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Whiskey Review: One Eight Distilling Rock Creek Rye

We review Rock Creek Rye, the first grain-to-glass rye whiskey made in Washington, D.C., since Prohibition.

OVERALL RATING

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Tasting Notes

About:

While the specific mash bill breakdown isn’t publicly known, Rock Creek Rye is distilled from a high malted rye mash bill that also includes rye and corn — each sourced from a farm in North Carolina, Virginia and Kentucky, respectively. Rock Creek Rye is then small-batch distilled in a copper pot still, aged in new American oak barrels (One Eight Distilling has kept the amount of time under wraps) and bottled at 94 proof.
Appearance:
Both in the bottle and poured into a glass, Rock Creek Rye shows a hearty copper with an amber hue, revealing viscous legs when swirled.
Nose:
A first whiff from a pour offers a preliminary tease of intense heat, which dissipates to a rich cherry cordial fruitiness, and a lingering suggestion of molasses.
Palate:
Upon first sip, it’s this certainly does not taste or feel like a young rye. More like a bourbon than a rye, with malty notes, Rock Creek Rye fills the mouth with a rich roundness and fullness of flavor, including notes of vanilla bread pudding. Its very smooth finish leaves you with a lingering whisper of maple candy without any cloying sugariness.
Finish:
Comments:
Surprising, complex, balanced, dynamic. Rock Creek Rye is superb, and stands out among today’s typical crowd of craft ryes in bars and home collections alike across the country. It’s richer than Templeton, and delicately smoother compared to the High West ryes (which isn’t to say those aren’t great in their own right). Rock Creek Rye is currently listed at an MSRP of $50, and feels worth the price.

Editor’s Note: This whiskey was either bought as a sample by The Whiskey Wash or provided to us as a review sample by the party behind it. Per our editorial policies, this in no way influenced the outcome of this review.

Sarah Coppola

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