This year, Washington, D.C.’s One Eight Distilling added to their in-house portfolio of “District Made” spirits with two new rye whiskey additions, a bottled-in-bond rye and this bottle, an extremely limited single barrel offering bottled at cask strength and available only at the distillery. Here are the deets from One Eight:

This first release District Made Single Barrel Rye Whiskey was crafted from a mashbill of 57% Virginia rye, 29% North Carolina malted rye, and 14% Maryland corn. It was distilled grain-to-glass, barreled at 124.5 proof, and aged over five-and-half years in new American oak. It emerged from the barrel at a powerful yet smooth 132.2 proof. It is the first cask strength single barrel rye whiskey distilled and bottled in Washington, D.C., and the oldest whiskey yet released in One Eight Distilling’s District Made grain-to-glass portfolio.

Right out of the gate, the nose tells me there’s a lot going on here. It’s a bready rye whiskey, mildly sweet and showcasing lots of savory complexity. Notes of old furniture, subtle clove, and toasted banana bread (with extra walnuts) give way to fig preserves with a little air time and, finally, a dusting of Cinnamon Toast Crunch cereal. The palate is rich and surprisingly sweet given how restrained the nose on that front. A lot of brown sugar hits up front, accented with RedHots and candied citrus, but things dry out a little into the generous finish with the barrel adding some dusty oak and new wallet leather to the mix. Fading notes of apple Jolly Rancher and creamy caramels complete the experience. It’s impressively drinkable at this proof. If all of One Eight’s honey barrels are this good, the folks in D.C. are in for a treat.

132.2 proof.

A / $70 / oneeightdistilling.com

One Eight Distilling District Made Single Barrel Cask Strength Rye

$70

9.5

Rating

9.5/10

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