Rye Whiskey, 'New Southern Revival'

• Small batch rye whiskey produced by High Wire Distilling Co. in Charleston, South Carolina
• Distilled from 100% raw Abruzzi rye grown by Belleville Farms in St. Matthews, South Carolina  
• Water is sourced from the Edisto River Basin (filtered for chloramines for fermentation and distillation; deionized for proofing)
• Sweet mash fermented for 6–7 days in temperature-controlled, closed-top stainless steel tanks with barley enzymes and top-fermenting pitched yeast
• Distilled on the grain in a single pass on a CARL hybrid copper pot still (a dephlegmator on the column is set to minimize reflux)
• Aged a minimum of 4 years in 53-gallon char #3 new American oak barrels with a medium toast that have been air seasoned for 18–36 months (primarily from Charlois and Kelvin cooperages); non-age statement
• Produced in batches of 1–3 barrels
• The nose presents waves of fresh and dried mint, plus honeysuckle, maraschino cherry, and freshly sliced Bosc pear underscored by the chewy oiliness of fresh grain. Fruit and mint retreat to the background on the palate, which is broad and oily and packed with sensations of grain and soil. The finish offers fine-grained barrel and the lingering sensation of proof.
• Non-chill filtered; 45% ABV

Abruzzi rye, the flinty, small-grained variety that, until recently, was favored by farmers as a cover crop and a sturdy windbreak has finally been given its due as the quiet star of the golden age of American whiskey. Post-Prohibition consolidation efficiencies—along with the implicit desire to make rye whiskey more like its popular cousin, bourbon—led to the near-extinction of these legacy grains. As with the other whiskeys in the core High Wire lineup, the rye is so delicious on its own that cocktailing would seem to stretch the imagination. That said, a restrained Manhattan or a thoughtfully constructed Old Pal could be just the gilding this lily calls for.