Tasting notes

nose

wildflower honey and ripe cherry over fig, clove and a thread of coffee, with rose petal and anise behind

palate

spiced dark chocolate and apricot, then ginger, caramel and sandalwood, with white pepper building toward the back

finish

medium to long; cinnamon, clove and molasses hold, with orange zest and a little cocoa, fading to toasted oak and nutmeg

Mash bill

100% Brasetto rye. The rye is grown in Texas, much of it by Lonestar Family Farms, a third-generation family operation, and Still Austin uses no grain from outside the state. Brasetto gives a rounder, softer spice than the traditional Abruzzi rye, which lets honey, fig and chocolate notes come through alongside the pepper.

Awards

• Double Gold — San Francisco World Spirits Competition 2023

Why it's craft

Still Austin mills, mashes, distills and ages all of its whiskey at its distillery in South Austin, using only Texas-grown grain, much of it from one family farm. The Artist, released in December 2022, was its first rye, with a label painted by artist Marc Burckhardt. Central Texas heat and sudden cold snaps push the spirit in and out of the oak faster than in cooler climates, which the distillery credits for how quickly its whiskey develops.