The Best Rye Whiskeys According To The Denver International Spirits Competition 2026

The rye category at the 2026 Denver International Spirits Competition made for an interesting read. Now in its 15th year, DISC judges spirits double-blind on a 100-point scale, with entries grouped by category and price point, a format designed to let quality do the talking. 

Among this year’s Gold and Double Gold rye winners, five expressions stood out: a high-proof release from one of Kentucky’s most storied distilleries, the latest vintage of one of American whiskey’s most coveted annual bottlings, a workhorse rye that needs no introduction, a Colorado craft producer doing something genuinely unusual with wood, and a Utah blender with a complicated and compelling history. 

Let’s explore the best rye whiskeys from the Denver International Spirits Competition 2026. 

Sazerac Rye Full Proof

Award: Double Gold 

Score: 95 

Tasting Notes: Vanilla, clove, orange, pepper 

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Find Your Next Bottle: $30

Produced at Buffalo Trace Distillery, Sazerac Rye Full Proof is a new addition to the lineup, released in late 2025 as the third permanent expression in the Sazerac Rye family. It sits above the standard 90-proof bottling and the 100-proof version released earlier that year, and below the two highly allocated BTAC siblings, Sazerac 18 Year and Thomas H. Handy. 

The whiskey is bottled at 125 proof (62.5% ABV), the same strength at which it entered the barrel, meaning no water has been added and no proof adjustment has been made at bottling. It is also non-chill filtered. 

Upon its release, Master Distiller Harlen Wheatley said: “We’re excited to bring another full proof option to fans after they’ve expressed their love for our W.L. Weller and Benchmark full proof offerings.” 

Buffalo Trace does not disclose its mash bills, but Sazerac Rye is widely understood to use the distillery’s low-rye recipe, believed to be approximately 51% rye, 39% corn, and 10% malted barley, aged in new charred American oak. 

At $39.99 SRP, it is one of the more straightforward value propositions in the high-proof rye space.

Thomas H. Handy Sazerac Rye 2025

Award: Gold

Score: 93

Tasting Notes: Oak, vanilla, baking spice, bright fruit, apple 

Find Your Next Bottle: $500

Thomas H. Handy Sazerac Rye is one of six annual releases in the Buffalo Trace Antique Collection, alongside George T. Stagg, William Larue Weller, Eagle Rare 17 Year, Sazerac 18 Year Rye, and the recently added E.H. Taylor Jr. The Collection celebrated its 25th year in 2025. 

Like the Sazerac Full Proof, Handy is built on Buffalo Trace’s low-rye mash bill. It is bottled uncut and non-chill filtered, straight from the barrel, and the 2025 release comes in at 129.8 proof (64.9% ABV). The whiskey is 6 years and 3 months old, distilled in 2018 and 2019 and drawn from floors 4 through 7 of warehouses AA, DD, L and N at the distillery. 

Each annual release differs in age, proof, and barrel selection. 

I was lucky enough to sample this allocated whiskey last year, and found layers of peaches, cream, rye spice, toasted oak, pepper, and cloves. It is a beautifully balanced whiskey despite its high proof. 

The SRP is around $150, but realistic shelf pricing in most markets runs significantly higher, and distribution is by lottery or allocation in the majority of US states.

Sazerac Kentucky Straight Rye Whiskey

Award: Gold

Score: 92

Tasting Notes: Clove, vanilla, anise, pepper, citrus, licorice 

Find Your Next Bottle: $23

Known informally as Baby Saz, this is the entry point to the Sazerac Rye family and one of the most widely distributed ryes in the United States. 

It shares the same low-rye mash bill as both the Full Proof and Thomas H. Handy, believed to be approximately 51% rye, 39% corn, and 10% malted barley, distilled at Buffalo Trace in Frankfort, Kentucky. 

Bottled at 90 proof (45% ABV), it carries no age statement, though it is thought to be around 6 years old. Unlike the Full Proof, it appears to be chill-filtered. 

The Sazerac name traces back to the 19th-century Sazerac Coffee House in New Orleans, and the brand is owned by the Sazerac Company, the privately held group that also owns Buffalo Trace. 

In the UK, it is stocked by major retailers including Tesco, making it one of the more accessible American ryes on the British market.

Locke + Co. Distilling Aspen Aged Rye Whiskey

Award: Gold

Score: 92

Tasting Notes: Caramel, toffee, brown sugar, cinnamon, vanilla, cherry, maple syrup, tobacco, baking spice 

Find Your Next Bottle: $64.99

The production story behind this Colorado rye is unlike anything else in this list. 

After an initial maturation in new charred 30-gallon American oak barrels for over three years, the whiskey is transferred to stainless steel tanks where hand-cut, hand-charred aspen wood discs float in the liquid for an additional eight months. The finished whiskey is bottled at 90 proof (45% ABV). 

Locke + Co. was founded in 2016 by Owen Locke and Rick Talley, two Colorado natives and long-time friends. Owen Locke comes from a long line of Colorado moonshiners, and kept the tradition alive when, in 2010, he and Rick bought a small still and started experimenting. 

The flagship Aspen Aged Rye is a year-round release, sitting alongside an Aspen Aged Single Barrel expression. Distribution is currently concentrated in Colorado, Wyoming, and Connecticut, with no UK presence as of early 2026.

High West Distillery Rendezvous Rye

Award: Gold

Score: 92

Tasting Notes: Raspberry, boysenberry, cinnamon, cocoa, vanilla, dried fruit, clove, ginger, fresh pepper

Find Your Next Bottle: $59

High West was founded in 2006 by David and Jane Perkins, becoming the state’s first legal distillery since 1870. David’s previous career in biochemistry, in which he acquired knowledge of fermentation and distilling, and a trip to a Kentucky distillery inspired the couple to head over to Park City and establish the distillery. 

In 2016, Constellation Brands acquired the company for approximately $160 million. 

Rendezvous Rye is a blended rye whiskey, combining multiple straight rye whiskeys and bottled at 92 proof (46% ABV). It is distilled from an MGP mash bill of 95% rye, 5% malted barley combined with a pot-still distilled High West mash bill of 80% rye, 20% malted barley. 

It is widely available across the US and stocked by major UK specialists, including The Whisky Exchange and Master of Malt, typically retailing between £65 and £90. 

A Tale of Five Ryes

The five rye whiskeys recognized at the 2026 Denver International Spirits Competition represent a genuinely varied cross-section of the category. 

Three of them share the same mash bill and the same Kentucky distillery, yet they arrive at the glass by very different routes and at very different price points. 

The other two come from opposite ends of the craft spectrum: a Utah blender with nearly two decades of history behind it, and a small Colorado operation doing something distinctly its own with wood. 

Do these feel like the right bottles to you? And is there a rye you would have liked to see in contention? Let us know in the comments below.