Tasting notes

nose

caramel apple, candied pear, lemon tart and bright citrus zest over peppery rye spice

palate

creamy orange creamsicle and crème brûlée meet baking spice and cinnamon-sugar toasted nuts

finish

long; baked green apple with caramel, creamy black tea and pipe tobacco linger, settling into spiced pear and drying to tea tannin with a tart lemon edge

Mash bill

64% heirloom Spooner rye, 14% heirloom red corn, 14% winter wheat, 8% malted barley. It flips the house bourbon recipe, so the farm-grown Spooner rye leads and the family's heirloom red corn and wheat become the supporting grains. Most American rye is made from rye and malted barley alone; the corn and wheat here soften the rye's spice and push the whiskey toward fruit and cream.

Why it's craft

Three of the four grains in this rye, the Spooner rye, red corn and wheat, are grown on the Henry farm in Dane, where the family has farmed since 1946. Small batches of about 20 barrels age 4 to 6 years in an unheated barn on the farm before being slowly reduced to 100 proof. The spirit is distilled for the family under contract by 45th Parallel in New Richmond, and the Henrys began making whiskey in 2009.