When Kevin Plank, the assured founder of sports apparel powerhouse Under Armour, set his sights on whiskey back in 2012, it wasn’t just another bold business move—rather it was a love letter to his home state’s long forgotten rye heritage. Plank, along with partner Bill McDermott, wanted to invest in Maryland in a way that resonated with the region’s past. Their inspiration? The limestone-rich spring at Sagamore Farm, a thoroughbred horse racing estate Plank had purchased in 2007.

That spring water—long prized in whiskey-making—sparked research that led them to uncover Maryland’s once-booming rye industry. Before Prohibition, more than 40 distilleries thrived in the state, their spicy, full-bodied ryes renowned across the country. By the 1970s, they were all gone, casualties of war, changing tastes (aka the infamous whiskey crash) and consolidation. So Plank and McDermott saw a chance to resurrect rye in Charm City with Sagamore Spirits.

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The early days were about building a foundation. While they steadied themselves, and built their distillery in Baltimore’s Port Covington neighborhood, Sagamore Spirit initially sourced whiskey from Indiana’s MGP. One of the largest rye producers in America, renowned for their 95% rye / 5% malted barley mash bill, MGP’s recipe built labels like Templeton, Bulleit, High West and Redemption, while also being used by the likes of Angel’s Envy, Smooth Ambler, George Dickel and more. 

From the beginning, however, one of the ways Sagamore distinguished itself was utilizing a unique mash bill philosophy. Instead of leaning solely on MGP’s now-classic “high-rye” 95% rye, Sagamore uses two recipes—adding a “low rye” (52% rye, 43% corn, 5% malted barley) to the mix. By blending this other rye that hovers close to a bourbon in its high-corn grain bill, Sagamore creates a whiskey with rye’s spice but also a softer, sweeter profile. “We’re trying to educate the consumer,” Ryan Norwood, the brand’s Vice President of Operations, tells Maxim. “At the same time we’re trying to bring bourbon drinkers into rye.”

Those barrels gave the fledgling brand a foundation while their own Baltimore distillery took shape. In 2017, steel and copper finally met in Sagamore’s Patapsco River waterfront home, and the brand began laying down its own whiskey—mostly replicas of those twin MGP high- and low-rye whiskeys which built the Sagamore name. But the team made a deliberate choice: instead of flipping a switch, they slowly transitioned, blending their own whiskey into the MGP juice until Sagamore’s flagship Small Batch and Cask Strength expressions were fully Maryland-made—an achievement the former only achieved last year, and latter earlier this year.

That approach comes to full expression in Sagamore’s latest Reserve Series release: a 10-Year Rye, bottled at just over 110 proof (55.4% ABV). Made from some of the earliest MGP stock Sagamore ever purchased, the whiskey is both a farewell and a milestone—one of the last sourced barrels before the brand fully transitions to its own distillate. For Norwood, it’s a fitting capstone: “For me, rye kind of has that sweet spot between about six and ten years.”

Despite being sourced from Indiana, Maryland’s climate leaves its own fingerprint on the spirit. With humid summers and frigid winters, the state’s seasonal swings push whiskey deep into the oak barrels’ wood and back again, extracting flavor in bold strokes. Unlike Kentucky or Indiana, Norwood reveals Sagamore’s rickhouses often see proof rise during maturation, adding another layer of character. The result in the 10-Year is a whiskey the VP describes as “super balanced… with notes of peach crumble, roasted nuts, rye spice, with just enough sweetness to round it out.”

The 10-Year release is limited, and rye aficionados will likely snap it up for its SRP of $80. But for Sagamore it’s less about chasing hype than telling a story—about water and wood, about Maryland’s forgotten past, and about a decade-long gamble slowly paying off. Beyond being Sagamore Spirits oldest rye to date, the newest addition to its award-winning Reserve Series is also both an ending and a beginning, a tribute to the barrels that carried them this far, and a promise of what’s to come as more of their whiskey carries the unmistakable mark of Baltimore.

Follow our Deputy Editor Nicolas Stecher on Instagram at @nickstecher and @boozeoftheday.

Most Innovative American Whiskey Of 2024: WhistlePig Boss Hog XI – The Juggernaut Rye

We’d consider this for the best rye of 2024, but it’s so unique that we’d be anxious about misleading purists. WhistlePig traveled more than 7,000 miles from the bucolic forests of their 500-acre farm in Shoreham, Vermont to the deserts of India to unearth the secrets of thandai—an aromatic local drink born of nuts and spices. Spices which WhistlePig hoped would work their magic with the brand’s rye whiskey to craft the 11th chapter in their halo Boss Hog annual expression. And with this exploration in thandai, WhistlePig Boss Hog XI: The Juggernaut was born. But the exact wizardry of how the spicy Indian drink was married with the Vermont distillery’s oldest straight rye isn’t quite so simple. 

Carefully selected thandai spices were poured into stainless steel tanks holding WhistlePig’s foundational 4-year-old rye. There, the spices infused the whiskey for no less than 14 days before filtering them from the spirit. Stainless steel tanks were used instead of barrels so only the whiskey and spices would interact, without influence from wood characteristics. This newly mulled whiskey was never meant to be consumed, however—instead WhistlePig filled 127 barrels with it to season the virgin oak. When the barrels were ready, the mulled 4-year-old rye was dumped out and replaced with WhistlePig’s rare 13 year-old rye, which aged an additional 21 days in the finishing barrels. 

Bottled between 51.9 to 52.6 percent ABV, The Juggernaut Rye comes packaged in the Boss Hog collection’s sturdy display case, its beloved pewter Chief Pig Mortimer Jr. topper fully dressed in the style of the majestic elephant Raja, the tallest elephant ever recorded in India. $600 SRP

Maker’s Mark ‘Cellar Aged 2024’ Bourbon

There’s been a concerted effort throughout the bourbon kingdom to raise the agings of their bottles in order to proportionately raise the prestige (and obviously pricetags) of their offerings. 

Inspired by their Scottish peers who enjoy great profits from their highly aged single malts, bourbon faces greater maturation challenges because of the extreme heat and temperature fluctuations of their homelands, which means barrels in Kentucky (never mind in Texas summers) age quicker than Scotland. The worst possible outcome is you let it sit for a couple months too long, the oak overwhelms the profile and potentially ruins a fantastic whiskey. 

The effort instigated Buffalo Trace to first experiment with a small batch, and then build a full-size, temperature and humidity controlled rick house engineered via millions of data points extracted from their best natural aging areas. Likewise, it motivated Maker’s Mark to build a cooler, more balanced aging area carved out of their limestone caves. These sustainably built LEED-certified limestone cellars are designed to provide a unique—and more importantly, slower—maturation environment for their new Cellar Aged bourbons, released for the first time last year. 

Now Maker’s Mark Cellar Aged 2024 bottles the beloved Loretto, Kentucky distillery’s most mature bourbon ever: a gorgeous blend of 12-year (15 percent) and 13-year (85 percent) bourbon sold untouched at 59.7 percent ABV (119.3-proof). Of course it’s not just about age (although let’s be honest, that helps in marketing), Maker’s aims to deliver unique, previously unseen flavor profiles unlocked by longer and slower maturation. The limited-edition Cellar Aged 2024 bourbon’s extended mellowing adds notes of shortbread, lemon zest and toasted almonds to Maker’s signature dark cherry, caramelized brown sugar, cinnamon and vanilla foundation. $175 SRP

Uncle Nearest ‘Lost Chapter 1 – 777’ Anniversary Blend Whiskey 

Uncle Nearest christens its new Lost Chapter series with a hell of a whiskey: the 777 Anniversary Blend. Aged a full seven years to celebrate the Shelbyville, Tennessee whiskey endeavor’s seventh anniversary, we’d argue this is the most robust and unique bottle the family-run Uncle Nearest has yet released. The barrels used in Lost Chapter 1 – 777 were selected and blended by Victoria Eady Butler, Uncle Nearest’s four-time Master Blender of the Year and also fifth-generation descendant of Mr. Green, the first known African-American distiller in the U.S.

While an excellent barrel-strength blend, what makes the expression innovative is the code found on the neck tag, which allows you to read an unreleased chapter (hence the Lost Chapter moniker) of Uncle Nearest Founder and CEO Fawn Weaver’s new whiskey tome, Love and Whiskey: The Remarkable True Story of Jack Daniel, His Master Distiller Nearest Green, and the Improbable Rise of Uncle Nearest. 

Admittedly we only had time to scan a couple chapters of the book, but it brilliantly illuminates the role the only recently celebrated Nearest Green had on one of America’s most famous brands on the global stage. It’s heartening to see Mr. Green finally get his long overdue respect, including the erection of an upcoming statue, museum and four-acre park at their famous Lynchburg, Tennessee campus. Publishing the history of her family’s rich history in whiskey making is a momentous occasion for both Weaver and Eady Butler, and they chose one of their best whiskeys yet bottled to promote it. This expression is bottled at cask strength (between 55 percent to 60 percent ABV/110-120-proof) and is limited to 7,000 bottles. $139 SRP 

Abraham Bowman ‘Oak Series: French Oak’ Whiskey

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This year an entirely new Oak Series sub-category launched under the A. Smith Bowman Distillery’s Abraham Bowman vertical. Abraham Bowman’s Limited Edition Collection looks to “push the boundaries of American whiskey making methodologies,” and their new Oak Series dials down specifically on cask maturation. Meaning, the distillery is experimenting with different oak species found around the world, and how each varietal can nuance the bourbon within. For the debut bottle welcome Abraham Bowman Oak Series: French Oak.

“I like to think about our Abraham expression as a gamble: maybe if we try this it will turn out great!” A. Smith Bowman Distiller David Bock explains of his work under the Abraham Bowman label. “For more than a decade we have been aging barrels in different types of oak hoping our gamble would pay off. Knowing we have multiple oak experiments coming, we thought the concept of an Oak Series was fitting. Our first oak trial, French Oak, has hit what I believe is its peak. As the other oak varietals age, we thought this release would be a great way to kick off what is about to come.” 

The juice that makes up the new expression was aged for exactly 12 years in French oak—however the barrels were treated differently, some charred and some left uncharred. Demand for the quite fairly priced $100 Abraham Bowman Oak Series: French Oak was so high the distillery only sold the bottles via an online lottery in April. Prices on the secondary market are sure to be markedly higher. Learn more

Heaven’s Door ‘Exploration Series I Calvados Finish’ Whiskey

For the debut spirit in Heaven’s Door’s new Exploration Series, Master Distiller Ken Pierce and Master Blender Alex Moore started with their highly regarded straight Tennessee bourbon whiskey, aged for at least 5 years, then finished the juice with a strong Gauloise twist. First they took casks from Normandy that soaked in delicious Calvados apple brandy for at least 2 years, emptied them out, and replaced the juice with their own 5-year-old straight bourbon. Then they toasted some French oak staves to a medium-heavy brown, and dumped those planks into the Calvados barrels. Voilà. 

This secondary aging process allowed the Heaven’s Door whiskey to steep in the toasted French oak staves while also soaking in the Calvados barrels for a double French combo punch. The resulting Heaven’s Door Exploration Series I Calvados Finish whiskey earns notes of sweet cider and baked caramel apple from the brandy, and baking notes like butter croissants, oak and brown sugar from the toasted staves. 

“Our new medium-heavy toasted French oak staves bring forth balanced complexity and enhanced aroma, culminating in a dark color and a smoother, creamier mouthfeel,” Master Blender Alex Moore tells Maxim.  “It provides a truly enriched flavor experience.” 

Despite its potency (bottled at 54 percent ABV/108-proof), Heaven’s Door Exploration Series I Calvados Cask Finish Tennessee Straight Bourbon Whiskey is not only sumptuous but also surprisingly smooth, with very little heat on the throat. $80 SRP

Few Spirits Smashing Pumpkins Bourbon

Few Spirits’ founder & Master Distiller Paul Hletko pioneered his Evanston, Illinois distillery with innovative spirits, such as their Cold Cut Bourbon proofed down with cold brew coffee, or this year’s Smokeworks Whiskey made from cherrywood smoked malted barley. 

As an avowed rocker, Hletko has also pushed the needle teaming up with OG Lollapalooza headliner musicians to craft unique spirits that reflect the personalities of his collaborators — look no further than last year’s bourbon finished in tequila casks, a collab he made with Alice In Chains’ shredder Jerry Cantrell. 

Hletko keeps the Bullet With Butterfly Wings humming this year with another unique bourbon made in partnership with Smashing Pumpkins — its singularity ensured by cutting the whiskey down with Midnight Rose Tea instead of water. Where’s the collab, you ask? Well the tea is sourced from Madame Zuzu’s Emporium, which happens to be Pumpkins frontman Billy Corgan’s Highland Park tea shop just a quick jaunt from Few’s distillery. 

While the formula seems simple, the results are quite unlike anything you’ve likely tried. Start with Few’s excellent straight bourbon (70% Corn / 20% Northern Rye / 10% 2-Row Barley), aged 4 years, and then proof it down with rose tea water. The expression wraps up the Chicago love by tapping local artist Katelan Foisy to illustrate the ornate Art Nouveau-style label for Few Smashing Pumpkins Bourbon.

What you get is very soft bourbon, its edges smoothed out by rosewater, watermelon and sweet black tea. As you can hopefully tell by the description, this isn’t for purist #bourboneheads but more for those who love a good whiskey with a natural twist. 

Hletko specifically claims Gish, the 5-star indie debut from the Pumpkins, as inspiration for this gem—specifically the the opening track ‘I Am One.’ Not sure about that but he’s made a highly intriguing spirit nonetheless. SRP $56. 

Pinhook ‘Vertical Series 8-Year’ Rye Whiskey

Thoroughbred racing-obsessed whiskey endeavor Pinhook’s ongoing quest to gauge the inexorable effects of aging continue with the latest release in their Vertical Series: Rye 8-Year. What Pinhook’s been doing every year with both their bourbon and rye offerings is release a limited number of barrels in that Vertical Series, so you can try the Vertical Series 8 against the Vertical Series 5 against the Vertical Series 4—the very first in the collection—and taste with precision how the exact same mash bill evolves in the exact same casks over time. 

What a cool, simple and yet innovative concept. Using MGP’s widely used 95 percent rye/5 percent malted barley recipe, this fifth release in the Vertical Series sees Founder and Master Blender Sean Josephs’ juice really rounding into form, if not reaching its peak. Pinhook Vertical Series 8-Year Rye definitely feels like it’s getting close. 

Blending 32 barrels, bottled unfiltered at cask strength (54.2 perc ent ABV/108.4-proof), the cashmere soft Pinhook 8-Year Rye offers generous sweet and floral notes of brown sugar, ripe apricot and orange peel, with a touch of cinnamon and clove spice making things interesting. We’ll see how Pinhook’s last four Vertical Series installments improve as Josephs vows to end the experiment at 12 years, but the mind wonders how far this rye can run.  $85 SRP

Wyoming Whiskey ‘Outryder’ 2024 Whiskey

The story of Wyoming Whiskey’s Outryder expression is one born of rebellion. The fourth-generation cattle ranchers behind Wyoming asked their first Master Distiller Steve Nally to make a rye. He didn’t want to, so in 2011 the Bourbon Hall of Famer instead made an “almost rye” with 49 percent rye in the mash bill. And because that whiskey was used in a blend to create the inaugural Outryder, eventually those 2011 barrels were tapped. So in order to continue making Outryder, Wyoming Whiskey’s next distiller Sam Mead poured similar barrels in 2017 and 2018—however this time tweaked the recipe just enough (51 percent rye) to qualify it as an actual rye whiskey. 

Now it’s fallen on Master Blender Brendan Cook to blend these barrels and approximate the original Outryder. Using only non-GMO corn, winter wheat, winter rye and barley, all grown by local farmer Brent Raegeth in the nearby Bighorn Basin, the 2024 Outryder combines the “almost rye” whiskey with their new rye and the younger and older high-rye bourbon. 

Yes, it’s complicated—much like the juice itself. But the rebellion and peaceful compromise also makes for a unique and tasty whiskey. There are touches of peach and pear interlacing with the vanilla and caramelized brown sugars of bourbon, with sprinklings of chocolate, cinnamon and orange bitters from the rye. Wyoming Whiskey’s Outryder comes bottled at 50 percent ABV (100-proof). $85 SRP

Little Book ‘The Infinite: Edition 1’ Bourbon

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Little Book was the nickname sixth-generation Jim Beam Master Distiller Booker Noe gave his grandson Freddie when he was just a kid running around their Clermont, Kentucky campus. So it’s understandable that when Freddie finally got a chance to create his own bourbon line in 2017, he would dub it Little Book—a full 5 years before becoming Jim Beam’s new eighth-generation Master Distiller.  

And it appears 2024 is the year of expansion for Jim Beam bourbon under Freddie’s direction. First came Bookers The Reserves, which was the first expansion of the Bookers Small Batch Bourbon line since 2019.Now he’s also growing his own Little Book label by releasing the inaugural Little Book Infinite Edition, the first ever brand extension featuring whiskey laid down by three generations of Noe family distillers. 

Conceived to pay respect to more than two centuries of combined Beam and Noe family history, Little Book The Infinite Edition 1 combines four different whiskeys: a 20-year-old whiskey crafted by Freddie’s grandfather Booker, a 14-year-old crafted by his dad Fred and a 7-year-old Freddie distilled himself. The fourth being a Kentucky straight bourbon aged 8 years. 

Little Book The Infinite will be a perpetual blend, meaning Edition 1 will serve as the foundation of the line. Every year a new whiskey will be poured into this blend, similar to a Solera method, so every annual edition will have a little bit of liquid from the thee generations.  Bottled at cask strength (59.65 percent ABV/119.3-proof) The Infinite boasts Little Book’s known caramel, oak and creamy vanilla base, with the Edition 1 adding notes of black cherry, brownies and even smoke to the profile. $200 SRP

Sagamore Spirit ‘Manhattan Rye’ Whiskey

Back in 2020 Baltimore’s Sagamore Spirit experimented with a limited-edition twist on their famous rye that had everyone from Joe Flacco to Stavros Halkias in a B-more tizzy. So a scant four years later they’re returning to the well to offer Sagamore Manhattan Finish Rye Whiskey 2024. Launched in 2016 by Under Armour founder Kevin Plank with the goal of highlighting the legacy of his home state’s rye—which they say was a premier hub of rye whiskey decades before Kentucky began making waves—Sagamore wanted to see if they could conjure their favored spirit’s most famous cocktail, The Manhattan, strictly via barrel aging.

So they started with their highly acclaimed Sagamore 4-Year Old Straight Rye and aged it separately in barrels that held vermouth, bitters and cherry brandy for an additional 20 months, aiming to create a spirit with the herbal and bittersweet nuance of a Manhattan. The Manhattan Rye is a highly creative way to present Sagamore’s Maryland rye. $80 SRP

Frank August ‘Case Study: 04 4X Oaked’ Bourbon x Rye Whiskey

Like so many blenders, Frank August hunts whiskey barrels to sculpt a profile distinctly theirs. The distillery must’ve done something right, as since launching in only 2020, the awards have stacked up: the Small Batch earned Double Gold and Best of Class Finalist at the New York World Spirits Competition, Platinum at the Ascot Awards and a 91/100 IWSC score. Similarly its Single Barrel expression scored a San Francisco World Spirits Competition Double Gold and ‘Best of Class’ Finalist, with a 92/100 IWSC score. 

And of course, sales. Sure part of it is the elegant presentation: The minimalist sleek glass that holds the whiskey, the clean sans serif gold lettering and restrained labeling. Even the black-and-white marketing photography celebrating American icons. 

But of course in the end it all comes down to the juice. Beyond the two core releases (the aforementioned Small Batch and Single Barrel), Frank August developed the Case Study series as an homage to the 1945 American architecture program, which commissioned starchitects like Neutra, Eames, Koenig, Saarines and others to design sustainable, affordable and efficient housing to tackle the post-WWII housing boom. 

Akin to other labels’ experimental series, Frank August’s fourth 4X Oaked Case Study is a true wonder. Co-Founder Jonathan Crocker and his team developed a 4X Oaked process, essentially blending double-oaked bourbon barrels with double-oaked rye.

“While there is a lot of double-oaked bourbon or rye whiskey, and some blends of bourbon and rye in the market, I’ve never seen a blend of double-oaked bourbon and double-oaked rye; I believe Frank August is the first and only brand to do this,” notes Crocker, who adds their unique Proofed-in-Barrel process can be credited for the whiskey’s luxurious texture. “Rather than proofing the whiskey in tanks prior to bottling, which is what every brand does 99 percent of the time, we introduced the proofing process during the second barrel fill, targeting a 47.5 percent ABV at peak maturity,” he explains. “This novel approach created an exceptionally rich and layered whiskey that showcases the best of both bourbon and rye.”

After the initial proofing in the barrel, the double-oaked bourye blend is then aged again for an additional 12-14 months in its secondary barrel to develop “a beautifully balanced complexity,” adds the co-founder. “The result is a whiskey with depth, character, and a flavor profile that reflects Frank August’s uncompromising dedication to quality.” SRP $140 

Hogsworth ‘Batch 1 Blend #9’ Whiskey

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It shouldn’t surprise anyone that serial entrepreneur Raj Bhakta would frame his latest venture around the pig. The spirit company that put him on the map, WhistlePig, includes the plump mammal friends in the name. After selling WhistlePig in 2019 and buying a French chateau’s cellar worth of ancient Armagnac, Raj then went on to form Bhakta Spirits.

While their recent Hogsworth expression is in the Bhakta Spirits’ universe, the team are quick to point out that this new adventure aims to be a more playful expression of whiskey than Bhakta’s house of vintage Armagnac collection, such as their 1928—one of our favorite ryes of this year.

The first release from the new vertical, Hogsworth Batch 1 Blend #9, blends 53 percent bourbon from 2019 (from Tennessee and Minnesota) with 47 percent Armagnac from 1982, 2010 and 2012 vintages. In total the blend’s average age is 9.4 years for every drop. The result is like many of Bhakta’s better spirits: the caramel and vanilla punch of American bourbon softened with the dulcet orange peel and ripe red apple sweetness of the Armagnac. Hogsworth ‘Batch 1 Blend #9’ Whiskey is on this list for its value, making a nice introduction into the pricier world of Bhakta’s vintage spirits. $45 SRP

Old Elk ‘Master’s Blend Series Infinity Blend 2024’ Whiskey 

Founded in 2013 in Fort Collins, Old Elk quickly joined its Colorado brethren in increasing the prestige of the Centennial State’s whiskey-making prowess. It helps that they enlisted Master Distiller Greg Metze and his four-plus decades of experience into the fold, rewarding him with a Master’s Blend Series of limited edition releases a couple years back. 

In 2021 they launched an Infinity Blend that is part of the Metze-helmed Master’s Blend, and it continues into 2024. The idea is to emulate infinity blends bourbon fans make at home, pouring in the last drams of various bottles into a dedicated decanter and keeping that mix going indefinitely. With their official Infinity Blend, Old Elk aims to use this expression as “a sort of autobiography of a long and distinguished career” for Metze, which includes almost 38 years at Lawrenceburg, Indiana’s famed MGP megaship. 

The high-proof (55.5 percent ABV/111.5-proof) limited edition perpetual blend begins with last year’s Infinity Blend 2023 as the base (15 percent), then adds in handpicked barrels of Old Elk’s newest expressions—including their 9-Year Old Wheated Bourbon (61 percent), 7-Year Old Straight Rye (12 percent), and 10-Year Old Wheated Bourbon (12 percent)—to fill out the order. This year’s Old Elk ‘Master’s Blend Series Infinity Blend 2024’ boasts notes of honey, roasted nuts, baking spices and dark chocolate over the expected oak and vanilla. $150 SRP

World Whiskey Society ’12-Year-Old Rye Finished in Awamori Casks’

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As we said earlier this week when we shared Wyatt Earp American Single Malt, the relatively young World Whiskey Society—only founded in 2020—has a clear and simple mission statement: collect exceptional whiskey from anywhere on the planet, regardless of borders, age them in special casks (if need be), and then share them with whiskey aficionados wherever they may dwell.

One that recently stood out is their 12-Year-Old Rye Finished in Awamori Casks that WWS released late summer. Starting with Indiana sourced rye with MGP’s famous 95 percent rye / 5 percent malted barley mash bill, the WWS crew took the rye and finished it in rare casks that previously aged awamori. 

Awamori is a fermented spirit unique to Okinawa, Japan using long grain rice which is normally simply stored in clay pots. However in a tradition half a millennia old, a small amount is separated and aged in Japanese oak. These unique Japanese influenced casks add brine, toasted coconut and even mango to the traditional MGD rye notes of cinnamon, black pepper and spice, adding a touch of umami to the brown sugar sweetness. $170 SRP

Follow Deputy Editor Nicolas Stecher on Instagram at @nickstecher and @boozeoftheday.

Best New American Rye Whiskey Of 2024: Proof & Wood ‘One Term Presidential Dram Single Barrel’ Rye Whiskey

No matter which side of the political aisle you’re on, one thing we can (almost) all agree on is the consistent quality that comes out of Proof & Wood founder Dave Schmier’s label. Whether it’s their Tumblin’ Dice expressions or LTO one-offs, if you see the Proof and Wood label you can count on that whiskey delivering. Part of their DC Collection, which also includes The Cabinet Blended Whiskey, Representative Bourbon and Senator Rye (all barrel-proof), the rare Presidential Drams fittingly only come out during POTUS election cycles. Now in its third edition (the first, in 2016, was highly limited), the 2024 Presidential Dram offers two options: the 8-year-old Two Term Presidential Dram Straight Bourbon and 4-year-old One Term Presidential Dram Single Barrel Rye. 

We’ll happily polish either one to forget the hair-pulling limitations of our two-party system, but we lean slightly more towards the latter as that was what we found ourselves pouring copiously in early November. The Single Barrel expressions come from two options, a 95 percent rye/5 percent malted barley from MGP and a Minnesota-sourced 85 percent rye/15 percent barley recipe with a bit of a softer, smoother palate. Both aged at least 4 years, or one presidential term. While its potency should be able to strip red, white and blue paint, the barrel being 59.25% ABV (118.5-proof), the rye is so luscious and smooth you’ll hesitate adding even a drop of water to dilute its wonder. But fret not, slowly proofing on your own will slowly reveal layers of flavors as arcane as bureaucratic legalese.

Schmier selected the name for his Proof & Wood endeavor to underscore what many believe are the two most critical factors in a whiskey’s final result: the particular wood and barrel quality used to age it, and offering it without dilution. Only available for a limited spell, Proof and Wood’s One Term Presidential Dram Single Barrel Rye accomplishes the mission. Buy here

Michter’s ’10 Year’ 2024 Rye Whiskey

This spring Michter’s offers its 2024 10-Year Rye, a globally anticipated vintage that is widely considered one of the best ryes released annually. Michter’s mastery of the category cannot be overstated, as they’ve been releasing their US*1 Rye since 2003, and the 10-Year Rye since 2000.

“When we restarted Michter’s [in 2000], we had a real passion for rye and believed that people who tasted a high quality American rye would like it. With the support of many great bartenders across the globe, well-made American rye was introduced by Michter’s to a new generation of whiskey lovers,” Master of Maturation Andrea Wilson says, highlighting how renowned spirits authority Robert Simonson credited Michter’s Rye for why so many American rye brands incorporate a Michter’s-aping green on their label. 

Rye boasts a rich American heritage dating back to the 1700s, but Wilson points out very few American ryes remained in production after Prohibition. As time passed the category virtually disappeared with the exception of stalwarts like Wild Turkey and Indiana’s MGP. While the US market is much more accustomed to MGP’s widely distributed 95 percent rye/5 percent malted barley recipe, as well as that of Canadian rye, Michter’s proudly produces what they dub a “Kentucky Rye,” which they see as deeper and more complex thanks to the malted barley. Think baking spices, cinnamon, nutmeg and clove coupled with citrus, honey, and caramel—“without the distraction of excessive pepper notes,” adds Wilson.

“Michter’s rye is beautifully integrated with layers of flavors that dance across the palate, creating a truly delicious whiskey experience… our house style is to create a rich and balanced rye with a nice warmth on the finish.” The 2024 edition of Michter’s 10 Year Rye comes bottled at 46.4 percent ABV (92.8-proof). $200 SRP

Wild Turkey ‘Master’s Keep Triumph’ 2024 Rye Whiskey

Once again Wild Turkey’s halo Master’s Keep series returns with its 2024 expression: Triumph. The collection can get experimental, such as 2022’s version Unforgotten, which blended a 13-year-old bourbon with 8- and 9-year-old ryes. Triumph, however, keeps it simple. For the 10th edition of the series (but only 9th available in America) Wild Turkey does nothing less than offer a 10-year rye, the oldest age statement ever used by the Lawrenceburg whiskey makers for a rye bottle. 

When most other American whiskey makers abandoned rye during whisky’s lean years, Wild Turkey never did—and hence are considered masters in the form. Which is noteworthy that this is only the second rye in the Master’s Keep vertical, after Cornerstone in 2019, despite launching the series back in 2015. But they saved a hell of a juice to represent the 10th anniversary. 

Utilizing Wild Turkey’s relatively low rye mash bill (51 percent rye/37 percent corn/12 percent malted barley) compared to say MGP’s signature 95 percent rye/5 percent malted barley recipe, you get the extra corn sweetness manifesting in interesting ways with fig, caramel, raisin, and blackcurrant adding texture over the cinnamon, dark chocolate and ground black pepper of the rye. Master Distiller Eddie Russell credits the influence of his famously rye-loving son Bruce in this year’s Master’s Keep, which is bottled at 57 percent ABV (104-proof), offering luscious texture along with unexpected smoothness in the only slightly proofed final product. Buy here

Distillery 291 ‘Experimental Batch #14’ Rye Whiskey

“What I wanted to do with these two Experimental Batches [#14 and #15] was to get some note of Kentucky in my whiskey,” Distillery 291 founder Michael Myers revealed to us at Wally’s, one of Los Angeles’ premier spirit retailers. “My whiskey is so Colorado, so big, so different than Kentucky whiskey, I was like, ‘Well, it’d be interesting if my rye and bourbon had this little Kentucky note to it.’”

So what his Distillery 291 team did, led by Myers and Head Distiller Eric Jett, was to take their two main recipes—80 percent corn/19 percent malted rye/1 percent malted barley bourbon mashbill and 61 percent malted rye/39 percent corn rye mash bill—and age them normally in their traditional barrels: first-fill, deep-charred virgin American white oak sourced from Barrel Mill in Avon, Minnesota. Then, the rye (Experimental Batch #14) and bourbon (Experimental Batch #15) were each poured into used bourbon barrels from Kentucky. In total each whiskey aged over 4 years in its twin casks.

Both of 2024’s Experimental Batches are bottled in 291’s signature Old West saloon-style glass with cork stopper. The Colorado-style ruggedness was assured with their 67 percent and 64.6 percent ABV respectively. Distillery 291 ‘Experimental Batch #14’ Rye is certainly powerful enough for an OK Corral gunfight, but smooth and caramel bodied like only the finest American whiskeys achieve. $108 SRP.

Lost Lantern ‘Far Flung’ Rye Whiskey

For the first time Lost Lantern decided to focus one of their collections entirely on a region of spirits, their Spring Collection 2024 strictly highlighting Midwestern whiskeymakers. While six highlight single distilleries, the seventh, Far Flung Rye, rises to the top. This Goldilocks solution cherry-picks many of the above single-distillery’s best ryes, all aged between 4-9 years, and blends them to perfection, creating a beautiful rye that we believe is better than the sum of its parts. The multi-distillery up-level rye consists of whiskeys from Cedar Ridge, Middle West Spirits, Starlight Distillery, Tom’s Foolery and Wollersheim.

“The flagship release of our Midwest Collection, Far-Flung Rye encapsulates why we at Lost Lantern are so very excited about Midwest whiskey—it showcases the depth and breadth of flavor that rye whiskey can have,” Lost Lantern co-founder Nora Ganley-Roper tells us. She credits the region’s cooler climates for its nuanced complexity, the lower temps allowing for a slower aging that builds a “delicacy” that’s harder to achieve in the hotter, more accelerated climates of Texas and the south—especially when barreling in virgin oak.

“This release has all of those things,” co-founder Adam Polonski vows. “Far-Flung rye has bright rye spice and fresh-cut grass on the nose. The palate is spicy, with rich oak and hints of dark chocolate and warm bread.” The Midwest collection is available for purchase at the new Lost Lantern Tasting Room in Vermont, as well as online. Only 486 bottles of the 121.6-proof Far-Flung Rye are available. $100 SRP

Bhakta ‘1928’ Rye Whiskey (with Calvados and Armagnac) 

Raj Bhakta made his name in the spirits world by helping forge WhistlePig, which can be credited with elevating the once dismissed Rye category into the luxury space it enjoys today. While he doesn’t deserve sole credit for the explosion of Rye, Raj most certainly had his place in its trajectory. After selling WhistlePig in 2019, the flamboyant entrepreneur’s next venture was purchasing a chateau in Condom, France whose cellar happened to contain one of the largest collections of ancient Armagnac in the world, with glass bonbonnes and barrels dating as far back as 1868. There in that cool Gallois cellar, Bhakta Spirits was born. 

Beyond selling doses of rare Armagnacs, single barrel bourbons and even whiskey from India, the most interesting of Bhakta Spirits experimentations begin when they take their rare beakers of ingredients and begin feverishly blending them to create entirely new flavor profiles the likes the world has never seen. It is in this vein that one of the best spirits we tried this year was born. Named for the oldest vintage in the blend, Bhakta 1928 is a rye unicorn blended with an ultra-rare (nearly) century-old spirit distilled in the Roaring Twenties. 

The base of the expression is a 5-year-old rye distilled in 2018, casked first in American oak and then second-finished in Virgin French oak. They then fortified the whiskey with two French brandies with drastically different flavor profiles: 30 percent Calvados—an apple brandy from Normandy—and 10 percent Armagnac, a cognac-adjacent grape brandy renowned for its luxurious mouthfeel. 

Beyond the eponymous 1928 vintage, other ages of the Armagnac date to 1941, 1962, 1973 and 1996. The end result is a spirit with a firm foundation of cinnamon and red pepper spice from the rye, balanced with sweet North Shore-size waves of ripe apple and rum-soaked raisin vanilla ice cream from the twin French brandies. All blended and bottled at their giant campus in Poultney, Vermont. And when we say campus, it really is a campus—as in, the 155-acre compound was formerly known as Green Mountain College; the brick buildings and towering oaks will remind you of every New England prep-school movie ever filmed. 

Raj Bhakta has a reputation for at times playing fast and more than a bit loose with the rules (for instance, the admittance of only a “drop” of the 1928 spirit it is named after), and that can earn its fair criticisms. But when Bhakta comes through with a spirit of such substance and unique flavor spectrums as his 1928 expression, you have to offer proper salute. Bhakta 1928 Rye comes bottled at 50 percent ABV (100-proof). $70 SRP

Sagamore Spirit ‘9-Year-Old’ Straight Rye Whiskey

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This year Baltimore’s Sagamore Spirit upped their game by releasing two of their oldest expressions to date: a 7-year-old 100-proof Bottled in Bond Rye, and Sagamore 9-Year-Old Straight Rye, both part of Sagamore’s Reserve Series. Launched in 2016 from a 5-acre waterfront distillery in Baltimore’s Port Covington neighborhood, the existential goal of Sagamore was from day one to reanimate the legacy of Maryland Rye—which, along with Pennsylvania and New York, was a premier hub of rye whiskey decades before Kentucky began making waves. And they’ve done a damn fine job, for as their juice ages it grows in complexity, heft and flavor spectrum. 

Sagamore blends two straight rye mash bills—one high-rye, one low—for a unique confluence of flavors, and aged them for nine years in new charred American white oak barrels. Wonderful oily viscosity, with notes of orange peel, pecan pie, hot chocolate and apricot jam before the rye spice takes you to the finish line. Delicious stuff that leaves us eager to see if Sagamore’s juice has peaked at 9 years or if it’s still got legs to grow. $79 SRP

New Riff ‘8-Year Old’ Rye Whiskey

As New Riff celebrates its 10th anniversary in the whiskey game they’ve made two big moves. First, elevating head distiller Brian Sprance to Master Distiller, giving the man behind the juice the juice he’s earned since being at the Newport, Kentucky distillery since day one. Second, adding two more SKUs to their core portfolio: 8-year-old versions of both their core bourbon and rye. They’ve been fully committed to the Bottled-In-Bond ethos since the beginning, bottled at 100 proof, sans chill filtration, with consistent mashbills. In the rye’s case, 95 percent rye and 5 percent malted rye, a tweak on MGPs famed recipe that uses 5 percent malted barley. Since we regularly stock our personal bars with their BIB expressions of both, it’s little surprise that doubling the aging time has only improved the New Riff whiskeys—and we give a tip of the hat to the Rye expression. 

It’s important to highlight that while New Riff earned no less than 10 medals at the 2024 San Francisco World Spirits Competition, their 6-Year-Old Malted Rye claimed the highest prize of Double Gold. Best yet, Sprance has said neither whiskey has yet peaked even after 8 years in the barrel, suggesting a barrel of New Riff rye at 8 years old “has a long life of aging ahead of it.” While we look forward to future New Riffs, we’ll take the time to enjoy a baking spice and cinnamon rich glass of their 8-Year-Old Rye. $70 

Buffalo Trace ‘Antique Collection Sazerac 18-Year-Old’ Rye Whiskey

If we keep our karma clean, wave hi to our neighbors and act like decent human beings all year, we may be lucky enough at the end of said year to receive samplers of the latest Buffalo Trace Antique Collection. The arrival is akin to being 8 years old and waking up on Christmas morning, a chrome Mongoose BMX bike gleaming under the tree lights. Initiate braingasm. 

This year was especially tickling because the package Buffalo Trace sent was worthy of saving forever: a stout wooden box stacked with beautiful examples of each whisky, this year with all five of the collection: the bourbon triumvirate of Eagle Rare 17-Year-Old, George T. Stagg and William Larue Weller, along with the twin ryes of Sazerac 18-Year-Old and Thomas H. Handy. 

While each of the BTAC is a gem, almost inevitably one of the bourbon offerings is usually crowned the best in show by the collective bourbonista hive mind. But 2024 may be the rare year where the pick of the litter goes to one of the two ryes—specifically the Sazerac 18-Year-Old. Quite simply the distillery’s low-rye Sazerac mash bill, normally bottled at 6 years, is allowed to triple its time chilling in virgin American oak in the Frankfort, Kentucky’s Warehouses K, L and M. And what delicious gains this extra maturation bestows. 

This chewy delight feels like a Michelin-starred pastry chef’s dessert, featuring flavors of blackberry jam, marmalade and tobacco. Of course with a near two-decade casking there’s going to be a strong framework of oak, but within that architecture lies layers of brown sugar and a cinnamony spice. A superb rye from America’s oldest continuously —but that’s to be expected. If you’re going to splurge on one BTAC for 2024, you may want to consider the Sazerac 18-Year-Old Rye—not a firestarter like others in the collection, proofed down to an eminently smooth 45 percent ABV (90-proof). Buy here

Rabbit Hole ‘Boxergrail Rye’ Founder’s Collection

This year Rabbit Hole label gave their widely loved Boxergrail Rye the Founder’s Collection treatment. Previous editions of Rabbit Hole’s annual halo Founder’s Collection editions like Mizunara and Nevallier made us swoon, so it’s little surprise that the extra-aged version of one of Kaveh Zamanian’s best pillar whiskeys, the Boxergrail Rye (95 percent rye and 5 percent malted barley), would become another staunch favorite. The concept is simple: The core portfolio Boxergrail Rye normally aged 6-years is aged another two and bottled at cask strength (51.9 percent ABV / 103.8-proof). Presto blammo, excellence in a glass. 

Only 1,200 bottles of Rabbit Hole’s Boxergrail Founder’s Collection were made, so it’s not easy to find. As with the previous Founder’s Collections, the Boxergrail Rye comes beautifully packaged in a magnetically sealed wood box, individually numbered with heavy crest-engraved gold cork, ready for happy consumption (and display). $300 SRP

Follow Deputy Editor Nicolas Stecher on Instagram at @nickstecher and @boozeoftheday.