Toasted barrel finishes are nothing new in the whiskey world, but up to this point they have mostly been used in the bourbon category. Distilleries large and small are starting to give rye whiskey the same treatment, however, and the most recent example comes from Heaven Hill, one of Kentucky’s biggest distilleries and producer of the popular Elijah Craig whiskey brand.
According to Heaven Hill, the namesake of Elijah Craig is the person responsible for introducing the practice of charring a barrel before aging whiskey, which is now a legal requirement for bourbon and straight rye whiskey. The historical record can be a bit fuzzy about such claims, but either way Craig was certainly an important figure in the history of bourbon. Toasting a barrel as opposed to charring it, or after charring it, imbues the whiskey with different flavors, often bringing notes of toasted oak (which seems like a given), vanilla, nuts, and spice to the front of the palate. Bourbon tends to be sweeter than rye, which is made from a mashbill of at least 51 percent rye grain and therefore has more baking spice and fruit on the palate, so the two styles respond differently to a toasted barrel finish.
As mentioned before, this is not the first rye whiskey to get this type of secondary maturation. Michter’s has been onboard with the toasted barrel trend for about a decade, and released its first toasted barrel rye back in 2017. Penelope Bourbon, now owned by MGP where the whiskey is distilled, just launched the second release in its Straight Rye Whiskey Toasted Series, which is now an annual expression. And newcomer Buzzard’s Roost, another non-distilling producer, has its own three-year-old rye that is finished in toasted barrels.
In the case of the new Elijah Craig Toasted Rye, the distillery takes mature straight rye whiskey—made from a mashbill of 51 percent rye, 35 percent corn, and 14 percent malted barley—and puts it into toasted oak barrels that were custom made by Independent Stave Company. According to the distillery, these barrels are toasted for an hour and then capped to trap the heat, allowing phenols to embed in the wood and add a subtle note of smoke that will infuse into the whiskey. Also, because the secondary barrels are both charred and toasted, this whiskey still qualifies as a straight rye whiskey per the legal guidelines. “From the moment our tasting panel tried Elijah Craig Toasted Rye through our ongoing innovation process, we knew this expression was going to be special,” said Elijah Craig group product director Max Stefka in a statement. “The custom toasted barrel from our partners at Independent Stave Company takes an already world-class whiskey and adds in a dessert-like bouquet of flavors.”
We have not had the chance to taste this whiskey yet, but based on the quality of the core Elijah Craig rye and the description of the finishing process, hopes are high that this is a good one. Tasting notes list toasted oak, crème brûlée, almond, and hazelnut on the nose, followed by milk chocolate and baking spices on the palate, culminating in a warm and lingering finish. Elijah Craig Toasted Rye will be available starting later this month (SRP $55), but you can check ReserveBar in the meantime to find many other expressions in the lineup including past releases of the ever-popular Barrel Proof expressions.
