Tasting notes

nose

rye bread and lemon peel with ginger, spiced apple and a floral, grassy lift

palate

bright and a little chewy; buttered rye toast and orange marmalade with cinnamon, clove, cedar and white pepper

finish

medium; red apple and root beer with black tea and thyme, the pepper holding on as it dries

Mash bill

Rye and barley, in proportions Widow Jane has not published. Part of the rye is distilled at Widow Jane's Red Hook distillery and the rest is straight rye selected from Kentucky and Indiana, so the blend joins more than one recipe. Widow Jane built it to show the sweetness and body rye can carry alongside the grain's familiar spice.

Awards

• Gold, Category Winner (Rye) — World Whiskies Awards 2024
• Double Gold — SIP Awards 2025
• Gold — New York International Spirits Competition 2025

Why it's craft

Paradigm Rye joins whiskey from two sources: rye distilled at Widow Jane's own distillery in Red Hook, Brooklyn, and straight ryes bought from Kentucky and Indiana. The blend is cut with mineral water from the Rosendale limestone mines and each bottle is numbered by hand in Brooklyn. It was named the best no-age-statement rye at the 2024 World Whiskies Awards. Widow Jane has been owned by Heaven Hill Brands since 2022.