The most highly anticipated barrel of rye ever

“See, you get three or four good pals. Well, then you’ve got yourself a tribe. And there ain’t nothing stronger than that.” El Chivato

You ever see Zoolander? You know how Billy Zane asks Zoolander “When are you gonna drop ‘Magnum’ on us, buddy?” Well that’s me and the Young Guns rye barrel pick from Blaum Bros in Galena, Illinois. I’ll be walking down the street, avoiding human contact even pre corona, and someone will yell from across the street “Hey, Ryebrarian! When is Young Guns gonna drop, buddy?” And I just smile and say, “It’s not ready, man, but it’s coming and it’s going to shock the world.”

I have known the brothers Blaum for a few years now and they are great dudes and make good liquor too. We were the odd cats who had a chance to buy some really top notch Oldfangled Knotter bourbon barrels but chose to buy two 5 year old Knotter Rye barrels instead. Why? Because rye is great, that’s why. And Jimmy Barrel and El Magico both won Rye of the Year 2018 so figure that out. Both were MGP rye barrels, but Young Guns will be a Blaum distilled rye. Oh and the Blaums also mashed and fermented the rye; I know some sneaky folks distill but don’t ferment. Shots fired!

So what about their own rye distillate? The Blaums have been cooking up a few different variations on their rye mash bill and have experimented with different types of 53 gallon oak barrels to age their rye. The Blaum Bros rye that’s on the market with the red, white, and blue labels are made with a mash bill of 92% rye, 5% smoked malted barley, and 3% malted barley aged in a new charred oak barrel. However, if you attended the Blaum Bros Whiskey Revelry event in January 2020, then you’d be lucky to have received a bottle from rye barrel 277. This barrel is a strong candidate for Rye of the Year 2020, I’m going to tell you right now.

What is so special about rye barrel 277? Well, two big changes over their standard rye. First, the mash bill is 100% rye. Love that. Jam more rye in there! Second, the barrels were smoked using apple wood. So the smoke came out of the mash bill but is still there in the taste thanks to the barrel smoking. The black tea notes are gone in this variation and I will be damned if you don’t pick up more sweetness from the apple wood smoke. This is a great rye barrel, a nice combination of sweet and spicy with a long finish.

So stay tuned, because if barrel 277 is a sign of things to come, then the world is going to lose their minds when we drop Magnum on them. Young Guns. 2020. I hope.