Review: Old Overholt Straight Rye Whiskey Cask Strength 12 Years Old (2025)

In 2023, Old Overholt dropped a 10 year old cask strength version of its classic rye, and in 2024 it hit again with an 11 year old. What’s in store for 2025 you can probably guess: cask strength rye at 12 years of age.

Old Overholt‘s mashbill isn’t formally disclosed, but we do know this whiskey was distilled in the spring of 2013 and aged in four different warehouses in Clermont, Kentucky. It’s unfiltered and, again, bottled at barrel strength. Proof varies widely, from 106 to 130 proof, depending on the release.

Let’s dig in.

Old Overholt Straight Rye Whiskey Cask Strength 12 Years Old (2025) Review

This is a surprisingly austere whiskey at first, though old rye can be like that sometimes. Aromas of dried grasses, burnt tree bark, and coffee grounds dominate a rather closed-off nose, though some airtime helps coax out more nuance in the form of dark chocolate and almond brittle. It never approaches anything sweet, keeping its focus clearly on its aggressive herbal elements, later evoking some stone-filled hints of turned earth.

The palate is as dry as any whiskey I’ve tasted, those herbal notes becoming a veritable poultice on the tongue. The drying herb notes eventually do give way with time in glass to reveal warming baking spice qualities, heavy on the cinnamon with some lingering cardamom elements. Definitely racy at full strength, elements of mineral-laden graphite mingle with a brown butter character, pairing with the herbs-‘n-spices to create a gritty punchiness. From there, the whiskey finishes on a note of dark chocolate, though its ubiquitous greenery elements are never far out of view.

All told this is a solid representation of rye with its drying, grassy DNA on full display. My suspicion is that an extra year or two more in barrel isn’t going to see much more in the way of an evolution in this rye, but I suppose there’s no harm in letting in linger for a bit and see how just big a number Old Overholt can get on the label before they run out of juice.

117 proof as reviewed.

B+ / $110

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