Woolly Rye - Mammoth Distilling

BEFORE AMERICANS DRANK BOURBON. THERE WAS RYE.

"Corn-based bourbon whiskey may be more popular, but rye whiskey is more complex and offers a much wider variety of taste profiles. This is because the rye grain itself is much more versatile in flavor than corn. In fact, even most bourbon mash bills are referenced by the amount of rye—not corn—they contain, so much so that tasters have recognized the growing appeal of “high-rye” bourbons. Woolly Rye is our take on America’s original whiskey, and is a classic example of a spirit made from this flavorful grain."

How is Woolly Rye Different?

Woolly Rye is made from a mash bill of 88% Wheeler rye, 10% malted Conlin barley and 2% caramel malt using grains grown in collaboration with several Northern Michigan farms and glacial water from the Torch Lake aquifer. The resultant spirit is blended in small batches to achieve a perfect balance of full-flavored rye grains, nutty-sweet malt and bold American oak, a perfect example of a Northern rye whiskey.

PRODUCT NOTES

STYLE: High-Malt Rye Whiskey
ABV: 46% (92 proof)
SIZE: 750ml
GRAIN: Rye and Barley

TASTING NOTES

Bold, spicy aroma evokes baking spices and cedar closets. Full bodied on the palate, with layers of successive flavors including clove, cinnamon bun, and spicy caramel, the 12% malt content contributes a balanced walnut and pecan flavor. The finish is long and lingering.

Carefully Extracting the Amazing Flavor of Rye

Rye is the most flavorful grain a distiller can use to create spirits. More than corn, wheat or even barley, rye contributes complex flavors, aromas and compounds directly to whiskey during the distillation process. While corn lends necessary sweetness, barley contributes nuttiness and wheat adds a creaminess on the palate, it's rye that provides the range of spicy and sweet flavors with a clean, dry mouthfeel. Rye is relatively expensive and more difficult to grow than corn, yields less alcohol per acre and is notoriously challenging to process in the distillery. But its flavor is unmistakably the most important contribution to a great spirit and the extra cost and effort definitely rewards the patient and crafty distiller.

Mammoth Woolly Rye contains 88% Wheeler rye locally grown by the Shooks family on their Central Lake farm. Alison Babb’s farm and malting house in Empire grows our malted barley—2-row and caramel malt—comprising the final 10% and 2% of this mash bill respectively. The grain is ground with a roller mill, mashed in 2000-pound batches and fermented grains-in. Woolly Rye is then alembically distilled in our 650-liter custom pot still. The resulting spirit is aged in new 53-gallon Kelvin Cooperage oak barrels toasted and charred to level three. Because of the higher barrel entry proof of 110, a minimal amount of water is needed to bring the aged spirit down to bottle proof. Final blends are between two and four years old.

USE WOOLLY RYE IN YOUR NEXT COCKTAIL!