The Pennsylvania Rye Whiskey movement has been gaining momentum for almost a decade now. If you’re wondering why I haven’t covered it more, the reason basically boils down to accessibility. While I know there are dozens of distilleries releasing good products, they aren’t on the shelves of stores here in Indiana. And while I applaud them for finding their way into online retailers (which is the best most of them can hope for), I still don’t like to pay shipping fees for untested bottles.
That’s why I’m thankful that Liberty Pole reached out to me and asked if I’d like to try a bottle of their rye whiskey. I understand that some readers don’t like to see that I review bottles given to me by producers, but sometimes it’s the only way I will get my hands on one or even find out they exist!
After pouring over information on Liberty Pole and how they operate, this is what I’ve gleaned about how their rye whiskey. Keep reading if you’re a numbers nut and want to hear how the sausage is made. If not, skip to the tasting notes to find out what I thought!
Liberty Pole Rye Whiskey
I’ve been seeing one certain trend more and more in the distilling scene these days, and it’s companies that elect to ferment their sweet mash for longer than 72 hours. 72 hours is roughly the industry standard where the large majority of the sugars have been converted into alcohol by the yeast. If you look into a fermentation tank, the bubbling has essentially stopped and everything is still. For most producers, the juice isn’t worth the squeeze to let the mash continue to set in the fermentation tanks. Big producers know that they’re losing money for every hour after 72 that they haven’t moved the old mash out and put new mash in. The reason why I bring this up is because Liberty Pole allows their mash to ferment for twice as long – 6 days!
I also want to mention that Liberty Pole gets really specific and tells us that this “distiller’s beer” achieves an ABV of 8-10% at this point. That’s about the industry average. No mention on what yeast strain they use, but they do say they source their strain from Ferm Solutions which is Dr. Pat Heist’s (of Wilderness Trail fame) yeast company. That’s a good sign right out the gate.
Once the fermented mash is drained, it’s transferred to their Vendome Pot Still where it is goes through the first distillation pass to make the low wines (Liberty Pole says it comes out to be about 60 proof at that point). The second pass (to create the high wines) will reach between 130 and 135 proof. The heads and tails are cut out during this process.
After the distillate is put into a collection tank, it’s time to proof it down to its final barrel entry proof – 108. The water used for proofing is said to be obtained through reverse osmosis. No fancy limestone water for these guys! Haha.
The low barrel entry proof white dog is then put into fill 53 gallon barrels sourced from West Virginia Great Barrel Co. They were first given a heavy toast treatment followed by either a light or medium char. The barrels are then rolled into their “Kentucky Style” rickhouse and aged for four years – give or take. 2025 was going to be the year that they were aiming for to ensure that every whiskey was aged for at least 4 years. Despite their limited time distilling, this is an impressive number to get to.
Liberty Pole has an eclectic list of whiskies they’ve created so far. That list includes a wheated bourbon, a ryed bourbon, a peated bourbon and their Monongahela-style rye whiskey which has some wheat added into the mix. The mash bill for the latter (and this particular bottle) is said to be 74% Rye, 13% Wheat, 13% Malted Barley. Seeing no corn in the mash bill is good with me, but will the wheat throw things off? I guess there’s one way to find out. This is batch “E25” that I’m reviewing today and I sampled it neat in a glencairn.
Tasting Notes
Nose: I don’t know why this is, but this rye whiskey almost has the nose of a malt whiskey. On top of a classic malt note similar to cheesecake, there is a beautiful bouquet of orchard fruits (ripe apples and pears). Cherries, citrus fruit and breadfruit are also present with each sniff. Spices are on the soft side with ground cinnamon and clove showing up the most. The herbal notes aren’t as prominent as I thought they’d be – almost like the wheat in the mash bill is blocking them. At the very least, I feel like the wheat cloaks some of the rye characteristics.
Palate: Once again, I’m identifying more malt whiskey notes in this whiskey. And while I might fully admit that my palate could be off, I’ve had 5 different sessions with this over 3 weeks and I still find this to be the case. I want to take a moment to redeclare my love for malt whiskey of all types, so this isn’t a problem with me, but you may find it perplexing to identify what it is you’re drinking if you’re not familiar with them.
Moving on, I’d say that the orchard fruit notes and a hint of citrus fruits continue on the palate while herbal notes finally begin to show up where they belong. The spices from peppercorns and cinnamon become more robust than they were on the nose, which will be a good sign for rye whiskey lovers that prefer their drams on the spicy side. A honey/caramel sweetness rounds things out. The one thing I’ll ding the palate on is that it still feels like it needs a bit more age to it. The layers of flavors have not had a chance to meld together in an appreciable way just yet.
Finish: The malt whiskey “funk” continues to the finish. I swear it kind of reminds me of a Glen Moray Scotch in a way. Orchard fruit will escort your tongue out the door and there is even a mild amount of oak that I can pick up in its fleeting moments. Traces of herbs also leave on a soft and flavorful note. It’s a good finish with lots of flavor but I still feel as if another two years would really improve on how these flavors develop and interact.
Score: 5.9/10
Liberty Pole’s take on rye whiskey – especially a “Monongahela” style rye – is certainly interesting as this bottle shows. I’m going to be upfront with my true feelings and say that if I was an enthusiast looking to find that particular style, this might not be my first (or fifth) choice.
That’s not to say that this is a bad rye whiskey! On the contrary, it was new and unique and kind of thought-provoking to partake. The fact that it took me five sessions (and counting) to really nail down my opinions on the bottle is a good indication that it had a spell over me. I wanted to keep getting to know it because I felt like there was something new it had to show me each time it splashed inside my glencairn. For rye whiskey lovers, that’s half the reason why we love rye so much. There’s just something so different about it that bourbon doesn’t give us. We love the experience of that bold grain.
Final Thoughts
For the price ($60) and quality of this rye, I’d tell you to give it a shot. Don’t dwell on my rating as the end-all, be-all sign that you should buy something. Their interpretation of a rye whiskey should be experienced in order to be fully appreciated. I also feel more likely to suggest creative rye whiskies to other rye whiskey lovers because I know they’re more adventurous. Bourbon lovers are harder to convince to try something new and unusual. So whatever group you find yourself in, I’ve given you your answer on if you should pursue this bottle or not. The choice is up to you.
