Outryder Straight American Whiskey Review

BOTTLE DETAILS

• DISTILLER: Wyoming Whiskey
• MASH BILL: Blend of two different mash bills:
•  40% Corn | 48% Winter Rye | 12% Malted Barley
•  68% Corn  |  20% Winter Rye  |  12% Malted Barley
• AGE: 4 Years and change (it’s a bonded whiskey)
• YEAR: 2016
• PROOF: 100 (50% ABV)
• MSRP: $54.99
• BUY ONLINE: Binny’s  |  Liquor Barn

POPS' NOTES

NOSE: Butter  |  Brown & Rye Spices  |  Orange Peel

TASTE: Orange  |  Butter Caramel  |  Honey

FINISH: The finish starts sweet, with a mix of orange peel and honey that quickly gets hot with peppery rye spice. It feels a little off balance, erring on the hot and spicy side instead of blending the sweet and spicy as my taste buds were anticipating. The burn is medium to long, returning on occasion with punches of pepper and rye spice and an echo of sweetness. I think another 12-18 months of aging would have helped bring a little more balance to this one.

SHARE WITH: I was really hoping I could recommend this to someone that was new to the American whiskey category based on the light and sweet aroma profile. But the 100 proof and hot rye/pepper notes keep me from doing so. Instead, I would share this with someone who drinks whiskey on a regular basis and knows enough to understand the interplay happening between the two mash bills.

WORTH THE PRICE: MSRP of $54.99 puts this one into a price range that I’m very sensitive about. Quite a few of my favorite daily drinkers are in this range, and I like them for a variety of reasons – none of which Outryder aligns with at this time. And that’s why it’s harder than usual to answer this question. I love the nose on Outryder. It’s light, sweet and different than most of the whiskey I spend my time drinking. And while the finish is a bit unbalanced on the hot/spicy side of the spectrum, there’s something just different enough about it that keeps me coming back for sip after sip. I guess we can go ahead and say it’s worth the price but for reasons that have more to do with the whiskey being different than most on the market and for keeping me intrigued.

BOTTLE, BAR OR BUST: If $50 for a bottle doesn’t hurt your budget go ahead and grab a bottle and try it out. Even if you decide you don’t like it for everyday drinking, it should be easy to share with others who are looking to try new things and expand their knowledge of whiskey blending and flavor profiles.

OVERALL: Outryder is a welcome new addition to the market in my opinion. It’s unique, flavorful and relatively affordable when compared to most of the other new items hitting the market these days. And of course, it’s something that Wyoming Whiskey distilled and made themselves allowing us whiskey drinkers to know exactly what we’re getting. In my book, that’s reason enough to give it a try when you have a chance.

BRAND NOTES

A straight American whiskey with higher rye content than our Small Batch Bourbon, but short of a true rye whiskey.  Different and great.  Perfect for sipping or making cocktails.

It’s crafted from two distinct mash bills distilled in November of 2011.  The first mash bill contains 48% winter rye, 40% corn, and 12% malted barley and the second reflects a traditional bourbon mash bill of 68% corn, 20% winter rye, and 12% malted barley.  In keeping with Wyoming Whiskey’s tradition, these grains are all non-GMO and grown in Byron, Wyoming by Rageth Farms.

100 PROOF.  BOTTLED IN BOND.

COLOR: amber to light copper

NOSE: brown baking spices of cinnamon and allspice with creamy browned butter

PALATE: clove and allspice, freshly baked dark rye bread with hints of orange blossom honey

MOUTHFEEL: cinnamon spice with creamy butterscotch pudding

FINISH: long, spicy rye finish coupled with hints of buttery toffee

ONE MORE THING…

As I was preparing to do my review of Outryder, I got a bit tripped up on the “Bottled In Bond” declaration on the bottle. Off the top of my head, I couldn’t recall any mash bill blends on the market using this designation, so I had concerns on whether or not Wyoming Whiskey could legally call Outrider a “Bottled In Bond” product. (Arok does a great job providing detail on this issue in his post about Outryder.)

To help make sense of it all I reached out to Wyoming Whiskey founder, David DeFazio, and below is his response.

“Great question.  We took a close look at the act and determined that Outryder qualified as a bonded product.  Here’s why: both of the whiskies in Outryder were made by the same distiller, and distilled in the same season: late fall of 2011.  Both of these whiskies were made with mash bills containing corn, winter rye, and malted barley.  The fact that both mash bills contain the same three grains satisfies the requirement that the bonded spirit is produced from the “same class of materials”.  Here, the materials (grains) are identical, were grown on the same farm in Byron, Wyoming, but mashed in different proportions.  The question then becomes whether our two spirits are of the same “kind”.  The term “kind” is not defined in the Code of Federal Regulations.  So, when applying for a COLA (Certificate of Label Approval), you must designate the “Class” of spirit, which we equate to “kind”.  Here, both spirits are clearly in the “Whiskey” Class, as defined by the Regulations.  Other “class” examples are tequila, mezcal, and vodka.  The two whiskies that we are using are very close in composition, with only a flip in the percentages of corn and rye.  And, while it is not addressed, we used the same yeast for the fermentation processes of both whiskies as well.

And, you must remember, that the reason for the Bottled in Bond Act of 1897 was to fight the adulteration of American whiskey by guaranteeing the authenticity of the bottled product.  Outryder is as authentic as it gets.  Fermented from grains (corn, winter rye, and malted barley) from the same farm (Rageth Farm in Byron, Wyoming), by using the same yeast (secret), by the same distiller (Wyoming Whiskey), at the same distillery (in Kirby, Wyoming), in the late fall of 2011, and aged for just under five years in new, charred, white oak barrels.  And, as we clearly state on our label, “It’s not a bourbon.  It’s not a true rye.”

For all of these reasons, our product qualifies as a Bonded product.”

So there you have it straight from the source. Does it legally stand up if examined by those that rule on such things? I’m not even remotely qualified to comment on that, but I do know that David’s a lawyer, so I assume he’s pretty confident.

Disclaimer: Bourbon & Banter received a sample of this product from the brand for review. We appreciate their willingness to allow us to review their products with no strings attached. Thank you.