Redemption Barrel Proof Rye

Redemption Rye is an MGP rye sold by Dynamic Spirits. Besides being barrel proof, this expression has an age statement, is labeled "straight" and discloses on the label that it's distilled in Indiana so it meets all the whiskey geek criteria.  Now how does it taste?

Redemption Barrel Proof Rye, 7 years old, Batch 6, 61.3% ($100)

On the nose you get a big hit of MGP rye right away with huge bold spicy notes. The palate is similarly bold and spicy as you would expect but it's nicely balanced with some sweetness.  Toward the late palate, though, it gets bitter and the bitterness hangs on until the finish; it's an almost Campari type of bitter note.  Eventually, the bitterness fades and you're left with a lot of pine type notes. Water brings out sweet mint tea (another traditional MGP note) on the palate but doesn't do anything to cut the bitter notes in the late palate and finish.

While the ending notes were too heavy on the bitterness, this rye has great, bold rye notes. It's definitely one of the stronger MGP ryes I've tasted, and I wouldn't hesitate to pour a glass or use it in a cocktail.  If they could cut the bitter notes, it would be fantastic.

High Rye Low Age: Redemption Bourbon

Last year, I reviewed Redemption Rye, a rye made at Lawrenceburg Distillers Indiana (LDI) for Dynamic Spirits. Dynamic also now bottles Redemption Bourbon, a high rye bourbon also made at LDI. Redemption Bourbon is 60% corn, 38.2% rye and 1.8% barley.

While there are a lot of LDI ryes on the market these days, there aren't as many bourbons, so I was interested to try this one.

Redemption Bourbon, 46% abv, "over 2 years old" ($25)

The nose is...young rye with all its vegetal qualities. The palate begins with a huge sugar-syrupy sweetness, then you get those young rye notes, raw and vegetal. The finish is rye dominated as well. This is simplistic, syrupy and vegetal, but I have to admit, it's sort of fun to drink as a light whiskey that you don't have to put a lot of effort into thinking about. It's worth trying and a bit more interesting than the Redemption Rye.

Whiskey Wednesday: Emancipate Yourself from Kentucky Whiskey - Redemption Rye

After prohibition, when the great rye whiskey tradition of the mid-Atlantic died out, Kentucky became the de facto capital of rye whiskey, but rye always played second (or maybe third) fiddle to Bourbon. For decades, rye lovers had only a few choices, all of them afterthoughts from the big Kentucky distilleries: Jim Beam, Old Overholt, Wild Turkey. About ten years ago, rye started making a comeback, but it was still largely Kentucky-based. Brands like Sazerac (from Buffalo Trace) and Rittenhouse (from Brown-Forman) started making waves. Ryes targeting a more upscale market were released by Wild Turkey (Russel's Reserve) and Jim Beam (rī)¹.

But in the last few years, a new and somewhat unlikely state has come into the rye game with a new, kicked up, rye flavor. Suddenly, Indiana rye is all the rage, or as we might call it in LA, Kentucky-adjacent whiskey.

The only whiskey distillery in Indiana is Lawrenceburg Distillers Indiana (LDI), located right across the Ohio River from Kentucky. Formerly the Seagram's distillery, LDI was acquired by Pernod Ricard when Seagram's broke up and then sold to Angostura (the bitters people).

The interesting thing about LDI is that while they make Bourbon, corn whiskey and rye, as well as gin, they don't bottle any of it under their own label. All of it is sold to independent bottlers or blenders. Therefore, we don't always know when we are drinking LDI whiskey, though we have some clues. (See a list of their products and mashbills here).

Templeton Rye, bottled in Iowa, admits that it uses LDI rye. Cougar Bourbon and rye, an export brand bottled by Foster's for the Australian market, is also bottled by LDI. The speculation is that High West gets its whiskeys from Four Roses, but that the rye was originally distilled at LDI, back when both it and Four Roses were part of the Seagram's empire.

Redemption Rye is a new rye whiskey on the market bottled by Strong Spirits, a bottler located in Bardstown, Kentucky. The whiskey doesn't explicitly say who distilled it, but the bottle states that it was made in Indiana, which means LDI.

The intriguing thing about LDI's rye whiskey is that the mashbill they use is 95% rye and 5% malt, which is an extremely high rye content with no corn, which makes it quite different from the Kentucky ryes. They also make a bourbon with a 99% corn mashbill, but I don't know if it's ever been bottled on its own (as opposed to being blended with other whiskeys.)


Tasting

Redemption Rye, aged over 2 years, Batch 2, 46% abv ($27).

The nose has lovely, soft, fruity spice notes followed by some herbs and grassy notes. The first thing that strikes me on the palate is that it tastes young; it has that bold, overly herbal/medicinal quality that is typical of young rye. The spice is there, but it's still in a very raw form, though more of it comes out on the finish. This one needs to spend a few more years in the barrel to round it out and take the edge off.

File this one under "has potential but needs work" or maybe, "None but ourselves can age our whiskey."