Review: Jefferson’s Blend of Straight Rye Whiskeys

When Jefferson’s launched its Cognac-finished rye back in 2021, it was new territory for a company that had almost exclusively produced bourbon since Trey Zoeller and his father Chet started the brand in 1997. And yes, I know Jefferson’s released some very old, very limited, and now very expensive rye whiskeys in their early years. But they had never, until that point, put out a rye at scale with a modest age statement. The Cognac-finished expression was clearly a turning point because that next year the first rye appeared in the long-running Oceans series. Just this summer, yet another rye has found its way into the lineup.

Dubbed Blend of Straight Rye Whiskeys, the name won’t win any awards, and it probably undersells what is actually a pretty complex whiskey. It starts with three very different ryes aged between 6 and 9 years and sourced from Tennessee, Indiana, and Canada (no Kentucky juice here). That blend is then mixed with Jefferson’s Ocean Rye, another Canadian-sourced product that undergoes a unique, double barrel maturation. Thoughts follow.

Jefferson’s Blend of Straight Rye Whiskeys Review

The nose is fresh and high tone with a big hit of menthol and wintergreen, indicative of the Canadian rye that I’m guessing forms the bulk of this blend. As it opens, a bit of chewy caramel and baking spice emerge, but things remain green and minty for the most part.

On the palate, those cool fresh notes are relegated to second string with a gritty rye spice taking center stage. It’s peppery, but not overly so, with plenty of cooked grain and vanilla bean offering a nice counterpoint. A bit dry initially, it rounds out nicely across the sip with some sweetness arriving on the midpalate in the form of butterscotch, cinnamon sugar, and a bit of maple syrup. The finish is medium-length and a little muddled with fading notes of clove syrup and mint julep dregs.

A solid addition to the core Jefferson’s lineup, it won’t set the rye world on fire, but at this price point it isn’t supposed to.

88 proof.

B+ / $35 [BUY IT NOW FROM FROOTBAT]

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