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I must admit I’ve had an aversion to whiskies made in the dry climates of the Rocky Mountain states. Nothing against those states as a whole (I lived in Colorado Springs for 3 years and never wanted to leave), but the high elevation, dry heat and lack of humidity have never seemed to produce particularly good whiskey. I loved High West’s early products, but they were all sourced from Indiana and Kentucky. Their pot still stuff is generally bad. Wyoming Whiskey also has strange flavor profiles that never taste right to me. I even poo-poo’ed Wildrye’s Five Drop Bourbon in a review I did a couple years ago.
To say I was shocked when they reached out and asked if I’d be willing to sample their new stuff is an understatement. It’s not often I say something is terrible followed by an invitation to give them a second try, but that’s exactly what happened. So here I am reviewing one of their more strange sounding releases: “Bourbon Barrel Rye.”
Bourbon Barrel Rye is not a bourbon
I’ve never claimed to be a smart guy, so let me tell you that it completely went over my head that this was not a bourbon. My eyes glanced over the label so quickly I just assumed I was drinking a bourbon because the word was in the name. Nope. This is a rye whiskey that was finished in a used bourbon barrel.
This rye whiskey came from Wildrye’s propane-fired Vendome pot stills. The water for distilling and cutting to proof comes from a spring and is reverse-osmosis treated. After the spirit is made, it’s put into Kelvin Cooperage barrels that were given a Level #3 char and then rolled into their metal-walled warehouse for maturation.
Wildrye spokespeople have claimed that Montana’s extreme weather swings rival those of Kentucky, so aging characteristics are similar. In fact, the distillery’s earliest release – Five Drops Bourbon – was a 1-year old bourbon that the distillery was trying to pass off as having absorbed the same amount of temperature extremes as four Kentucky seasons. To this day, I’m skeptical that’s true.
However, this new Heritage Collection release has been properly aged for at least four years. It also doesn’t use any of the signature sweet corn that their bourbon did from back then. Instead, this rye whiskey claims the mash bill is 75% unmalted rye and 25% floor-malted barley. Only after four years in oak does it get dumped into barrels that previously contained their bourbon and finished for nine months. Then it was cut to 100 proof according to the Bottled-in-Bond regulations.
Just twenty-four finishing barrels made the cut for this release which resulted in approximately 12,000 bottles. Availability is tight, predominantly in Montana, Idaho, and Colorado, with a limited online release via ShotsBox. According to Wildrye’s social media, their rye whiskey won a Double Gold Medal and their Bottled-in-Bond rye took home silver from Sip Magazine’s Best of the Northwest competition 2024. So expectations were lofty for this follow-up.
So how is it? Time to find out. I sampled this neat in a glencairn.
Tasting Notes
Nose: I’m greeted with a nose that’s still somewhat youthful and bread-y in nature. There are notes of forest floor (which I do expect some for a rye), green tea and geraniums. So I’m smelling the color green right off the bat. I also get light camphor that couples with vanilla and melted butter pecan ice cream. The tannins haven’t quite developed it smells like because all I’m finding is some ash on the nose.
Palate: The mouthfeel is quite oily to start. The flavors on my tongue mostly follow the nose with the green notes coming first. Herbal flavors like mint and sassafras follow some botanical flavors. Spices like cinnamon and coffee beans mingle with brown sugar and pumpernickel bread. For fruit, I’m finding citrus peel and grape skin while candied ginger accentuates them. The tannins are – once again – not entirely developed because the oak note I’m getting leans on the sour side of things.
Finish: Green notes continue on the tongue with lingering botanical notes, green peppercorns and a hint of mint. The baking spices perk up a little bit more to make themselves noticed with lingering flavors like cinnamon, anise and clove. I find cherry (finally) for fruit flavors and it’s accompanies by molasses and cocoa powder for some sweetness. I’m still not finding much in the way of oak with “ash” still being the dominant tannin.
Score: 5.2/10
After a long absence from this brand, the first new label I sampled shows much improvement despite the relatively low score. I’m also aware that this isn’t a true “apples to apples” comparison because my first bottle was a bourbon and this is a rye. But when it comes to rye whiskey, this does contain many of the flavors I think enthusiasts appreciate.
Wildrye still needs some more time in the barrel to improve the tannins and remove some of the bitterness. I wonder if it’s just the nature of the spirit instead of the aging process. I’ll have to dive into the other bottles that were sent my way to find out for sure.
Final Thoughts
Wild Rye’s Heritage Collection isn’t trying to be another Kentucky copycat – it’s much more distinct and seems to bely it’s Montana terroir (is that a thing?). The only bad part about their Bourbon Barrel Rye is that it still lacks cohesiveness due to its age. The bourbon barrel finishing does just a little bit to soften the rye’s spice without overshadowing its character.
At $79 MSRP, I think this will only be a niche product that will get bought up by locals or people who fall in love with Montana’s rugged beauty while they’re visiting. Whiskey enthusiasts from other states will probably not chase it. Does that mean you should? If you have an adventurous spirit side, then yes. Otherwise, I’m sure that Wildrye has something slightly better to offer. I need to dive into the other bottles they sent to find out.