Wallet Friendly Rye Whiskeys

Walter Catton, Mark Fellwock and Jenney Grant produce spirits at Holland, Michigan's Coppercraft Distillery on the site of an old brick supply house. This is a 100% rye.

George Dickel Rye is distilled at the MGP distillery in Lawrenceburg, Indiana. It's produced with a mash bill of 95% rye and 5% malted barley before it is aged for 5 years in new, charred American oak. It is finished with the signature Dickel sugar-maple charcoal filtration and bottled at 90 proof.

Two brothers Ryan and Garrett Burchett run the Mississippi River Distilling Co. Their whiskey is named after the famed Buffalo Bill Cody who was a fan of the ever-so- popular-for-the-times rye and as such, the brothers decided to age a 100% rye whiskey. With grain purchased solely from Dave and Jim Wherry in Fulton, IL Cody Road Rye takes a remarked leap in the opposite direction to most rye lovers, being a touch fruitier and floral than most of its competitors including Templeton.

Sourced whiskey from Indiana with a mash bill of 95% rye and 5% barley, this whiskey is the younger sibling of the Redemption Rye Whiskey. It is also bottled at a lower 80 proof instead of 92. Aged for 2 years, this is a rye that is priced to mix or shoot.

This brand is named after Abraham Overholt, a Pennsylvania farmer that had switched his focus from farming to distilling in the early 1800s. At beginning of Prohibition, the whiskey was granted a medicinal license and the popularity of the brand surged. The Pennsylvania brand has survived, but has been produced in Kentucky for some time now and is currently owned by Beam Suntory.

This 81-proof bottling was released in early 2012, in part to stretch their rye stock from running completely out as the 101-proof had been embraced and bought up by bartenders for classic cocktails. This blend of 4-5 year olds keeps the crisp, brightness of a mash-forward bottling while still being in the barrel long enough for the char #4 to do its job. This rye holds up to cocktails, but is good enough to enjoy neat or on the rocks (for those who are used to a bit more heat and spice). Its label and packaging was redesigned in September 2016.

First introduced in Philadelphia in 1934 and named for the city’s historic Rittenhouse Square, Rittenhouse Rye originally debuted as a two-year-old whiskey. In 1948, it was reintroduced as a four-year-old Bottled-in-Bond expression. After Heaven Hill acquired the brand in 1993, production moved from Pennsylvania to Kentucky, where it is now made with a mash bill of 51% rye, 35% corn, and 14% malted barley. Produced according to Bottled-in-Bond regulations, it comes from a single distilling season, is aged for a minimum of four years, and is bottled at 100 proof (50% ABV).

This straight rye whiskey has over 90% rye in its mash bill. Aged in new, charred American oak, it is non-chill filtered and bottled at 100 proof. James E. Pepper is an American whiskey brand which was relaunched in 2008. The whiskey is currently contract distilled by MGP in Indiana and aged and bottled in Kentucky. As of December 2017, the former James E. Pepper Distillery in Lexington, Kentucky has been renovated with distillation currently in progress. Expect the distillery to be open to the public by summer 2018.

Redemption Rye is produced and bottled for Deutsch Family Wine & Spirits, with blending overseen by Master Blender Alan Kennedy. It is made from a mash bill of 95% rye and 5% malted barley. The whiskey is bottled without chill-filtration and is presented in updated packaging as part of the brand’s 2026 refresh. Available nationwide beginning April 2026. (SRP $29.99)

Russell’s Reserve 6 Year Straight Rye is matured in the deepest no. 4 char barrels. Aged for six years in the “center cut” of the rickhouse. It is hand-selected by Jimmy and Eddie Russell. Bottled at 45% ABV.