New Independent Rye Whiskey Emerges From O.Z. Tyler Distillery

The historic O.Z. Tyler distillery in Kentucky (it has gone by other names in the past), which reopened for production in 2016 after a period of long dormancy, is normally known for the huge amount of bourbon – 90,000 barrels annually – it produces. Noted as being the fourth largest independent bourbon distillery in the nation, it also produces rye whiskey, among other offerings. Some of this rye has found its way into the hands of Latitude Beverage, an independent wine and spirits company, and is being called Wheel Horse Rye Whiskey.

The new Wheel Horse Rye Whiskey, according to those behind it, was aged at O.Z. Tyler for between two and three years in new, charred American oak barrels. It was distilled for Latitude Beverage by O.Z. Tyler master distiller Jacob Call from a grain bill of 95 percent rye and 5 percent malted barley.

“America has seen a resurgence of rye whiskey over the past decade, and there’s no end in sight to its impressive growth,” said Terry Lozoff, Latitude Beverage’s VP of Marketing and Spirits Director, in a prepared statement. “We are excited to enter this category, and even more excited to be doing so in partnership with O.Z. Tyler; a distillery with roots dating back to the late 1800s, and that once produced whiskeys for historic brands like Ezra Brooks, Green River and Old Medley.”

Wheel Horse is bottled at 101 proof and is non-chill filtered. It is pricing at around $28 per 750 ml bottle and will be available at select spirits retail locations throughout the Northeast as well as in Colorado, California and Illinois. Limited official tasting notes suggest “a rich and flavorful profile with notes of baking spices, sweet toffee and barrel-mellowed rye spice.”