Review #121: Studio Distilling Rye Malt Whiskey Batch 21

COST: $50 for 750mL bottle

AGE: NAS

MASH BILL: Unspecified proportions but stated to contain malted rye (>51%?), corn, smoked barley, and roasted rye

PROOF: 94

When I visited Minneapolis earlier this year, I wanted to pick up something hyper local and unique. In researching various distilleries and their expressions leading up to my trip, I stumbled upon Studio Distilling based out of St. Paul. They have a “rye malt whiskey.” I’ve never had a rye malt whiskey before. This seemed particularly unique, and something that seemed fitting for a state like Minnesota which is known to grow a large amount of the American rye used today. After an ordeal to try and pick up a bottle, I finally located one. Let’s see how it is!

Reviewed neat in a Glencairn.

APPEARANCE: A tawny, deep honey color (1.4), fast, super fat legs and quite oily looking for 94 proof.

NOSE: Heavy earthy malt, dark chocolate with chili flakes, and roasted grains contribute heavily to the nose. There is a very slight sweetness in the form of burnt brown sugar and butterscotch.

PALATE: Hot cocoa and caramelized brown sugar land right away. Quickly followed up with a campfire roasted marshmallow note complete with the campfire smoke blowing in your direction. There is a rye spice that rounds out the palate rolling into the finish. This is much smokier than I was expecting. The first few times I had a pour of this, I really didn’t like it, but it has grown on me quite a bit the more I’ve analyzed this pour. This has a medium mouthfeel and most of the flavor is found on the front half of the palate.

FINISH: This has a really long finish (the toasted, malted rye taste literally lasts for minutes) and leads off with burnt brown sugar and charred oak. Malted rye with deep, dirty earthy notes along with black pepper and smoked rye spice lingers for a very long time.

RATING: 6.0/10

VALUE: 8.8/10 (this value is based on a ratio of the $/mL to the rating above compared to this same ratio for all other r/Bourbon reviews I’ve made and normalized to 10)

OVERALL: This is very different! Hands down the most unique whiskey I’ve had in 2024. That said, it’s smoky. If you don’t like smokey notes, be hesitant. I’m not opposed to it; however, I was not expecting it so it was a little off putting at first. While I’m not certain on the age of the whiskey, I’m not picking up a lot of barrel character, so I’m guessing on the younger side. I really look forward to revisiting this again in the future after it gets a few more years on it and picks up more barrel character. I think that could help subdue some of the smokiness and toasted malt that is very forward and bring out some more wood and sweet notes.

BEHIND THE BOTTLE: Studio Distilling is a craft distillery based in St. Paul, MN. They pride themselves on creating modern interpretations of traditional spirits. They do not take walk-ins at their distillery but allow you to reach out to them for a tour if you are interested. I tried reaching out to them twice, once for a tour and once for additional information about this bottle other than what’s on the label and on their website, but did not receive a response (maybe I’m doing it wrong…). At any rate, I like what they’re doing and wish them luck going forward. It’s refreshing to see some unique expressions such as this one available in local liquor stores (at least in Minneapolis/St. Paul area). I found it very difficult to track down this bottle as I went to 3 different liquor stores intentionally trying to get this specific expression from them before I found one that had it in stock. All the while each store I visited had their bourbon available, just not this rye malt whiskey. I’m not sure if it’s a particular hit or if it’s just low production numbers, but if you can get your hands on it, it’s worth trying for a unique experience.

1 | Disgusting | ...I've not subjected myself to this level

2 | Poor | Balcones Lineage

3 | Bad | High West Double Rye, Jefferson's Ocean 28

4 | Sub-par | Weller's SR, Woodford Reserve Distiller's Select

5 | Good | Buffalo Trace, Sazerac Rye, Green River Wheated

6 | Very Good | Blanton's, Holladay Bourbons, Eagle Rare

7 | Great | Baker's 7yr SiB, WhistlePig PiggyBack SiB, 1792 BiB

8 | Excellent | Most ECBP batches, JD SiB BiB, High West MWND Act 11

9 | Incredible | Barrel Bourbon Batch T8ke, BBC DS #7, Four Roses OESQ

10 | Perfect | Found North Batch 08