J. Carver Introduces Its Runestone Straight Rye Whiskey

by Gary Carter
June 21, 2023

Minnesota’s J. Carver Distillery recently announced the release of their 7 Year Runestone Straight Rye Whiskey, which showcases Minnesota grains and barrels.

Bill Miller, founding partner for J. Carver, said in a prepared statement that planning for this product began many years ago, by selecting their favorite barrels and holding them on-site in reserve for long-term aging.

“This is a unique, pure rye whiskey, with a malt-heavy mash bill that enhances the sweetness and imparts a spicy yet smooth finish compared to other rye whiskies,” he said.

J Carver Runestone 7 Year Rye — Minnesota’s J. Carver Distillery recently announced the release of their 7 Year Runestone Straight Rye Whiskey, which showcases Minnesota grains and barrels. (image via J. Carver)

Fellow founding partner Gina Holman added, “J. Carver Distillery has been barreling whiskey for nearly nine years, and we are gratified that our larger barrels are producing the complex flavors we had hoped for.”

Her tasting notes described the J. Carver 7 Year Runestone Straight Rye as offering aromas of caramel, toffee, citrus, vanilla, herbal, grains, and toasted oak flavors on the nose.

The whiskey tastes of butterscotch, nougat, sweet churned butter, honey, apple, cardamom, nectarine, dried stone fruit, dried orange peel, cocoa, oak, vanilla, white pepper, dill, and baking spice notes with a long, smooth finish

The distiller noted that this Straight Rye Whiskey comes from a mash bill of 86 percent Minnesota rye and 14 percent malted rye, and it was aged for more than seven years in charred new oak barrels. It comes non-chill filtered, clocking in at 98.4 proof.

The whiskey was named for the Kensington Runestone, a slab of ancient stone covered in runes allegedly discovered in central Minnesota in 1898, and named for the nearest settlement of Kensington.