If you ask a bartender which whiskey they’d use for a Manhattan or a Sazerac, there’s a good chance the answer will be rye. Rye is often considered the better choice for cocktails because of its spicy, peppery character, which stands up well to sweet vermouth, sugar, and bitters. When The Kitchn asked three bartenders for their pick for a Manhattan, all three went with rye.
The Bartender Spirits Awards are a good place to see this in action, since the judges are working bartenders and beverage buyers who score each spirit on how well it mixes as well as how it tastes.
From the 2025 and 2026 competitions, we’ve picked out five American ryes that earned Double Gold medals. So, let’s take a look at why rye works so well in cocktails, and at the five bottles the judges rated so highly.
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Why Rye Works in Cocktails
By law, rye whiskey has to be made from a mash of at least 51% rye, while bourbon has to be at least 51% corn, and most of the difference in flavor comes from that grain. Rye tends to taste drier and spicier, with notes like black pepper and baking spice, while corn gives bourbon a sweeter, rounder flavor.
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In a drink like the Manhattan, where sweet vermouth already brings plenty of sugar, many bartenders find rye’s spice keeps everything balanced. As Maurice Taylor, bar supervisor at the Brenton Hotel, told InsideHook, “Mention a Manhattan in any bar, and the first ingredient the bartender will reach for is rye whiskey.”
Rye was the favorite whiskey on the East Coast before Prohibition, but its spicy flavor fell out of fashion for a long time afterward as drinkers moved toward softer styles. The classic cocktail revival helped bring it back.
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READ THE STORYAccording to Distilled Spirits Council figures reported by Fred Minnick, US rye volumes grew from 88,000 cases in 2009 to 561,000 in 2014, and the council credited classic cocktails as one of the reasons.
How the Bartender Spirits Awards Work
The Bartender Spirits Awards are run by the Beverage Trade Network, and the judges are bartenders, bar managers, and drinks buyers from the US bar and restaurant trade. Each spirit is scored on five criteria: mixability, balance and versatility, taste, mouthfeel and finish, value, and packaging.
A score of 96 points or more earns a Double Gold, the competition’s top medal.
Elijah Craig Rye
Bartender Spirits Awards 2026: 96 points, Double Gold
Price: around $30 in the US, and roughly £43 to £50 in the UK at retailers like Master of Malt
Heaven Hill added a rye to the Elijah Craig range in 2020, at a suggested price of $29.99. It’s made from a mash bill of 51% rye, 35% corn, and 14% malted barley, the same recipe Heaven Hill uses for Rittenhouse Rye. With rye just over the legal minimum and a good share of corn, it’s a gentler, slightly sweeter style of rye. It’s bottled at 94 proof and doesn’t carry an age statement.
The judges described it like this: “Aromas of allspice, nutmeg, and Asian pear lead to a spice-laden palate with dry, balanced texture and a warming, integrated alcohol finish.”
With its low price and a bit of extra sweetness from the corn, it’s an easy pick for citrus drinks like a Whiskey Sour, or for a simple rye highball with ginger ale or soda.
WhistlePig PiggyBack 100% Rye
Bartender Spirits Awards 2026: 99 points, Double Gold, Spirit of the Year, and Whisky of the Year
Price: around $40 in the US and £43 in the UK
PiggyBack was one of the last whiskeys made by Dave Pickerell, WhistlePig’s master distiller, who died in 2018. It’s 100% rye, sourced from Alberta Distillers in Canada, and aged for six years in American oak barrels. Its bottling strength of 96.56 proof is a nod to Pickerell’s birth year, 1956.
According to WhistlePig, Pickerell chose the name PiggyBack “to express the love and respect he had for the bartending community.
The judges wrote, “The nose reveals expressive grassy and black pepper notes with dried spices, leading to a well-balanced palate with a smooth, lingering finish that exemplifies true rye character.”
With all that rye spice, it’s a great fit for a Manhattan. Stir 2 oz PiggyBack, 1 oz sweet vermouth, and 2 dashes of Angostura bitters with ice, strain into a chilled glass, and garnish with a cherry. It’s also a good choice for a Sazerac.
Bardstown Bourbon Company Origin Series Rye
Bartender Spirits Awards 2026: 96 points, Double Gold, and American Straight Rye Whiskey of the Year
Price: around $53 in the US and £42 in the UK
The Origin Series is Bardstown Bourbon Company’s line of whiskeys that are distilled, aged, and bottled at its own distillery in Bardstown, Kentucky. When the series was announced in 2022, Dan Callaway, Bardstown’s VP of Product Development, said, “The Origin Series is the first opportunity to taste an expression that is 100 percent our whiskey.”
The rye is made from 95% rye and 5% malted barley and spends six years in American white oak. It then goes into custom barrels built from alternating cherry wood and oak staves for up to six months, before being bottled at 96 proof.
The judges wrote, “Rich, inviting aroma of stone fruit and baking spices leads to a palate that refines smoothly with a balanced, lingering finish.”
With a little cherry character from the finishing barrels, it suits a Manhattan garnished with a brandied cherry. It’s also good in a Boulevardier. Stir 1.5 oz rye, 1 oz Campari, and 1 oz sweet vermouth with ice, strain over a large cube, and garnish with an orange peel.
Heaven Hill Grain to Glass Traditional Barrel Kentucky Straight Rye
Bartender Spirits Awards 2026: 97 points, Double Gold
Price: around $135 in the US and £120 in the UK
Heaven Hill’s Grain to Glass series is all about showing where the whiskey comes from. For this second edition of the rye, the corn was a Beck’s Hybrids variety called 6225, grown by the family-owned Peterson Farms on one of two sites in Nelson County, Kentucky. The mash bill is 63% rye and 13% malted barley, with corn making up the rest.
The whiskey went into the barrel at 107 proof and aged for more than six years at Heaven Hill’s Cox’s Creek site, in rickhouses W5 and W6. It’s non-chill filtered and bottled at barrel proof, which comes out at 105.2.
The judges wrote, “This well-balanced rye offers a harmonious nose of floral oils, citrus, caramel, and vanilla, with a palate of spice, maple, honey, and oak, culminating in a lingering, warm finish.”
At this price, most people will want to try it neat or with a few drops of water first. If you do mix it, a Vieux Carré is a good match.
Still Austin Cask Strength Rye
Bartender Spirits Awards 2025: 97 points, Double Gold, and Rye Whiskey of the Year
Price: $59.99 from the distillery. It’s only sold in the US for now.
Still Austin is a grain-to-glass distillery in Austin, Texas. It makes this rye from 100% Texas-grown rye, which is milled, fermented, and distilled onsite on a 42-foot column still nicknamed “Nancy.” Master Blender Nancy Fraley picks the best barrels of the distillery’s straight rye, known as “The Artist,” and the whiskey is blended and bottled at the same proof it was aged at, which is 116 proof.
The judges wrote, “Lush cherry, baking spice, and almond on the nose move into a bold and structured palate with well-balanced heat and a long, complex finish full of depth.”
All that strength means it holds up well in a stirred drink over a big ice cube, like an Old Fashioned. Stir 2 oz rye, 1 teaspoon demerara syrup, and 2 dashes of Angostura bitters with ice, strain over a large cube, and twist an orange peel over the top.
Which Rye Should You Try?
All five of these ryes have the spice and strength that make rye such a popular choice behind the bar. Elijah Craig Rye is an affordable everyday pick for sours and highballs, and WhistlePig PiggyBack is a great choice for a Manhattan. Bardstown’s Origin Series Rye adds a little cherry to stirred drinks, and Heaven Hill Grain to Glass is one to save for sipping. Still Austin is worth a look if you’re in the US.
If you’re not sure where to start, make a Manhattan with any of them and see what rye brings to the drink.
What is your go-to rye for cocktails? Let us know in the comments.
