Review: High N’ Wicked Bourbon and Rye (2024)

We first encountered Wyoming-based High N’ Wicked with one of its one-off releases back in 2021 — and there have been plenty more where that came from. Today we’re taking a step back and looking at the brand’s two flagship whiskeys — a bourbon and a rye, both sourced (but from different locales). We’ve got the deets alongside the reviews. Read on.

High N’ Wicked Straight Bourbon – Distilled in Kentucky from a mash of 51% corn, 39% rye, and 10% malted barley — and made from a sweet mash, which is quite rare in Kentucky. Aged for five years in #4 char barrels. A surprisingly soft whiskey for that amount of rye, this is a lovely little chocolate and vanilla bomb that goes down far easier than I expected at first glance. Lashings of cherry on the nose are a small respite from the dessert-like attack, while time in glass helps coax out more intense, traditional notes of saddle leather and woodshop. A sip returns you to your innocence: Bold and saucy chocolate, caramel, and vanilla, backed up by a touch of mint. The expected punch of baking spice and cayenne finally come into focus after the initial rush of sweetness fades a bit, though against its buttery body, they don’t come close to overwhelming things. A touch of banana takes you to the conclusion, which is clean and vanilla-forward on the finish. Delightful from start to finish, although it’s a relatively tame, PG-rated journey without too many twists and turns. 104 proof. A- / $82

High N’ Wicked Straight Rye – More provenance here: This is made by Kentucky’s New Riff Distilling from a mash of 91% rye and 9% malted barley — a twist on the well-worn 95/5 recipe. Aged 5 years in #4 char barrels. There’s no mistaking all that rye on the nose, which is peppery and well-spiced with notes of cloves, spiced apples, and cinnamon bread — though it’s touched with a lingering note of green onion, which I kind of gravitate to. Creamier than expected on the palate, the rounded apple butter body helps to temper some of the sharper edges of the rye, though the grain’s iconic flavors of clove, cinnamon, and red pepper continue the through-line here. Fairly tame, slightly acidic finish — a little on the thin side… and again a little oniony. Not in a bad way. 98.2 proof. B+ / $82

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