Blended, finished, and bottled by blender/marketer Distillers Way, LLC, in an industrial warehouse in the Seattle area. This company “assembles” private label spirits for Total Wine and others, using distillates made and aged by MGP and others. I often distrust store brands and barrel picks, but no worries on this one. This bottling utilizes two actual mashbills: the standard 95% rye, 5% malted barley MGP mashbill aged 4 years. This hooch is found in so many rye offerings, such as Bulleit, Pinhook, Redemption, and many others. This is then blended with MGP’s “high corn” mashbill, featuring 51% rye, 45% corn, and 4% malted barley, aged 3 years. The actual barrel aging is done in Indiana at MGP. The exact proportions of the blend are not stated, but it’s likely NOT a 50/50 blend. I detect a little more of the high corn distillate in this, but don’t know for sure. Distillers Way buys odd lot and non-selected barrels (ones that are over-aged or that may not fit the flavor profile for other clients) from distillers like MGP, and then they blend, finish, and bottle them. This particular blend is finished in old rum casks for an unstated amount of time. As with most single barrel bottlings, it’s bottled when the blender determines it is “ready.” Let me note that it’s increasingly clear that aging and blending, as opposed to actual distilling (still important) are where it’s at. Giant producers like MGP have much greater efficiencies, and for the small operators, its much less capital intensive and far easier to start an operation when the big boys are supplying the juice. Someone with a good palate and skill can start with the same distillate and end up with a very different flavor profile. I think we will continue to see more operations like this spring up around the country. This is a relatively small operation, and this Rye had just 8 barrels total for the winter 2019 release—and a mere 300 or so bottles per barrel are produced. My bottle (262 of 303) was from barrel 1 of 8. There’s a nice, aromatic, spicy edge up front, but the mellow, caramel corn pushes through with a bit of dark rum overtones in the finish. at once accessible yet still a bit exotic, this was awarded a Double Gold at San Francisco this year, and deserves it. With only 2400+- bottles nationally, it will sell through quickly—so if you can find a bottle at Total Wine, grab one. For under $30 it’s a lovely and interesting Rye.