Ingram Straight Rye Whiskey Review: A 'Fryeday' sipper

BOTTLE DETAILS

• DISTILLER: Produced by The Ingram Distillery. Distilled by Green River Distillery
• MASH BILL: 51% Rye | 45% Corn | 4% Malted Barley
• AGE: 4 to 5 years
• YEAR: 2026
• PROOF: 98 (49% ABV)
• MSRP: $54.99
• BUY ONLINE: Ingram Distillery Bottle Shop

STEVE'S NOTES

SHARE WITH: Any whiskey drinker; it's super approachable. Much as I love high-proof, old whiskies, I should step away from them more often, take a walk on the mild side, and reset my palate to a reasonable threshold. This is perfect for that.

WORTH THE PRICE: Yeah. Good whiskey costs what it costs, especially when the batch size is only 16 barrels.

BOTTLE, BAR OR BUST: Bottle. I'm betting you'll return to it more often than you'd expect. It's a good opener and a closer for any given evening. If you start out with high proof, this one will wind down your palate suitably, especially if some dessert is handy for pairing.

OVERALL: This rye has been a spicy and solid staple of the Ingram line for many years, but now instead of being "at least 3 years old," as its label formerly read, it's now at least 4-year-old rye fortified with 5-year-old rye. The added age helps with complexity in this lower proof iteration. (Does Ingram do higher proof ryes, you ask? Indeed! Had I known about this "Port-Stern" single barrel now listed as "sold out" on its website, I'd have jumped on it. I'm looking forward to snagging one or more someday.)

Whiskey drinkers know that "small batch" is the loosest of marketing terms, but Ingram's claim of this rye being a 16 barrel batch–not to mention barrels aged entirely in ricked barges floating on the Mississippi River at Columbus, Ky.–makes it more desirable and impressive to me. At Michter's Distillery, where small batches are just 13 barrels, master distiller Dan McKee describes the challenge of tiny batches this way: "There's not a lot of wiggle room when you're working in batches that small."

That this bottle wound up in my hands is because Ingram is giving its rye a sort-of soft relaunch with a February Happy F'RYE'DAY social media campaign. Included are swag giveaways and cocktail recipes, and even a romance-centered song list you can find on YouTube. Like any journalist feeling perpetually overdosed on marketing campaigns, I'm charmed by this one. If you order a bottle, you'll see what I mean. (And since the cocktail discussion in Bourbon & Banter's member Discord channel is really growing, I've added an Ingram recipe at the bottom of this review.) Now, on to the whiskey!

The nose is candied and led by a combo of vanilla, caramel, white frosting and Kellogg's Frosted Flakes. It's a quick shift to bubblegum, warmed peaches and strawberries and lemon tart before moving to toasted oak, campfire and a breakfast toast.

It's both spicy and creamy on the palate–the balanced combo you get from spirits nicely proofed to the mid- to high 90s. Any tingling that starts on the tongue soon rolls gently and warmly down the throat. After several sips, the finish becomes pleasantly fruity and lightly savory (rye spice, I suppose); the whole being easy and inviting.

This is a really good sipper, which I look forward to test driving soon in a cocktail. It also really makes me look forward to tasting its barrel-strength brethren down the road. Any American whiskey drinker will appreciate this straightforward and approachable pour.

BRAND NOTES

TASTING NOTES

NOSE: Floral, caramel, brown sugar and cherry

PALATE Buttery, vanilla, graham cracker, cinnamon, and touches of leather and citrus

FINISH: A medium finish with soft rye spice, butterscotch, bubblegum, and raspberry preserves

"F'RYE'DAY I'm In Love" Cocktail Recipe

Ingredients

• 1.5 oz of O.H.Ingram Rye
• .75 oz Liber and Sons Yakima Peach Syrup
• 3 dashes Angostura Orange bitters
• 2 to 3 ozs. "sweet tea" (Done correctly, sweet tea is strong brewed pekoe sweetened with white cane sugar simple syrup. Granulated sugar doesn't blend nearly as well as simple syrup.)

Directions:
Rim glass with brown sugar and cinnamon on one side. Combine ingredients in a mixing glass with ice, stir until chilled, then strain into a glass with fresh ice. Garnish with a slice of dehydrated mango or a peach slice and a basil leaf.

Makes 1 cocktail.

Credit Southern Oaks Athletic Club in Baton Rouge, La., for the recipe.

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.