Corbin Cash 1917 Merced Rye Whiskey Review

One of the common trends I find among craft distilleries is their close ties with a nearby family farm. This is not some sort of new phenomenon. When our country was brand new, farmers often took advantage of their excess crops by making their own spirits or having a local distiller make their whiskey for them. As industrialized farming and large distilling conglomerates took over, the farms and farmers who grew the grain became nothing but numbers to the large-scale distilleries.

Craft distilleries and local agriculture

Corbin Cash Distillery is the centerpiece of today’s review. They’re a distillery located near Merced in the San Joaquin Valley in California. But before they were known as a distillery, the Souza family (who has owned the farm for 5 Generations) held the claim as one of the largest sweet potato farms in the United States. After the sweet potatoes were harvested in the fall, they would spread Merced Rye around the fields as a cover crop to replenish the soil.

If that story sounds familiar, it’s probably because you read my review on High Wire Distilling Co’s Revival Rye Whiskey. The owners of that South Carolina distillery sources a local variety of rye called Abruzzi that was also used as a cover crop for a local farm. Similarly, Rosen Rye is now making a comeback in Pennsylvania-style rye whiskey after disappearing for decades thanks to farmers like Kline Farms.

Why am I telling you this? Because what we’re witnessing is the birth of whiskey that identifies itself through terroir. And while many people will disagree that whiskey can have a terroir due to the aggressive distillation process, there are many enthusiasts who swear by the unique properties of certain grains shining through in the final product.

Corbin Cash 1917 Merced Rye Whiskey

The reason why I am telling you so much about rye grain, farming and terroir is because it’s what makes Corbin Cash’s rye whiskey one-of-a-kind. It uses Merced Rye which is a varietal that’s only grown in California. This rye grain is used as a nitrogen-fixing cover crop over the sweet potato fields of the Souza farm. And just in case you’re wondering, yes, Corbin Cash also produces a barrel-aged sweet potato liqueur. I wonder how that is?!

A majority of non-Canadian rye whiskey out there uses some kind of corn, malted barley or malted rye content to add additional flavor or help ferment the mash. Not Corbin Cash. They use 100% Merced Rye in their mash bill and more than likely use commercial enzymes to help with the fermentation process.

I don’t know too much about their distillation process, but after consulting with my Northern-Indiana friend Mike, it looks like they are running a pot-to-column hybrid setup. They appear to have two different sized setups as of recently which indicates that business must be good because they have had to upgrade to the bigger pot still at some point.

After distillation is complete, the rye whiskey enters a full-sized 53 gallon barrel and is stashed away in a metal-clad warehouse (videos make it look like a large pole barn) where they mature for a number of years. According to the videos I’ve seen, they are mostly palletized but some barrels are aged on their sides.

At the time of this writing, Corbin Cash Distillery has released 8 and 9 year old Bourbon and Rye Whiskey (yes, they also make a bourbon!) in single barrel form. But the bottle I’m reviewing today is a non-age stated, barrel proof rye whiskey. As for the age, it’s been verbally said that it’s no younger than 5 years old when it first came out in 2021. This means that modern batches could be even older even though I’m not quite sure how to track the year a bottle was produced on the label.

Either way, this is a 123 proof rye whiskey that will set you back a wallet-wilting $100 (or more). Does it drink like it’s worth that much? Thanks to my friend Mike, I’m getting a chance to find out. I sampled this neat in a glencairn.

Tasting Notes

Nose: The “green” notes become apparent immediately with fresh, minty (peppermint) and herbal/botanical scents everywhere. Sweet aromas of honey and molasses are present, but take a little while to gain strength. I can also find the scents of rum raisin bread pudding and gingersnap cookies, the latter of which is definitely a sign that this is a full rye whiskey.

Palate: Dry spices that come off as hot! Cinnamon oil, cardamom, clove and anise all do a number on my tongue. If you love whiskies that drink what their proof states, then you’ll love the heat on this one. As the session goes on, I find notes of dry wood, ash, and dry leaves. The rye grain likely contributes to the peppermint and grassy flavors I find. Fruit flavors come by way of apricot and preserved Moroccan lemons. Strangely, I find a flavor throughout that reminds me of gravel.

Finish: Lingering peppery spice, citrus zest, gingerbread, and molasses. Rye notes especially stick out with notes of peppermint and oregano. The heat remains in your mouth long after the sip is complete.

Score: 5.9/10

Corbin Cash Merced Rye is an interesting rye whiskey that has lots of flavors to search for. I think it holds a lot of potential. But if I zoom out, I find myself thinking that this rye whiskey is only good to a certain point. There’s still a lot of dryness and some astringent notes that a better rye whiskey would not have in it. That’s not to say it’s bad by any means, just that it has a ways to go.

Final Thoughts

I would not recommend you buy this bottle. I don’t mean to poo-poo a brand that seems like it’s really trying hard, but this is too much money for a rye whiskey that tastes like it needs more time in the barrel. If it were around $40, it would probably be worth the price of admission to taste something different from the other craft ryes out there.

I don’t want to leave this review on a bad note, so I’ll say this – Corbin Cash Distilling looks like they’ve added a new still in the recent future. This means that the spirits coming off of that one could be noticeably different from the spirits that came off of the old still. This means that my review of this bottle could be obsolete in the near future if the profile changes with the new distillate. So even though I might not like it now doesn’t mean I won’t like it in the future. Let’s hope they can turn things around!