Sampling bourbon at a local whiskey festival.
I live in a typical American town, far from Kentucky, in a state with a surprisingly active whiskey scene. There are local whiskey clubs, a rotating lineup of whiskey-themed dinners at community restaurants and plenty of dedicated retailers that select high-quality single barrels for their patrons. There are multiple Facebook groups dedicated solely to local whiskey happenings. Lines form in the wee hours of the morning for well-publicized single barrel releases and there are, ahem…,strong rumors of an active local gray market that’s always open for business.
If you live in the U.S. and can relate to this story, you’re not alone. The United States has embraced whiskey culture in a way that seemed unfathomable at the turn of the century. The domestic whiskey market has always followed a cyclical boom-bust pattern during its history, yet these feel like unprecedented times. What makes this current market boom different? The internet—and social media in particular—not only connects us with others around the globe, but it makes it much easier to tie local communities together like never before. In my local online and in-person communities, I see photos and discussions about all kinds of American whiskey, including bourbon, rye and American single malt among others.
Ask an American whiskey drinker what they’re into and most of the time, they’ll keep it simple and say “I like bourbon”. This is a gross oversimplification of the likely, more complicated answer: “I drink bourbon—both rye-based and wheated, as well as rye. I’ve also tried and enjoyed wheat whiskies and straight malt whiskies a few times.” While accurate, it doesn’t exactly flow off the tongue.
Today’s whiskey consumer is familiar with the two most important legal requirements used to categorize American whiskey. Regardless of the grains used, most categories of American whiskey must be aged in brand-new, charred oak. The real distinction, however, comes down to the grains used in the whiskey’s production. Whiskey must be created from a mash bill containing at least 51% corn or rye to be called “bourbon” or “rye” whiskey, respectively. That same 51% major grain requirement can also apply to malt whiskey (not to be confused with single malt) and wheat whiskey.
At first glance, these designations give the impression that different categories result in clearly defined flavor profiles. In reality, though, most styles of American whiskey mash bills lie on a broad spectrum of grain proportions and consequently, a continuum of flavors that makes it impossible to pigeonhole each style into a single flavor set.
For example, the most in-demand bourbons made at the Buffalo Trace distillery (including Eagle Rare, Stagg, and E.H. Taylor) use their “Mashbill No. 1”—a low-rye mash bill that’s strongly rumored to contain less than 10% rye. By comparison, Four Roses “B” mash bill contains 35% rye, well above the generally accepted “high-rye” threshold of 20%.
Speaking of Four Roses, the distillery recently announced two new mash bills that illustrate the wide dynamics of bourbon perfectly. The first new mash bill is comprised of 52% corn, 43% rye and 5% malted barley—a whiskey made with almost as much rye in the recipe as there is corn. The second mash bill is made from 85% corn, 10% rye and 5% malted barley. Four Roses uses several different yeast strains, but assuming all other production factors are the same, these two whiskies will likely taste very different despite both bourbons being made at the same exact distillery.
Expressions made from a blend of multiple whiskey styles are becoming more and more common as distilleries emphasize flavor over convention. Here are a few examples of bottles that have no classic categorization, but have made waves over the last few years.
High West Bourye
This list wouldn’t be complete without first mentioning High West Bourye, one of the earliest examples of modern whiskey made from a blend of straight bourbon and straight rye whiskies. The source whiskies have changed over the last decade, but the premise is always a combination of well-aged bourbons and ryes.
The 2024 edition is comprised of several whiskies, each aged at least 10 years. The components include straight rye whiskey from mash bills of 95% rye, 5% malted barley and 80% rye, 20% malted barley. These are blended together with straight bourbon whiskey from mash bills of 75% corn, 21% rye, 4% malted barley as well as 78% corn, 10% rye, 12% malted barley.
Wild Turkey Master’s Keep Unforgotten
Wild Turkey is no stranger to blending bourbon and rye together, though it hasn’t always been on purpose. In 2010, a distillery employee mistakenly blended bourbon and rye stocks together. Making the best of a bad situation, the whiskey was released with the title Forgiven, a nod to making the best of an honest mistake.
A few years ago, the distillery took a more deliberate approach to this blend of whiskey styles with the release of Wild Turkey Master’s Keep Unforgotten. Unforgotten is made from 13-year-old bourbon blended with 8 and 9-year-old rye. This blend was then finished in rye casks in Wild Turkey’s historic Warehouse B and bottled at 105 proof.
Wyoming Whiskey Outryder
Wyoming Whiskey’s Outryder takes a unique approach to marketing by leaning heavily into its status as a whiskey that doesn’t fit neatly into one category. The name Outryder helps further illustrate a unique approach that results in a “best of both worlds” flavor profile. Wyoming Whiskey describes this expression as a blend of “an almost Rye Whiskey and a High Rye Bourbon,” bottled at 100 proof. It’s the distillery’s first foray into the use of rye whiskey in any capacity.
Redwood Empire Lost Monarch
Sonoma county’s Redwood Empire burst on the scene in the 2020s with expressions like Emerald Giant and Pipe Dream. Their bourbon and rye blend, Lost Monarch, is named after the 321-ft tall coastal Redwood tree of the same name. Lost Monarch is “a blend of 3 to 14-year-old Bourbon and 3 to 14-year-old Rye Whiskey.” The whiskey components are 55% rye from a mash bill of 94% rye, 5% malted barley, 1% wheat and 45% bourbon from a mash bill of 74% corn, 20% rye, 4.5% malted barley, 1.5% wheat. Lost Monarch is the only whiskey in this list that incorporates wheat in the blend, albeit in trace amounts.
As distillers continue to push the boundaries of blending, it will be interesting to see what combinations are brought to market. Perhaps we’ll see a blend of wheated bourbon and straight wheat whiskey. How does the popularity of straight malt whiskey impact future projects? What about the bourgeoning American single malt space? Today’s whiskey consumer continues to demonstrate a willingness to branch out and try new things. If a distillery has a new or experimental blend in mind, now is the right time to test the market.
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