BOURYE
Batch 19L06 (2019)MASH BILL – blend of MGP rye and bourbon (Rye 95% rye / 5% barley; Bourbons 75% corn / 21% rye / 4% barley; 60% corn / 36% rye / 4% barley)
PROOF – 92
AGE – NAS (blend of whiskeys aged 10+ years according to High West)
DISTILLERY – High West Distillery
PRICE – $76
WORTH BUYING? – Oh yes
Tasted in The Year of No Buying (The what? 🔗 here.)
This late 2019 release was the last national release of High West’s Bourye. Currently it is a Utah-only release and now includes High West’s own distillate, in what was once a sourced-only whiskey blend. But this 2019 release is all MGP whiskey all the time, and that’s just fine by me!
My first sighting of Bourye was the 2018 release. It was very satisfying in the moment, yet unmemorable. Two years later I found a dusty old bottle of the 2017 release in a small grocery store. That release made a much stronger impression than the 2018, but was inconsistent over the life of the bottle. In the end, I concluded that it was fine that Bourye had become a Utah-only release.
But accolades poured out in early 2020 when this 2019 bottling started hitting shelves. A bit of whiskey lightning had struck, it seemed. And word was already out that it might be the last national release. So when I found a bottle at msrp, I nabbed it. It sat patiently in my bunker until one fateful night I finally felt the urge to take another crack (swig?) at the elusive jackalope.
So here we are, nearing six weeks after uncorking and three pours into the bottle. These brief notes were taken using a traditional Glencairn.
COLOR – rich toasted oranges, ranging from soft to smoldering
NOSE – lots of rye spices and grasses, also baking spices, rich caramel layered on something bready like a pound cake, faint baked cherry, graham cracker, chewy ginger snaps
TASTE – lovely, and true to the nose, emphasizing the various baking elements, everything flowing in a thin but clinging syrupy texture, ending with a bit of sweet oak and oak tannin
FINISH – gentle warmth, the baking aspects now backing up the sweet oak and oak tannin, lingering medium-long
OVERALL – more Rye than Bou, and excellent
Of the three Bourye sightings I’ve had to date, this is easily my favorite. Its flavors are pronounced yet balanced. The finish could linger longer. But even with the subdued fade-out it pleases, with baking and rye spice notes wafting amongst the sweet and gently tannic oak.
Despite having two bourbons in the blend and just one rye, tasted blind I’d guess this whiskey to be a rye. I suspect the rye quotient is significant, and of course the bourbons involved are both high-rye recipes. The bourbons add enough sweetness to ground the spice of the rye. And that thin but syrupy texture really does coat the mouth, helping the flavors to linger, even if only unobtrusively.
There’s a lot to like here. The oaky tannins in the finish might irritate some palates. But for me they work like the dash of Angostura bitters that give a good Manhattan cocktail its subtle complexity. And actually, this Bourye in a Manhattan? That would be excellent. I’ll have to give it a go.
The Bourye line’s inconsistency from year to year doesn’t leave me fomo-ing for future releases. But I’m very glad to have nabbed this 19L06 back when I could, and very pleased to have it on hand for my Year of No Buying. Between the well-aged MGP whiskeys in the blend and the waves of flavor it achieves even at a modest 92 proof, it makes for a great, classic, rye-forward American whiskey. If you spot one gathering dust in some shop off the beaten path and they’ve kept the price to two digits, it’s definitely worth picking up.
Cheers!
The Right Spirit 