There are a lot of older whiskeys on the market, and overall it’s kind of a mixed bag—some are very good, while others have spent a bit too much time in oak. A new release that happily falls into the former category is the new 25-year-old rye from Lock Stock & Barrel, which is being touted as the oldest rye whiskey available (a claim that does seem to check out). We got an early taste, and it’s very good—perhaps due to the fact that it’s actually a Canadian whisky and not American, so it spent its years maturing in a cooler climate.
There are some other rye whiskeys that come close to this age, but don’t quite reach that quarter-century mark. Sazerac 18, which is part of the annual Buffalo Trace Antique Collection, is an American rye made in the Kentucky style consisting of somewhere just above the required 51 percent rye grain in the mashbill. That’s a damn good whiskey. WhistlePig has its 18 Year Double Malt Rye, a 91/9 rye (also produced in Canada) that is aged in new charred oak and Pedro Ximenez sherry casks. And Pendleton has a 20-year-old rye as well called Directors’ Reserve, also a Canadian rye that is cut with glacial spring water from Mt. Hood in Oregon.
Lock Stock & Barrel, which is owned by Cooper Spirits Co., has a few different age-statement ryes in its lineup, including 13, 16, 18, 21, and—the pinnacle so far—this 25-year-old rye. The whiskey (actually whisky) in this bottle was distilled in Canada at Alberta Distillers, the distillery in Calgary owned by Suntory Global Spirits that supplies rye whisky for several other brands along with its own in-house labels. It was fermented with koji, double-distilled on copper pot stills, and barreled on March 17, 1999. The mashbill is 100 percent rye that was grown in Alberta, and it was aged in heavily charred but not toasted barrels for the duration of its maturation, and bottled without chill filtration at 111 proof.
“This whiskey has been patiently waiting a quarter century to be experienced, developing extraordinary complexity through decades of gentle aging in Canada’s cold, dry climate,” said Chad Solomon, director of innovation at Cooper Spirits, in a statement. “The meticulous barrel-selection process that Rob Cooper established has allowed us to create a rye of unparalleled richness and depth that showcases what happens when an outstanding distillate meets perfect aging conditions and patient stewardship.”
I was able to sample the whisky, and I have to agree that there is a lot of depth to it. There is definitely a healthy dose of oak on the palate, but the slightly bitter notes that provides are a nice counterbalance to the other sweeter and spicier flavors, like vanilla, maple cinnamon, black pepper, cherry, and roasted espresso beans. And it’s a good thing that it’s bottled at that higher proof, because further dilution would not have served this whisky well.
This is a very limited and expensive release of just 250 bottles, each with a pretty hefty price tag of $1,000. You can pre-order a bottle now before the January launch directly from the website if you’d like to try this whisky for yourself.
Authors
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Jonah Flicker