Thresh & Winnow 10 Year Rye

THRESH & WINNOW RYE
Limited Release Single Cask #597 (2024)

MASH BILL – 100% organic rye

PROOF – 100

AGE – 10 years

DISTILLERY – Lion’s Pride Spirits (Koval)

PRICE – $104

WORTH BUYING? – Yes!

It’s been a long time since I’ve had anything from Koval in Chicago, and that was a bottle of their Millet Whiskey back in 2019. Overall I found it sweet, herbaceous, thin, at once rough and refined, not unpleasant, but ultimately uneventful. I was neither mad nor excited about it. Though I appreciated Koval’s use of organic, sometimes unconventional grains, this introduction didn’t compel me to explore the brand further.

When I saw this Thresh & Winnow Rye pop up on the K&L website, the description left me uncertain whether it was a Koval product or a contract-distilled effort produced by Thresh & Winnow, a brand name I’d not heard of before. Once I had the bottle in hand, close inspection revealed it is distilled and bottled by Lion’s Pride Spirits—also a brand I’d not heard of. No amount of poking about the Koval or Thresh & Winnow websites reveals any mention of Lion’s Pride Spirits. And Lion’s Pride is itself without a website that Google is aware of, save the words “coming soon” in tiny font if you happen to manually enter “lionspridespirits.com.” (That’s true as I write this. Maybe they’ll get that website up soon.)

But Lion’s Pride does show up in Google searches otherwise, in reviews of their products and online retailer webpages. Inevitably the brand is tied back to Koval.

All this is marketing. I always want to know who’s actually responsible for making what I’m drinking. So the ambiguity around this bottle’s exact identity is eye-roll inducing for a whiskey geek like me. Why do that, Koval? Or, whomever?

Similarly, the bespoke bottle design is both attention grabbing and cause for hesitation. Was this exceptional bottle commissioned because the people who made the whiskey are exceptionally proud of it? Or were they dressing up a mediocre effort? (I’m lookin’ at you Blanton’s.)

But we don’t drink the bottles, brand names, or marketing. We drink the whiskey. And based on the specs—aged 10 years, 100% organic rye, 100 proof, single cask—I was very curious.

Here we are, nearing three weeks after uncorking and three pours into the bottle. These brief notes were taken using a traditional Glencairn.

COLOR – vibrant dusty orange

NOSE – dry oak and long-stemmed grasses, chewy rye grain and spice, thick white sugar frosting, fresh pine needle, brown sugar, black pepper

TASTE – all the notes from the nose, plus rich and creamy vanilla custard, creme brûlée, that white sugar frosting thickens, a thick silky texture

FINISH – emphasis shifts back to the drier rye and spice notes, retaining the sticky white sugar frosting and cream aspects, all held up by a nice warmth

OVERALL – at once old-fashioned confectionary and 21st century craft rye

Well now. This is something. The ample fragrance of the nose goes into technicolor on the palate, and that’s where this rye shines most. The taste is many things at once. I wouldn’t say it’s balanced. All the notes seem to be swirling around one another, moving in and out. But they aren’t fighting each other. It’s more like they’re dancing.

This is mature craft rye whiskey. I’m not just referring to its literal age. There is a complexity to it that combines the typical “crafty” elements of grain and raw pine with classic cream and vanilla notes found in the best traditional American whiskeys. There is a wildness to it that nevertheless comes across with intention and finesse.

The bottle design does seem a bit overdone. “The lady doth protest too much,” as the old line goes. Then again, I can’t say the whiskey itself is not worthy of a special presentation. It’s unique. I just don’t think any whiskey needs such a presentation. If the price were to come down with a simpler bottle I’d be perfectly glad. I like this rye. I do wish it was ~$20 cheaper. But I don’t regret buying it. I keep reaching for the glass anyway—always a good sign!

So if you’re a fan of both contemporary and classic rye whiskeys, in this one bottle you get both. I’d say that makes it worth trying at least once for any rye fan.

Cheers!