High West master distiller Brendan Coyle This Was Always Part of the PlanThe move to using house-made whiskey has been a long time coming. So you're not going to notice any change in the flavor profile whatsoever. We've been designing our pot-still whiskey recipe over the years so that it has that same effect in the blends. That was the whole point of going into this activity: we have four core whiskeys and we never want to have those flavor profiles change over time. The amount going into the blend will increase over time, but it'll always remain the minority-less than 50% of the blend.”Coyle says the flavor profile of the new recipe is “basically dead on.

A little goes a long way with very old whiskeys and pot-still whiskeys as well. We focus on using the majority of the column still distillate for the base and pot still for the minority portion of the blend because it drives a lot of character. “That drives a lot of complexity and richness and depth. “They have the same effect in a blend, using a very old column still whiskey and using a younger or mid-age pot-still whiskey,” he says. But with younger whiskey substituting for older stock, will fans of Double Rye notice a flavor difference? Coyle says no, explaining that the older rye distilled on a column still compares favorably with younger, pot still rye, which is what High West is making. “We can't buy 16 year old rye whiskey on the marketplace anymore-it's all been gobbled up,” Coyle says. If there's an 18 at the beginning of the batch number on the label, that means the whiskey inside is the new recipe.The High West-made rye replaces the 16 year old Barton rye, which is in ever-shorter supply. The abv (46%), price ($35), and packaging for Double Rye will all remain the same.

“We have some fairly complex, intricate blending recipes the High West component that is in the Double Rye recipe now is a blend in itself,” he explains, adding that the mashbill for all the house-made whiskey is 80% rye and 20% malted rye. The exact proportion of whiskeys isn't being disclosed, but master distiller Brendan Coyle says the house-made whiskey is a minority of the blend and ranges in age from 4 to 7 years old. Previously a blend of 2 year old rye from Indiana's MGP Distillery and 16 year old rye from Kentucky's Barton 1792 Distillery, Double Rye will now include a portion of High West's own rye, made in Utah. High West Distillery is making a major change to one of its core whiskeys, Double Rye.

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