BARRELL RYE

®

We love intense flavors, so it’s no surprise that we adore rye whiskey. Grown around the world, no other grain delivers a bigger range of flavors or more regional specificity. That translates into singular, characterful whiskeys that form the base of some of our very favorite cocktails.

In a marketplace crowded with rye, ours stand out. All of Barrell’s ryes are created to be greater than the sum of their parts—even though we think their parts are pretty exceptional. We source whiskeys from producers around the world, giving us deep reserves of blending stock accessible to no other producer.

In true Barrell fashion, our limited-edition rye whiskeys showcase unique blends released at cask strength without chill filtration, giving them our signature intensity. With rye, we also enjoy experimenting with distinctive finishes to layer in nuance and complexity—because life is simply too short to settle for anything other than full flavor.

Barrell Rye Batch 004

10-year-old Indiana Rye barrels with notes of brown sugar and a touch of smoke had 5 and 6-year-old barrels layered in for fruit and spice character. 14-year-old Canadian barrels were added for their dry herbal notes. The result is fruit-forward rye with layers of depth.

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BLEND COMPONENTS:

Indiana: 5, 6, & 10 years old

Tennessee: 5 years old

Kentucky: 6 years old

Canadian: 14 years old

DERIVED MASH BILL:

Rye: 89%

Corn: 7%

Malted Barley: 4%

A blend of straight Rye Whiskeys
Bottled in Kentucky
115.7 proof cask strength bottling

AWARDS

Whisky Advocate Rating of 91
Fred Minnick (2023)
- #39 on the Top 100 Spirits
Men's Journal (2023)
- Best Cask Strength Rye Whiskey
Whiskey Raiders 2023 Best Whiskey Awards

FLAVOR NOTES

This rye blend highlights rye’s earthier side, featuring notes of tobacco, leather, and mole poblano. Its stewed fruit and wilder savory character recall the syrahs of France’s Rhône valley: blackberry and tapenade on the nose followed by flavors of bresaola and black pepper.

Neat

Appearance: Copper penny with pumpkin highlights.

Nose: Blackberry, dried apricot and Concord grape lead off. The grape introduces woodsy tones of blonde tobacco, birch oil and dandelion root. Rye lends its familiar bouquet garni, lemon verbena, and peppermint aromatics. Meanwhile an unhurried maturation has produced cashew, tahini and nocino.

Palate: The first impression mirrors the nose but here grape soda is joined by a dark amber maple syrup. Burnt marshmallow leads into rich espresso and black licorice. There’s a deep umami presence of leather, black olive, and grilled onion. The oak here is strong and extractive yielding clove, coconut oil, and pine needle.

Finish: A burst of blanche armagnac and rosewater volatiles make way for the piquant heat of mole poblano and black pepper on the tongue. The lingering impression is of juniper, thyme, and wormwood.

With a splash of spring water

The nose is completely transformed into something bright and fresh, featuring brioche, ricotta, and lychee. Its sweeter side has the nostalgic reverie of vanilla salt-water taffy and mint chocolate chip ice cream. By contrast, the palate’s notes of pumpernickel and Dijon mustard maintain its focus on the savory. The finish is resinous, developing mastic, rosemary, and lavender.

RECENT NOTABLE PRESS

Men's Journal lists Barrell Rye Batch 004 as one of the Best Rye Whiskey Brands to Sip Straight or Spice Up a Sazerac, Manhattan, or Old Fashioned.

Paste Magazine includes Barrell Rye Batch 004 and Barrell Foundation in their list of the Best Whiskeys of 2023.

Inside Hook lists Barrell Rye Batch 004 as one of its 10 Best High-Proof Rye Whiskeys in 2024, calling it "excellent and complex"

Fred Minnick tastes Barrell Rye Batch 004 and Bourbon Batch 035 saying Batch 035 "might be the best whiskey I've had from them" and calling Rye Batch 004 "a brilliant rye"

Breaking Bourbon reviews Barrell Rye Batch 004 reporting, "Barrell Craft Spirits' blending capability is again put into focus with this batch, which doubles down on pure drinkability above all else."

Previous Rye Batches

Previous batches

BATCH 003

A blend of straight Rye Whiskeys

Distilled and aged in Indiana, Tennessee, Poland, and Canada

Selection of 4 to 14-year-old barrels

Crafted and bottled in Kentucky

116.7 proof cask strength bottling

AWARDS:

San Francisco World Spirits Competition (2020)
- Double Gold
L.A. Spirits Awards (2020)
- Gold

FLAVOR NOTES

Rye Batch 003 is a blend of rye whiskeys from Indiana, Poland, Tennessee and Canada, all with distinct personalities and varying ages. We started with Tennessee Rye barrels with caramel and dried fruit notes and added the Polish Rye for its nuttiness and mouthfeel. We then carefully layered in 13-year Canadian Rye to bring out earthy notes of grass, spearmint and apple. The Indiana Rye was the finishing touch to highlight the candied fruit and spiciness you expect from a rye.

Neat

Appearance: A clear auburn with fiery orange highlights.

Nose: Sweet and earthy, like Indian pudding, halva, and shortbread. That theme is carried forward by corn sprouts, clay pots, honey, almonds, brown sugar and graphite weaving in and out. This is buoyed by bright and acidic kiwi, gooseberry, lemon curd and black cherry clafouti.

Palate: The high proof is tempered by rich peanut butter and a moderate sweetness that carries forward notes of molasses, coconut milk, and sweetened green tea. The relatively modest amount of tannin belies the oaky-driven flavors of pine resin, juniper berry, ginger and leather.

Finish: Holds the earthy theme, beginning with gentian, chewed cigar and mesquite smoke. As it grows gentler, some sweet cream and coconut take over and leave a lingering salty note.

With a few drops of spring water

Aromatic spices are unleashed, showing cinnamon churros, mace, and cumin. A deep umami character slowly evolves, resembling red beans and button mushroom. As the alcohol is pushed back on the palate, dessert notes of carrot cake and hefeweizen rush forward before fading out to be replaced by black pepper on the finish.

BATCH 002

Rye Whiskey

Distilled in Poland and Indiana

Aged in Poland, Indiana and Kentucky

Crafted and bottled in Kentucky

117.5 proof cask strength bottling

5-years-old

Indiana rye was aged in new charred oak barrels

Polish Rye was aged in new charred #3 oak barrels from World Cooperage

Mash bills: Polish malted rye, Indiana rye and malted barley

FLAVOR NOTES

Rye Batch 002 is our second release that expands on our interpretation of a traditional rye whiskey, combining two very diverse ryes. We selected barrels of a 100% malted rye distilled and aged in Poland for 5 years in new charred #3 oak barrels from World Cooperage. We then blended it with an Indiana high malted barley rye that was aged in Indiana and Kentucky for over 5 years. The Polish Rye is dry, with a rich nutty flavor, and pairs beautifully with the lush Indiana Rye, resulting in a sweet and savory balance of malted chocolate and roasted cashews.

Neat

Appearance: Sienna with polished brass highlights

Nose: The earthy base underscores complex sparks of other aromas. Initial Linzertorte, Ovaltine and s’mores chocolate notes are followed by spicy hints of cardamom, gingerbread and dried currants. With time, violet and orchid floral phrases surface counterbalanced by savory roasted cashew.

Palate: Cinnamon and malt lead a strong, spicy arrival balanced by pops of bright lemon zest, sweet caramel, and soft mulling spices.

Finish: The palate is left with waves of black pepper and seawater salinity in a gently smoldering ball of spices.

With a few drops of spring water

Water pushes back the earth and spice to reveal white currant syrup, muscat wine, and apricot on the nose along with Assam. The balance on the palate shifts sweeter, revealing salt-water taffy, salmiak, chocolate eclair as well as perfumed notes of thyme.

BATCH 001

Rye Whiskey

Distilled and aged in Indiana and Tennessee

Crafted and bottled in Kentucky

117 proof cask strength bottling

Aged for 4 1/2 years in American white oak barrels

Mash bill: rye, corn, malted barley

FLAVOR NOTES

We set out to do something different and unconventional with Barrell Rye Batch 001. We combined sweeter malted barley rye barrels with spicier high-rye barrels to create a unique flavor experience. Batch 001 is a rye whiskey that touches on everything we love. It evolves in the glass, punches hard with its proof, and finishes long and lean. Like all our whiskeys, it’s cask strength and never colored, flavored, or diluted.

Luxuriant across the tongue with deep notes of hazelnut brown butter and dark maple syrup spooned over sizzling hot, rye French Toast

Neat

Appearance: Burnished cinnamon hues becoming crystal clear at the edges. Tight swirls of the glass bring further bursts of iridescent raw copper, each swirl stained by streaks of late fall.

Nose: Cinnamon dusted rye toast with a piercing core of crushed minerals, a touch of the 117.0 proof heat reveals itself without overpowering the nose.

Palate: Roasted peaches baked into an opulent custard tart steaming from the oven followed by spice infused malted chocolate and orange zest.

Finish: Air-dried citrus peels dipped in candy sugar gently fading into a lazy, rainy Sunday afternoon finish.

With a few drops of spring water

Creamy across the palate, with tightly wound bursts of exotic Caribbean spices peppered over pools of stone fruit.