The New York International Spirits Competition recently announced its 2026 results, and today we’re looking at the American rye whiskey that won the judges over. Entries are tasted blind by trade buyers, who judge each spirit “by its category and actual price as if buying it for their business,” and a Double Gold requires a unanimous decision from the panel.
All nine ryes here won Double Gold with 96 points, from a Kentucky staple to a 12 year old finished in three types of wine cask.
American rye must contain at least 51% rye in the mash bill.
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READ THE STORYSo, here are the best American rye whiskeys according to the New York International Spirits Competition 2026. Do you agree with the results? Is there a rye whiskey you expected to see here? Let us know in the comments below.
Widow Jane Paradigm Rye Whiskey
Award: Double Gold, 96 points
Category: American Straight Rye Whiskey, Up to 10 years, USA
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Tasting Notes: Lemon meringue pie, spring flowers, cut grass, lychee, buttered rye toast, mandarin marmalade, cedar, white pepper, thyme, artichoke, Earl Grey, sandalwood, peach
Find Your Next Bottle: $43 / £34
Widow Jane has made a name for itself in recent years, most notably with its bourbons. However, this rye clearly impressed the NYISC judges.
Widow Jane is named after the Widow Jane limestone mine in Rosendale, New York, and the brand proofs its whiskey with limestone water from the Rosendale mines, which is trucked to its distillery in Red Hook, Brooklyn. The distillery was founded in 2012 and has been part of Heaven Hill since the 2022 acquisition of Samson & Surrey.
Paradigm blends rye distilled in Red Hook with rye whiskeys from Kentucky and Indiana, made in five-barrel batches. It is non-chill filtered and bottled at 46.5% ABV. It was one of three Widow Jane whiskeys to win Double Gold at this year’s competition.
Redemption Straight Rye Whiskey
Award: Double Gold, 96 points
Category: American Straight Rye Whiskey, Up to 10 years, USA
Tasting Notes: Toasted oak, caramel, allspice, corn, citrus, baking spice, black pepper, mint
Find Your Next Bottle: $26 / £21
Redemption was founded by Dave Schmier and Michael Kanbar, who bottled Indiana-distilled rye at Kanbar’s Strong Spirits plant in Bardstown, Kentucky. Deutsch Family Wine & Spirits bought the brand in 2015 and signed a long-term supply contract with MGP.
The straight rye is made from 95% rye and 5% malted barley, distilled by MGP in Lawrenceburg, Indiana. Redemption introduced new packaging in April 2026, and its 18 Year Old was named 18 Year Bourbon of the Year at last year’s NYISC.
Schmier is also the founder of Proof and Wood Ventures, whose Tumblin’ Dice rye appears next on this list.
Tumblin’ Dice Straight Rye Whiskey, Finished in Apple Brandy Barrels
Award: Double Gold, 96 points
Category: American Straight Rye Whiskey, Up to 10 years, USA
Tasting Notes: Stewed apples, orchard fruits, caramel, spice, pepper, toasted oak
Find Your Next Bottle: $89.99 / £68
The barrels used to finish this rye came from Laird & Company, which was founded in 1780 and is known as America’s oldest licensed distillery, and they had previously held 8.5 year old apple brandy.
The whiskey itself is made from 95% rye and 5% malted barley, distilled in Indiana. It was aged for seven years in new charred oak before spending a year in the Laird’s barrels. The release ran to ten barrels, each bottled individually at barrel proof, so the strength varies from bottle to bottle, ranging from 117 to 120 proof.
Gerard Dunn, VP of Operations at Laird & Company, said at the time: “The rich character developed over nearly a decade of aging our apple brandy adds a unique layer of complexity and fruit-driven depth to the rye whiskey.”
Wild Turkey 101 Rye
Award: Double Gold, 96 points
Category: American Straight Rye Whiskey, Up to 10 years, USA
Tasting Notes: Baking spice, caramel, honey, vanilla, smoke
Find Your Next Bottle: $23 / £18
Wild Turkey 101 Bourbon needs no introduction, but did you know that the brand also makes a 101 proof rye?
Wild Turkey 101 Rye is reportedly made from 51% rye, 37% corn, and 12% malted barley. It is distilled in Lawrenceburg, Kentucky, and matured in new American oak with the No. 4 “alligator” char used across the Wild Turkey range. It is bottled at 101 proof without an age statement.
The rye was hard to find between roughly 2012 and 2015, but it has been widely available since.
Wild Turkey also won Double Gold with 96 points this year for Wild Turkey 101 Bourbon and Russell’s Reserve Single Barrel.
Sagamore Spirit 10 Year Old Straight Rye Whiskey
Award: Double Gold, 96 points
Category: American Straight Rye Whiskey, Up to 10 years, USA
Tasting Notes: Crème brûlée, floral honey, white pepper
Find Your Next Bottle: $80 / £64
The 10 Year Old is the oldest whiskey Sagamore Spirit has released to date. It was aged for a decade in new charred American oak and bottled at 55.4% ABV as part of the Reserve Series. It first came out in September 2025 and has since been re-released.
Kevin Plank, the founder of Under Armour, and Bill McDermond started Sagamore in 2013 to revive Maryland rye, and its Baltimore distillery opened in April 2017. Illva Saronno, the Italian company behind Disaronno, bought a majority stake in 2023.
Before Prohibition, Maryland was one of the country’s leading spirits-producing states along with Pennsylvania and Kentucky, but its last whiskey distillery closed in 1972, more than 40 years before Sagamore’s distillery opened. Sagamore is one of several distilleries making Maryland rye again, contributing to a resurgence of the historic style.
High Peaks Distilling Landrace Empire Rye
Award: Double Gold, 96 points
Category: American Straight Rye Whiskey, Up to 10 years, USA
Tasting Notes: Bold, earthy spice, anise, pepper, grassy turmeric, charred oak
Find Your Next Bottle: $46 / £35
Back to New York! Landrace Empire Rye is sold under the Empire Rye standard, which requires at least 75% New York-grown rye in the mash bill. The whiskey must also be made at a single New York distillery and aged for at least two years in new charred oak. High Peaks uses only New York landrace rye, an older variety that predates modern hybrids.
The grain is mashed and fermented at Adirondack Pub & Brewery and distilled in a copper pot still built by JBF Stainless in Utica.
High Peaks was founded in Lake George in 2016 by John Carr, who opened the brewpub in 1999, and the rye is bottled unfiltered at 42% ABV.
Angel’s Envy Cellar Collection Vol. 5 Straight Rye Whiskey Finished in French Oak Extra Añejo Tequila Barrels
Award: Double Gold, 96 points
Category: 11 – 20 years, American Straight Rye Whiskey, USA
Tasting Notes: Vanilla, baking spices, cracked pepper, herbal agave syrup, earthy tobacco, brown sugar, orange blossom honey, tropical fruits
Find Your Next Bottle: $150 / £120
Vol. 5 was the first Cellar Collection release to go on sale nationwide. It was also the first that master distiller Owen Martin oversaw from start to finish.
It combines straight rye aged up to seven years, finished for up to 12 months in Patrón French Oak Extra Añejo barrels, with an 11 year old straight rye. Martin selected the barrels at Hacienda Patrón in Jalisco with Patrón master distiller David Rodriguez. It is bottled at 104.2 proof.
Angel’s Envy was founded by the late Lincoln Henderson and his son Wes. Bacardi, which also owns Patrón, bought the company in 2015.
WhistlePig Old World Rye Aged 12 Years
Award: Double Gold, 96 points
Category: 11 – 20 years, Other Whiskey, USA
Tasting Notes: Caramel, vanilla, winter fruit, rye spice, apricots, plums, raisins, dates, honey, dark chocolate
Find Your Next Bottle: $120 / £124
This rye is aged for 12 years and then split three ways for finishing. According to WhistlePig, 63% goes into Madeira casks, 30% into Sauternes casks, and 7% into Port casks. The three are then married back together and bottled at 43% ABV.
WhistlePig finishes and bottles its whiskey on its farm in Shoreham, Vermont. Former CFO Alex Roberts became CEO in February 2026, after Charles Gibb left roughly eight months into the job.
Hidden Ships Distillery Rye Whiskey
Award: Double Gold, 96 points
Category: American Straight Rye Whiskey, Up to 10 years
Tasting Notes: Lightly sweetened syrup, oak, marzipan, green peppercorn, red wine, bakery spices
Find Your Next Bottle: $89.99 / £68
Topsail Island gets its name from local stories of pirate ships hiding behind it, with only the tops of their sails showing. Hidden Ships Distillery takes its name from the same tale. It opened in Surf City in September 2023 and is run by Andy and Amy Szwejbka. Andy served 21 years in the Marine Corps, and Amy is a former registered nurse.
The rye is sold as Marine Raider Rye, aged for three years and bottled at 90 proof. Batch #001 went on sale at the distillery in December 2025. At the 2024 NYISC, Hidden Ships was named North Carolina Gin Distillery of the Year.
What Do You Make of the Results?
Rye whiskey is having a resurgence, and winners like this demonstrate that rye whiskey is so much more than just ‘spicy’. The style has a lot to offer if you know where to look, and the NYISC judges are pointing in a few particular directions.
Have you tried any of these? Are there any you would like to get your hands on, and what do you make of the awards? Let us know in the comments.
