We Requested 11 Bartenders: What’s the Finest New Rye That’s Earned a Spot on Your Bar?

Earlier than bourbon, rye whiskey was America’s first native spirit. Prohibition completely disrupted rye manufacturing, and most of the distilleries that produced it by no means reopened. However with the rediscovery of basic, rye-based drinks through the early-aughts cocktail renaissance, bartenders fell again in love with the daring, spicy type of whiskey — and with that, rye’s comeback started.

Rye’s resurgence exhibits no indicators of slowing down. It typically looks like a brand new rye whiskey hits the market nearly every single day. So, we monitor down a handful of bartenders who’ve saved tabs on all the brand new releases and have labored them into their very own cocktail-making routines. Listed below are a few of their favorites, each new to the world and new to their again bars.

The perfect new ryes, based on bartenders:

• Exclave Rye
• WhistlePig PiggyBack 100% Rye
• WhistlePig Outdated World Rye
• Oaklore North Carolina Straight Rye Whiskey
• Sagamore Spirits Rye
• Rye & Sons Straight Rye
• A. Overholt Straight Rye
• Excessive N’ Depraved Straight Rye
• Angel’s Envy Rye
• Nonetheless Austin Straight Rye: The Artist
• Nice Jones Empire Rye
• Michter’s Barrel Power Rye

“Exclave Rye. The nostril is a wealthy, deep mahogany with a touch of cinnamon and vanilla. The style is brilliant with notes of pine, grain, and spice. Founder Andrew Albert is deeply keen about New Orleans’ tradition and its cocktails, and he’s a neighborhood, besides! We love supporting our tradition and neighborhood right here in New Orleans. Exclave Spirits celebrates the numerous contributions of the Black neighborhood to the world of distilled spirits and we’re right here for it!” —Abigail Gullo, inventive director, Loa Bar Worldwide Home Lodge, New Orleans

“We just like the WhistlePig model and their eclectic methods of creating rye whiskeys, particularly the PiggyBack Rye for cocktails or the 12 Yr Outdated World Rye for sipping. Most rye whiskeys enable 51 p.c rye within the mash, however WhistlePig makes use of 100%, which supplies higher focus and complexity. Additionally they use Outdated World casks like [those used to age] sherry or Sauternes so as to add a little bit toastiness and sweetness to their whiskeys.” —Olivier Rousselle, director of meals and beverage operations, Godfrey Lodge Hollywood, Los Angeles

“Now we have a passionate focus right here at Sea Degree to help native [brands], which extends to our again bar. We’re lucky to have Oaklore Distilling Co. proper down the road, and their North Carolina Straight Rye Whiskey is among the finest! We love that it’s produced grain-to-glass right here in North Carolina, and it’s a crowd favourite for our cocktail program. With an age assertion of 6-plus years, it has a ravishing stability of rye spice and oak sweetness you don’t discover in most ryes.” —Azure Cassidy, beverage director, Sea Degree, Charlotte, N.C.

“A brand new addition to our bar, Sagamore is from a rye-focused distillery in Baltimore that focuses on the class. The mash invoice is extraordinarily excessive in rye at about 95 p.c and combines a high- and low-tone rye for the ultimate product. What makes this rye whiskey particular is the aromas and botanical [aromas] that may be skilled earlier than tasting. Licorice, white flowers, crimson flowers, exhausting herbs, and pineapple core all explode from the glass earlier than the palate, which is targeted on honey and extra pineapple in addition to white raisins, cinnamon, and oak tannin. It’s additionally nice for spirit-forward cocktails, particularly with a Manhattan or a rye Sazerac.” —Nick Daddona, bartender, Darkish Bar on the Boston Harbor Lodge, Boston

“A brand new and thrilling addition to our market is Rye & Sons. Helmed by Andre Mack, a famend sommelier and winemaker, Rye & Sons is an thrilling strategy to rye from a wine perspective. They strategy every bottling yr by yr and select a mix that finest represents how the whiskey contained in the barrel is ageing. The result’s a rye that’s each complicated and approachable at round $30 per bottle, which lends itself to any basic cocktail imaginable together with an incredible Sazerac.” —Colin Williams, bar supervisor, Saffron, New Orleans

“A. Overholt Straight Rye Whiskey is an thrilling new product from America’s oldest whiskey model. It’s a mix of 80 p.c rye and 20 p.c malted barley that has a wealthy texture and is phenomenal to sip neat or make a killer Outdated Common with. It’s the identical mash invoice that Abraham Overholt utilized in 1810, so every sip is sort of a step again in time. At $40 a bottle, it’s a steal to have in your again bar.” —Alex Barbatsis, bartending advisor, Bees and Bats Beverage, Chicago

“I like Excessive N’ Depraved Straight Rye. Popping out of the New Riff Distilling, which makes wonderful whiskeys, this bottling has a nostril that begins with wealthy caramel, lemon oil, darkish cocoa powder, and toasted orange oil, then leans into roasted almonds, cinnamon toast, cedar mud, and orange blossom. The palate begins with rye bread crust, spiced orange tea, and caramel exhausting sweet, and is rapidly balanced with a mouthwatering minerality. This whiskey is extremely simple and gratifying to sip neat, bottled at a really approachable 45 p.c ABV, and mixes within the basic stirred or constructed cocktails like a champ. It additionally punches via sours and juicy drinks, as if it have been bottled in bond or stronger.” —H. Joseph Ehrmann, mixologist and proprietor, Elixir, San Francisco

“Angel’s Envy Rye has undoubtedly earned its place right here at Lindens! This rye is tremendous distinctive in its processing, spending the final 18 months of ending in Caribbean rum casks. The rum casks impart an fragrant and earthy sweetness that highlights the spice notes within the rye. There are additionally undertones of date, berry, and caramel that add to the rye’s total depth and mouthfeel. We selected Angel’s Envy rye for our seasonal Mushroom Outdated Common due to this good mix of depth and sweetness.” —Amanda Lee, head bartender, Lindens, NYC

“One in every of my favourite new ryes to carry on to the again bar at Remedy is Nonetheless Austin’s The Artist. The proof, coming in at 99.6, is nice for mixing in cocktails; additionally they have a cask power for those who’re on the lookout for one thing hotter. The true promoting level for me is their consideration to element on the grain they use. Whereas most ryes embody some corn and/or barley within the mash invoice, The Artist is created from 100% Texas rye. I get citrus peel and cherry on the nostril with notes of ginger and milk chocolate. When on the lookout for a rye that pairs splendidly with floral, natural, and lighter fruit flavors, this can be a winner.” —Liz Kelley, head bartender, Remedy, New Orleans

“I’m a fan of Nice Jones Empire rye. It’s acquired nice physique and has a whole lot of scrumptious cinnamon and vanilla notes whereas sustaining rye’s signature sharpness. Nice Jones is Manhattan’s first distillery for the reason that days of Prohibition, and this whiskey makes use of solely New York-grown rye grain. Fittingly sufficient, it’s a wonderful rye to make use of in a Manhattan!” —Sammi Katz, co-author and bartender, Spirited Ladies, NYC

“The latest rye that we have now added to our again bar at Banks Seafood & Steak is Michter’s Barrel Power Rye. It is a new launch for 2024, a part of their limited-release collection that always produces excellent bottles for gathering or sipping. It’s fantastically fragrant with a mixture of candy (sugar cane, vanilla, caramel, cherry) and spice (roasted pepper, toast, and tobacco). It is usually very balanced between weight and focus for a barrel-strength bottling that is available in at 110 proof. I counsel this with a splash of chilly water or with an enormous dice so you’ll be able to get pleasure from it because it evolves within the glass from earthy and highly effective to luscious and mushy.” —Ben Chesna, beverage and wine director, The Banks Seafood & Steak, Boston