High-rye bourbon is a whole thing. The general idea is that the higher the rye content in bourbon, the more “spiciness” and depth it’ll have. That’s absurd. There are amazing bourbons that have exactly zero rye in the mash bill (recipe) and are spice bombs and deep AF. Hell, even boiling down “rye” to “spicy” is pretty absurd, in and of itself.
Rye whiskeys are certainly sharper, more floral, funkier, and grass-forward and all of that sometimes computes as “spicy” in our heads. But “spices” in whiskey generally come from yeast strains and wood aging and not the type of wheat (rye is a type of wheat) in the recipe.
So what is going on in “high-rye” bourbons? A lot of the flavor profile basically boils down to high-rye bourbons being sharper on the palate. Compared to high-corn bourbon, a high-rye bourbon will be less sweet, less cherry, and less vanilla creamy. Instead, it’ll seem sharper (apple/pear, sage, herb-heavy) and funkier (think sourdough rye bread with caraway or dill), which makes for a different (not more complex) whiskey.
Now, I love me some rye whiskey. It’s my preferred American whiskey pour and cocktail base. So it tracks that I’d lean toward high-rye bourbons, too. Surprisingly enough, I’m not that crazy about them. I like my bourbon sweet and full of vanilla cream, dark cherry, winter spice, and old leather — or “classic”, as it were. There are some rye-heavy bourbons that I do dig, however. So I figured it was high time to line up some rye-forward bourbons for a blind taste test.
Just for some sort of clarity here, I’m defining “high-rye bourbon” as any bourbon with 20% or more rye in the mash bill. That makes our lineup today the following bottles:
- Woodinville Cask Strength Straight Bourbon Whiskey
- Green River Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey
- Bulleit Bourbon Barrel Strength Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey
- Brother’s Bond Straight Bourbon Whiskey Original Cask Strength
- Square 6 Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey High-Rye Bourbon
- Heaven’s Door Aged 10 Years Decade Series Straight Bourbon Whiskey
- Bardstown Bourbon Company Origin Series Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey
- Remus Repeal Reserve Straight Bourbon Whiskey Repeal Series VI
- Four Roses Small Batch Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey
- Still Austin Cask Strength Bourbon Whiskey
My wife was kind enough to shuffle and pour these for me. I then tasted through all 10 pours and ranked them by taste alone. It turns out all of these are pretty goddamn good, though a few weren’t as balanced as they could be. That last bit actually made ranking them pretty easy. So read through, find the tasting notes that jump out at you, and then click those price links to see if you can get the bottle in your region!
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Part 1 — The High-Rye Bourbon Tasting
Taste 1
Tasting Notes:
Nose: Mocha and leather mix on the nose with fresh-cut green grass and piping hot cornbread dripping with butter and caramel sauce, creating a very grain-forward/crafty vibe.
Palate: The palate starts off with a nice and subtle barrel char leading toward Almond Roca toffees, cherry-chili tobacco, and velvety vanilla cream before those sweet porridge grains kick back in, confirming this as a very crafty bourbon.
Finish: The finish leans into a stewed apple with a hint of clove and sassafras that, in turn, leads to almond tobacco and plenty of cedar wrapped in old leather.
Initial Thoughts:
Well, this is delicious, balanced, and runs deep. I like this one a lot thanks to that matrix of, well, everything. This whiskey just works.
Taste 2
Tasting Notes:
Nose: There’s a hint of dry cornmeal on the nose with clear and rich butterscotch (which feels a little young) alongside vanilla pudding cups, wet brown sugar, and a hint of an old leather jacket.
Palate: The taste holds onto that leather note as a foundation and builds layers of sticky toffee pudding with vanilla buttercream, a handful of roasted almonds, and a thick buttery toffee sauce tying it all together.
Finish: The finish is green with a big note of fresh mint that leads back to the leather with a whisper of dark fruit leather and Red Hots.
Initial Thoughts:
This has a really solid base that gives way to a balanced and lovely profile. It was a little thin on the finish but nice nonetheless.
Taste 3
Tasting Notes:
Nose: Sweet woody notes next to oily vanilla open the nose with a rush of black peppercorns, red chili pepper, and a hint of dark caramel.
Palate: The taste delivers ripe peaches next to more peppery spice and a hint of Christmas spices, with the vanilla taking a backseat and the oak really stepping in to shine.
Finish: The end is spicy, hot, oaky, and peachy, with a hint of caramel corn that fades pretty quickly.
Initial Thoughts:
This was another solid pour. Again, the finish didn’t quite land for me. Still, this was pretty classic bourbon with a good woody spice to it.
Taste 4
Tasting Notes:
Nose: This opens with a balance of old leather boots and freshly cracked black pepper next to a hint of walnut shell, vanilla pod, and orange zest.
Palate: The palate leans into what feels like star fruit as orange marmalade, salted butter, and fresh honey drip over rye bread crusts.
Finish: The end comes with a good dose of peppery spice and old leather as those walnuts and orange combine with a handful of dried fruit and a dusting of winter spices on the finish.
Initial Thoughts:
This has a nicely balanced profile that goes above and beyond. It nails the finish too with a great warming depth. This is a nice one.
Taste 5
Tasting Notes:
Nose: Huge sweet grain porridge notes attach to old figs dipped in pine-y honey as rich (almost wet) pipe tobacco drives the nose with hints of old winter spices that lean sharp and woody.
Palate: Those spices really amp up on the palate with cinnamon sticks, clove buds, and allspice berries leading to a soft eggnog nutmeg creaminess with a hint of vanilla pods and dry cacao nibs all swimming in a bowl of white grits.
Finish: The dryness of the vanilla and winter spices take over the finish as the sip fades, leaving you with powdery cinnamon, dark chocolate, and vanilla with a whisper of apple chips/bark in there too.
Initial Thoughts:
This is a grain bomb that balances out really well toward complex and rewarding whiskey. It’s crafty, sure, but has a deeply rendered bourbon vibe that’s almost fresh.
Taste 6
Tasting Notes:
Nose: There’s a tannic old oakiness on the nose (this is older) with hints of pecan waffles covered in maple syrup with vanilla butter.
Palate: The taste is pure silk with salted caramel, vanilla cream, black licorice, marzipan, and a hint of cinnamon-pecan ice cream with a dusting of powdery chocolate in malt.
Finish: The end has a moment of warmth thanks to that cinnamon before lunging toward old porch wicker, cinnamon bark, star anise, pear tobacco, and old leather with a hint of potting soil.
Initial Thoughts:
This is like sampling silk in a glass. It’s luscious. It’s also delicious.
Taste 7
Tasting Notes:
Nose: There’s a nice sense of toffee, corn husks, and apricot jam on the nose with a hint of eggnog just kissed with spearmint.
Palate: The creamy eggnog — vanilla and nutmeg heavy — drives the palate toward a whisper of cedar and mint chocolate chip with a touch of cedar bark.
Finish: The end is short and dry with a hint of vanilla pod, old cherry syrup, and dank tobacco in a cedar box with a touch of red chili and dry black tea leaves.
Initial Thoughts:
This is good, classic bourbon. It’s a tad on the thin side at the end but there’s enough leading up to that to forgive it. I can see this making a killer cocktail base.
Taste 8
Tasting Notes:
Nose: The nose on this one is complex and meaders through mint fields and caramel apple stands as hints of old boot leather, plum jam, winter spice, and a hint of sweet oak round things out.
Palate: The palate opens with a rich toffee before a warmth takes over with a soft spice (nutmeg and allspice) before woody vanilla and creamed honey take over.
Finish: The end feels like a handful of candied fruits wrapped up in leathery tobacco leaves with a hint of cedar bark and dried mint in the background.
Initial Thoughts:
This is classic bourbon that feels like it has a good dose of rye in it — that mint and apple really stands out. This is also a lush bomb and almost impossible not to love.
Taste 9
Tasting Notes:
Nose: Soft and sweet apple and cherry woods greet with a good dose of sour red berries dusted with brown winter spices, especially clove and nutmeg.
Palate: The palate leans into soft and salted caramel with a hint of those berries underneath while the spices get woodier and a thin line of green sweetgrass sneaks in.
Finish: The finish is silky and boils down to blackberry jam with a good dose of winter spice, old wood, and a hint of vanilla tobacco.
Initial Thoughts:
This is amazingly well-balanced and has a good sense of rye and bourbon that works in all the right ways. It was on the thinner side, but not overly so.
Taste 10
Tasting Notes:
Nose: This is really fruity. Think a tropical, hazy IPA with clear notes of pineapple, lemon-lime, and maybe a slight hint of savory papaya next to more a-typical bourbon notes of vanilla, holiday spices, and caramel.
Palate: There’s a clear sense of those spices on the palate with a hint of dark chocolate leading back to all that fruit, a touch of marzipan, and a dash of vanilla cream pie.
Finish: The end warms a bit with the fruitiness waning towards a spicy, choco-tobacco end.
Initial Thoughts:
This is great but really blows out the ABVs in the end. It’s hot, hot, hot and a little of the profile gets lost. Still, this is a pretty tasty whiskey overall.
Part 2 — The High-Rye Bourbon Ranking
10. Still Austin Cask Strength Bourbon Whiskey — Taste 10
ABV: 59%
Average Price: $60
The Whiskey:
The folks at Still Austin have spent the last six years perfecting their grain-to-glass whiskey experience. The juice is rendered with grains from Texas and water from the ground beneath their feet, all imbued with a crafty Texas vibe in every sip. The actual whiskey is a two-year-old high-rye bourbon (25% Elbon rye grown in Texas) that’s batched to highlight the bright fruits of the new and crafty whiskey.
Bottom Line:
This is only here because of that hot AF finish. Had this been poured over a rock, it’d be much higher. That said, I think this would make a solid cocktail base as mixing this will calm that finish down and let the rest of the beautiful profile shine through.
9. Bulleit Bourbon Barrel Strength Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey — Taste 3
ABV: 60.1%
Average Price: $45
The Whiskey:
This is Bulleit letting its high-rye bourbon whiskey (25% rye) shine at full force. The bourbon is small-batched from hand-selected barrels and bottled at the new Bulleit distillery in Kentucky with their own juice mixed in with some old sourced barrels that they’ve been stewarding for years now.
Bottom Line:
This is the opposite of the last entry in that the finish just sort of disappeared. Again, that makes this a great candidate for building a great cocktail.
8. Green River Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey — Taste 2
ABV: 45%
Average Price: $38
The Whiskey:
Green River Distillery has been pumping out contract distilled juice for a while. In the spring of 2022, they finally released their much anticipated Green River Bourbon to much hoopla. The bourbon is a blend of five years and older barrels of bourbon made from a mash bill of 70% corn, 21% winter rye, and 9% malted two-row and six-row barley.
Bottom Line:
This is a nice whiskey that’s clearly made for mixing whiskey-forward cocktails. Use it accordingly.
7. Bardstown Bourbon Company Origin Series Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey — Taste 7
ABV: 48%
Average Price: $44
The Whiskey:
This new expression from Bardstown Bourbon Company is the team shining a light on their own barrels. The juice for this one is made from a mash bill of 36% rye, making this a classic “high-rye” bourbon. The blend is then built for perfect cocktail mixing.
Bottom Line:
This is 100% the same as above. Good profile, a softer finish, great for cocktails.
6. Four Roses Small Batch Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey — Taste 9
ABV: 45%
Average Price: $35
The Whiskey:
Four Roses Small Batch Bourbon is a blend of four whiskeys. The blend is split evenly between the high and less high-rye bourbons (35% and 20% rye respectively) with a focus on “slight spice” and “rich fruit” yeasts. After six to seven years of aging, the whiskey is blended, cut with soft Kentucky water, and bottled.
Bottom Line:
This has a nice balance, a great finish, and good overall rye vibes throughout. This is nice but did feel like it’s made for mixing cocktails more than slow sipping, but only barely.
5. Square 6 Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey High-Rye Bourbon — Taste 5
ABV: 47.5%
Average Price: $89
The Whiskey:
This exclusive line from Evan Williams and Heaven Hill is a true craft bourbon experience from a huge distiller. The whiskey in the bottle was distilled and aged at the Evan Williams Bourbon Experience on Whiskey Row in Louisville, Kentucky. The mash bill for this one is very high rye with 52% corn, 35% rye, and 13% malted barley. The whiskey then ages for just north of five years on Whiskey Row before it’s batched in extremely small batches and bottled with a touch of that local Kentucky limestone water.
Bottom Line:
This is a craft bomb whiskey that balances out amazingly well. Yes, you’ll have to dig the sweet porridge vibes in your bourbon. For me, that’s what makes this fresh and fun. Well, that and the great overall profile.
4. Brother’s Bond Straight Bourbon Whiskey Original Cask Strength — Taste 4
ABV: 57.9%
Average Price: $80
The Whiskey:
The newest release from Ian Somerhalder and Paul Wesley is an evolution of their brand. The whiskey in the bottle is a blend of three bourbons (all MGP of Indiana) which create a four-grain bourbon with a mash bill of 65% corn, 22% rye, and wheat and barley mixed for the final 13%. That blend was then bottled as-is.
Bottom Line:
This is just good whiskey, folks. Drink it however you like your whiskey poured.
3. Remus Repeal Reserve Straight Bourbon Whiskey Repeal Series VI — Taste 8
ABV: 50%
Average Price: $129
The Whiskey:
This year’s Remus Reserve is a mix of six to 14-year-old bourbons. Buckle in. The blend is made from 2% of a 2008 bourbon with a 21% rye mash, 27% from a 2012 bourbon with a 21% rye mash, 29% from a 2014 bourbon with a 21% rye mash, 17% from a 2012 bourbon with a 36% rye mash bill, and 25% from a 2014 bourbon with that same very high rye mash bill. Once vatted, the whiskey is just touched with water for proofing and bottled as-is.
Bottom Line:
This had a wonderful balance of funky rye and classic bourbon that just works. This is another pour that you can enjoy however you like your whiskey — neat, on the rocks, or in a cocktail.
2. Heaven’s Door Aged 10 Years Decade Series Straight Bourbon Whiskey — Taste 6
ABV: 50%
Average Price: $99
The Whiskey:
This is the first release in the new series of Bob Dylan’s Heaven’s Door Tennessee whiskeys. The juice is a 10-year-old straight bourbon with 20% rye in the mix that was made in Tennessee but wasn’t charcoal filtered before or after aging. The sourced barrels were blended and just proofed down before bottling without any other fussing.
Bottom Line:
This is f*cking delicious whiskey. I don’t even care if there’s rye in the mix. It’s just too good.
1. Woodinville Cask Strength Straight Bourbon Whiskey — Taste 1
ABV: 58.54%
Average Price: $70
The Whiskey:
This craft darling from Washington State is all about local ingredients. The mash is rendered from locally grown corn, rye, and barley in a 72/22/6 ratio. The spirit is distilled in Western Washington and then shipped to Eastern Washington to age for at least five years. That whiskey is then batched and bottled as-is with no fussing or cutting.
Bottom Line:
This is a perfect pour. It’s balanced. It highlights herbal rye and classic bourbon creaminess. It’s also just really freaking good.
Part 3 — Final Thoughts on the High-Rye Bourbon
Any of the top four entries in this ranking are going to be smart buys. They’re all delicious in their own ways and each one does highlight rye in a special way. I’d say grab number five, the Square 6 High-Rye Bourbon, if you’re looking for a craftier version with a lot of grain-forward vibes.
The rest are all solid mixing bourbon options with the Four Roses Small Batch being the standout. Still, you really want to focus on the Woodinville Cask Strength and Remus if you want the best of the best. Those two bottles rule.