's 20th anniversary. It starts with High West's Rendezvous Rye, a blend of straight rye whiskeys aged four to ten years, drawn from three mash bills: 95% rye and 5% malted barley (MGP), 80% rye and 20% malted rye (High West Distillery), and 64% rye, 30% corn and 6% malted barley (Bardstown Bourbon Co.). Past editions were finished in Ruby and Tawny Port casks. Act 14 keeps those and adds three Sherry cask finishes for the first time: Amontillado, Oloroso and Pedro Ximenez. It is bottled non-chill filtered at 98.6 proof (49.3% ABV), with no added flavoring or coloring, at a suggested retail price of $124.99, down from $149.99 for Act 13. It is available in limited quantities nationwide beginning October 5, 2026, through the High West General Stores, highwest.com, and select retailers. The distillery describes notes of wild strawberry, blackberry preserves and fig on the nose, blood orange, cherry fruit leather and cinnamon-dusted plum crumble on the palate, and a finish of jam thumbprint cookie and spiced chai.

We have not reviewed a Midwinter Night's Dram, so there is no score here and no past review to point to. What we can say is that this is the one rye release the whole whiskey world watches every fall, and this year is the first time the finishing program has changed in a meaningful way, with Sherry casks joining the Port. It is a rye, not a bourbon, but it sits on the same shelves and in the same hunts.

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Source: High West Distillery announcement, October 5, 2026. Coverage: The Whiskey Wash.