Colorado’s Distillery 291 Recently Offered Up A New Maple Cask Finish Rye

Award-winning small-batch whiskey distillery Distillery 291 out of Colorado recently released their 291 “M” Colorado Whiskey for the holidays that just passed, a new whiskey made with 291’s flagship rye that is finished in whiskey barrels previously used to age maple syrup.

The whiskey starts as the distillery’s 291 Colorado Rye Whiskey, which is aged in new American white oak barrels and finished with Aspen staves, before being transferred to barrels previously used to barrel-age Wisconsin maple syrup by producer Lincoln County Reserve Maple Syrup. It was then finished for an additional four months.

“In the past, after aging our whiskey, we would sell our barrels to a maple syrup producer in Wisconsin for their own barrel-aged maple syrup production,” 291’s Founding Distiller and CEO Michael Myers said in a prepared statement. “This time they sent some of our barrels back so we decided to age our Colorado rye whiskey for an additional four months in the maple-finished barrels. We think the results are special and this whiskey definitely put us in a holiday mood!”

With official tasting notes making mention of toasted oak, toffee, maple syrup and figs, the 291 “M” Colorado whiskey reportedly gives a rich and spicy taste that the distillery describes as “liquid french toast with a serious kick.”

The new whiskey is presented at 123.4 proof for a suggested retail price around $105 per 750 ml bottle and is available at Distillery 291’s tasting room and select Colorado retailers.  The release contains a limited quantity of 866 bottles and stands as the first new label introduced by 291 in five years.

Distillery 291, for those that don’t know it, is located in Colorado Springs, Colorado. It sits in the shadow of Pikes Peak and is helmed by founding distiller and CEO, Michael Myers. The distillery produces from grain to barrel to bottle what’s said to be ten distinctive Colorado whiskeys.