High-Rye Bourbon

Where it started

The KDA describes the bourbon process as cooking the corn first and adding rye or wheat after the temperature drops, to bring flavor and texture.³ "High-rye" describes how big that rye share is. It is not a legal term: the federal bourbon standard sets a corn floor and says nothing about rye.¹

Where and how it's made

The only legal floor is corn. Bourbon must be made from a fermented mash of not less than 51 percent corn, distilled at 160 proof or less, and stored in charred new oak barrels at 125 proof or less.¹ A high-rye bourbon therefore stays below 50 percent rye by definition, because at 51 percent rye the whiskey becomes rye whisky, a separate federal type with the same barrel rules.¹ The term itself appears in no regulation; it is a description of the mash bill, the grain recipe used to make whiskey.²

Because bourbon bans added coloring and flavoring, any extra spice has to come from the recipe and the barrel, not from an additive.¹

How to taste it

Line up a wheated, a traditional and a high-rye bourbon of similar age. Nose for mint and baking spice; on the palate, feel for the dry, peppery finish that lingers after the corn sweetness fades. High-rye bourbons make excellent Manhattans and Old Fashioneds because the spice survives the sugar. Pairings: pastrami, spiced nuts, gingerbread.

Styles and what the label means

• High-rye bourbon — a bourbon with an unusually large rye share; no legal definition.¹ bourbon →
• Traditional-rye bourbon — the mainstream recipe, rye as a modest flavoring grain.
• Wheated bourbon — the opposite choice: wheat instead of rye. wheated-bourbon →
• Straight rye whiskey — 51 percent rye or more; where high-rye bourbon stops. rye-whiskey →
• Cask-strength high-rye — spice at full volume. cask-strength →