The 30 Best Rye Whiskeys to Drink in 2025

Adored by both bartenders and spirits connoisseurs, rye whiskey has never quite penetrated the home bar of mainstream drinkers (and, to a lesser extent, taterdom) in the same way bourbon has.

And that, of course, is surely due to its less accessible flavor profile. If bourbon is sweet — caramel and vanilla — rye is dry — spice, herbs, and sometimes even more challenging notes (dill?!). For seasoned drinkers, however, these aromas and flavors offer a greater complexity and sophistication in drinking — more to think about when sipping the spirit neat, more to match and balance the sugary modifiers and liqueurs in classic cocktails like the Old Fashioned or Manhattan.

If you’ve long avoided rye, it’s time to open your eyes and expand your palate. Made in a mostly similar way to bourbon — at least 51 percent rye grain, aged in new charred oak — the breadth of flavor in the category is actually a lot wider than bourbon. There are ryes that are punishing in their spiciness, others that are more rustic and agricultural, plenty that are soft and inviting and, dare we say, bourbon-like.

As truly great bourbon has become harder and harder to keep in stock (and reasonably priced), it has likewise become more and more difficult for newer producers to differentiate their releases from the glut already on shelves. So many distilleries have begun focusing more on rye, whether in releasing more affordable bottlings or in trying to elevate the category.

These are the 30 best rye whiskeys to buy and drink right now.

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Throughout the year, VinePair conducts dozens of tastings for our Buy This Booze product roundups, highlighting the best bottles across the world’s most popular wine and spirits categories.

As part of this work, VinePair’s tasting and editorial staff samples thousands of bottles every year. This helps us keep a finger on the pulse of what’s new and exciting. Crucially, it also provides us with the context needed to distinguish the simply good from the truly great — whether from a quality or value-for-money perspective, or both.

Ultimately, our mission is to offer a clear, reliable source of information for drinkers, providing an overview applicable to day-to-day buying and drinking. Learn more about VinePair’s tastings and reviews department here.

How We Taste

We believe in tasting all products as our readers typically would: with full knowledge of the producer and — importantly — price. Our tastings are therefore not conducted blind.

For this rye whiskey roundup, all expressions were sampled in Glencairn glasses and allowed to rest for a few minutes prior to tasting. We then evaluated the aromas, flavors, texture, and finish of each whiskey. Unless there was something notably off or worrying about a whiskey’s appearance — and on this occasion we encountered no such examples — we did not evaluate the products from a visual perspective.

How We Compiled the List

In order to provide our readers with the most comprehensive and thoroughly tested list of the best rye whiskeys to buy, VinePair invited producers, distributors, and PR firms working on their behalf to send samples for consideration. These bottles were submitted free of charge — producers didn’t pay to submit nor did VinePair pay for the products. All were requested with the clear understanding that submission does not guarantee inclusion in the final list.

Not only would such an agreement contradict our editorial ethics and samples policy, it simply wouldn’t be possible to include everything we received. For this rye whiskey roundup, we tasted 80 new submissions and also retasted several bottles that were either sent to VinePair throughout the year for consideration or that had ranked highly in prior iterations of this list.

During tasting, we assigned a score to each product on a 100-point scale based on the quality and intensity of its aromas, flavors, texture, and finish. Then we reviewed all scores and compiled an editorially driven list that meets our criteria of 30 best rye whiskeys to buy right now. It’s important to note that these are not the 30 highest-scoring ryes we tasted this year. Instead, this list showcases the best bottles across every price and for every scenario — because while price is completely objective, “affordability” is not.

The 30 Best Rye Whiskeys to Drink in 2025

The Best All-Rounder Rye Whiskey

Old Potrero California Cellar Series #3: Gundlach Bundschu Gewürztraminer Finish

The oldest (if still often-ignored) name in American craft whiskey hardly rests on its laurels. Despite making world-class, 100 percent rye whiskey since 1993, San Francisco-based Old Potrero’s California Cellars Series offers a chance to explore finishes in barrels from other statewide purveyors of wine and beer.

Now we are always a bit leery of finished rye whiskey — in so many cases the sweetness of the barrels can cover up the beautiful spice notes you want in a rye — but here the secondary maturation doesn’t overwhelm the base, and instead elevates it. If the absurdly long product name concerns you, don’t be. (The incredible amount of production information on both the front and back label is also much appreciated in this day and age of lack of transparency.)

Made from classic Old Potrero 100 percent Rye Whiskey that has been aged for five years and 8 months in toasted oak barrels, it is then finished in Gewürztraminer barrels from Sonoma County’s Gundlach Bundschu Winery for an additional 14 months.

There’s a white wine brightness on the nose, with classic Gewürztraminer lychee notes and a bit of citrus. It’s an aroma that will cause you to spend more time sniffing your dram than sipping it, although you obviously shouldn’t neglect the latter. The palate leans sweeter, but not cloying, with notes of crème brûlée and pineapple. The finish is herbal and spicy, but very drinkable at 57.3 percent ABV.

A neat sipper’s delight, and affordable enough to not have to nurse the bottle — though a limited production run (just around 1,200 bottles) may make it a bit tricky to find. This is not only the best rye we tried this year, but one of the best, most complex spirits of 2025, period.

Average price: $80 (700 milliliters)
Rating: 95

The Best Rye Whiskey for Cocktails

Sagamore Spirit Small Batch Rye Whiskey

In the early days of America, this was a rye country, and several regions specialized in their own take on the category. Maryland was one of those areas — once third in rye distilling only to Kentucky and Pennsylvania — though the state had quit making it for decades until distilleries like this well-funded upstart started popping up in the mid-2010s.

Immediately smelling the whiskey you realize this is its own unique beast, separate from the Kentucky archetypes. It offers a spicy aroma — distinctly rye whiskey. Produced from a blend of two straight rye mash bills, aged four to six years in high-char American oak barrels, the palate balances the herbs and baking spices with more sweetness, caramel, and brown sugar.

While elegant enough to sip, the price makes it highly attractive for mixing (though the thick, angular, and, quite frankly, unattractive bottle makes jiggering a challenge). We’d probably prefer at least a bonded whiskey (100 proof) for our favorite cocktails, yet this still delivers even with its slightly lower proof (a mere 93 proof).

Average price: $39
Rating: 93

The Best Rye Whiskey to Seek Out and Splurge On

Lock Stock & Barrel 21-Year Straight Rye Whiskey

If we tell you that a nearly $500, 21-year-old whiskey is great, your immediate response would probably be: “Well it better be!”

Alas, in a whiskey world where so many allocated, high-priced bottles seem to be more bark (hype) than bite (quality), this rye from a California-based NDP (non-distiller producer) delivers on every level. One hundred percent Canadian rye, distilled in copper pots and barreled before Y2K (May 1999), sourced from the famed Alberta Distillers, and packaged in an elegant, understated bottle of dark, black glass.

Despite being aged in new charred American oak, this lacks the tannic, chewing-on-wood-chips profile one might expect at two decades old. Instead, it is quite elegant and dessert-like: an aroma of toffee and leather moving toward caramel, chocolate, and baking spices on the palate, with a viscous, chewy finish, and little burn despite the barrel-strength proof (55.5 percent ABV).

In today’s day and age, where other highly mature, allocated ryes soar over a grand, is it possible that $500 is actually a steal here?!

Average price: $499
Rating: 94

The Spiciest Rye Whiskey

Lost Lantern Far-Flung Rye II

Thanks to the ubiquity of Indiana’s MGP (Midwest Grain Products distillery, now known as Ross & Squibb Distillery), rye is often seen in the U.S. as a mostly sourced product. It’s hard not to taste a great rye from a distillery you’ve never heard of, then flip the bottle over only to see “Distilled in Indiana” in small typeface. Lost Lantern, the most exciting independent bottler in the country, makes the sourcing research a bit easier by promoting it all on the front label.

This is the Vermont-based company’s second blend of multiple ryes, aged 5 to 9 years old, from multiple distilleries in multiple states — in this case, Kentucky’s New Riff, Kansas’s Union Horse, Maryland’s Baltimore Spirits Co., Ohio’s Middle West, and Wisconsin’s Wollersheim Distillery. No surprise, this is an incredibly complex rye whiskey — grassy, minty, a bit citrusy, and, yes, very spicy, though maybe that’s not a surprise either considering the cask-strength 124 proof.

If the price is edging toward unaffordable in your mind, just remind yourself how truly unique this product is.

Average price: $100
Rating: 93

The Best of the Rest

The Best Rye Whiskeys Under $50

Sazerac Rye 100 Proof

It’s often silly to list a Buffalo Trace product at its suggested retail price, but this is the rare case where you might actually find it at that level as so much was sent out to market this year. This 100-proof version of the distillery’s longtime 90-proof rye is meant mainly for bars and restaurants. Nevertheless, this is still a bit of a neophyte’s rye, not a pure rye lover’s rye. And there’s nothing wrong with that, especially for bourbon fans looking to dip their toes into the category, likely via a cocktail. Decent for a Sazerac, excellent for a Manhattan.

Average price: $30 (1 liter)
Rating: 89

Rieger Straight Rye Whiskey

This Kansas City distillery was revived in 2014 by the great-great-great-grandson of the company’s 19th-century immigrant founder. In the last decade it’s quickly homed in on distilling a great product that is always available at a fair price. The rye is no exception. Made from a high rye mash bill (96 percent rye) distilled on both pot and column stills, aged for at least four years, and bottled non-chill filtered, this is a rye with character. The nose is a bit bourbon-y, though backed by an earthy, woody aroma. The creamy palate brings in a sort of mint chocolate chip note, leading to a spicy, lingering finish.

Average price: $30
Rating: 90

Green River Kentucky Straight Rye Whiskey

Though coming from that iconic mash bill of 95/5 (95 percent rye, 5 percent malted barley), this is not the sourced MGP distillate you might expect it to be — nor does it taste like it. There’s a lot going here: red berries, honeysuckle, fresh-cut flowers, and chocolate. Such complexity at an incredible value!

Average price: $35
Rating: 92

Jefferson’s Straight Rye Whiskey

This blend of sourced rye from Tennessee, Indiana, and Canada delivers a unique, complex profile. There’s the expected baking spices on the nose, though the palate leans softer, with fruity and floral notes, ending with more spice and an herbal finish.

Average price: $35
Rating: 91

Woodford Reserve Kentucky Straight Rye Whiskey

As is often the case, the large Kentucky distilleries are too big to fail (at making great whiskey). Here is an ideal, what we might call “starter” rye. No, it’s not punishing in its spiciness — it’s only 53 percent rye — but it is quite pleasant to drink and has just enough pepper, clove, and cinnamon notes to clearly differentiate it from bourbon.

Average price: $35
Rating: 90

Blue Note Straight Rye Whiskey

While the iconic 95/5 mash bill might, again, make you think this is MGP, it is, rather, sourced from Kentucky’s Green River before being matured in Memphis in warehouses along the mighty Mississippi. The nose offers cinnamon and vanilla extract, with a palate that is fruity and oaky; spice comes in on the finish. The mild 93 proof and price make it attractive for various usage occasions.

Average price: $35
Rating: 90

High West Double Rye

This unique blend features sourced 95/5 rye from MGP and High West’s own 80 percent rye distillate. No surprise, there’s rye for days on the nose — dill pickle, perhaps — with a palate that offers more spice notes, cinnamon, mint, and even juniper. Though this great flavor profile could benefit from a slightly higher proof, at such a reasonable price it’s a minor quibble.

Average price: $38
Rating: 90

Redwood Empire Emerald Giant Rye Whiskey

A blend of Redwood Empire’s own distillate along with sourced barrels from Kentucky and MGP between the ages of 4 and 6 years old. This multi-state blend offers good rye character — spicy, with some cigar notes — but there is an odd, lingering wine-y sweetness that feels like an unlabeled secondary finish. A luscious body despite the minimal 90 proof renders this every bit as good as the brand’s Cask Strength offering — at nearly half the price, this is the much smarter buy.

Average price: $39
Rating: 92

Minden Mill Nevada Straight Rye Whiskey

Made from 100 percent grains grown on Minden Mill’s Nevada estate, this is a rye in its purest form. At 4 years and 94 proof, the nose and palate mostly serve a tongue-tickling spiciness, with just a hint of fruit to balance things a bit. Hardly complex, but totally delicious for rye fans.

Average price: $45
Rating: 90

The Best Rye Whiskeys Under $100

Bulleit 10 Year Aged Rye

If it pains us a bit to pick such a mainstream sourced rye (yet another MGP 95/5), what can we say? It’s delicious. Strong rye notes on the nose with an equal balance between spicy and sweet on the palate; toffee, buttered pecan, and orchard fruit leading toward a lingering finish of oak, though never tannic. A great value pick, perfect for a spendier cocktail, though still worth sipping neat.

Average price: $50
Rating: 92

Fox & Oden Straight Rye Whiskey

Yet another 95/5 rye, “curated from our vintage stock” — distilled in Ohio and blended and bottled in Holland, Mich. It’s simple, with slight notes of cinnamon and other baking spices, backed by a pleasant sweetness.

Average price: $50
Rating: 90

Chattanooga Whiskey Straight Rye Malt Whiskey

This offering from one of the country’s better craft distilleries features a mash bill that is 99 percent rye — including three different maltings: pale, caramel, and chocolate — 60 percent of which is malted. Bottled at 99 proof, the result is surprisingly earthy and agricultural, with notes of freshly roasted coffee and a spicy, green pepper note.

Average price: $51
Rating: 91

Rabbit Hole Boxergrail

Classic in profile and — you guessed it — yet another 95/5 rye, though the fact this is labeled Kentucky straight rye whiskey hints at a different source than MGP and, in fact, it is made in-house. There’s a lot going on here: butterscotch, citrus, baking spice, some Earl Grey tea, perhaps, and a lot of barrel char. A full, oily mouthfeel makes it fun to sip neat.

Average price: $54
Rating: 91

R.D.R Neeley Sweet Thumped Rye Whiskey

This rye is sweeter than most and perhaps that’s thanks to 11th-generation distiller Royce Neeley’s production methods, which include a charged copper thumper on the third pot distillation. If this is technical mumbo jumbo you don’t care for, just know this is a bourbon lover’s rye, with a minty, peppery nose leading into more traditional vanilla and butterscotch notes. The mouthfeel and finish are robust, thanks to it being bottled at barrel strength (55.2 percent ABV).

Average price: $55
Rating: 91

Tattersall Distilling 7 Year Rye Whiskey

Made from AC Hazlet and Bono rye varieties, plus malted rye, sourced from a single farm, this is minty and herbal on the nose, with a body bursting with dark cherries, vanilla, and caramel. Robust in flavor and mouthfeel, it’s almost like a Sazerac in a bottle.

Average price: $60
Rating: 91

New Riff 6 Year Malted Rye Whiskey

Made with an unusual mash bill of 100 percent malted rye, the result is a sophisticated, well-rounded whiskey with a spiciness that doesn’t overwhelm. Balanced with sweet notes of biscuits, cream, and toasted rye bread, this is clearly a neat sipper’s rye.

Average price: $65
Rating: 93

Wilderness Trail Kentucky Straight Rye Whiskey

A sweeter, smokier rye, this leans more herbal (think: spearmint) than spicy. A low barrel-entry proof — just 105 proof — assures a rich, luxurious mouthfeel. At its bonded proof, it would work well in cocktails, but the slightly higher price point favors neat sipping.

Average price: $65
Rating: 92

Castle & Key Kentucky Straight Rye Whiskey Finished in Vino de Naranja Barrels

Castle & Key’s 63 percent rye mash bill is aged for three years in new charred American oak before being finished in vino de naranja casks for 11 months. Despite the youth, this straight rye has complexity for days, with the orange wine (actually, white wine macerated with orange peels) perhaps covering up some graininess by injecting notes of orange peel and fortified wine. In a way, this tastes a bit like a bottled cocktail, with notes of chocolate-covered cherries, sherry, and leather, and an Old Fashioned-level of viscosity. Truly unique and outstanding.

Average price: $67
Rating: 94

Old Elk Straight Rye Whiskey

Bold and spicy on the nose, with hints of cinnamon sugar and allspice, the palate leans more peaches and cream, and caramel, with a lingering kiss of green pepper. At 6 years old, this is brimming with character. Produced by MGP’s former, longtime master distiller, Greg Metze, what can you say? The guy knows his rye.

Average price: $70
Rating: 92

Fiddler Toasted Straight Rye Whiskey

A variety of sourced mash bills — all of at least six years — are finished in toasted barrels, then “fiddled” with to create this flavorful blend. It’s well rounded and thick on the palate, with notes of gingerbread, maple syrup, and candied oranges, finishing with a lingering astringency. Excellent.

Average price: $80
Rating: 92

Russell’s Reserve Single Barrel Rye

Coming from Wild Turkey — and the brand’s eponymous Russell family of distillers — you know this is going to be solid. And it certainly is, although it lacks a lot of rye character, hewing more toward bourbon with notes of caramel and vanilla, and just a hint of ginger and pink peppercorn. Nevertheless, a single-barrel release at 104 proof and that price is hard to beat these days.

Average price: $80
Rating: 91

Tumblin’ Dice Straight Rye Whiskey Finished in Laird’s Apple Brandy Barrels

From non-distiller producer Proof & Wood, this single barrel of classic MGP 95/5 ascends to the stratosphere with a year in apple brandy barrels from America’s oldest spirits producer. The spice of the rye blends beautifully with the orchard fruit notes of the finishing barrel, creating a sort of apple cinnamon pie palate, with a good heaping of caramel sauce drizzled on top. But this unique single barrel is hardly cloying; it’s mature, refined, and a perfect pour for the chillier days of fall. One of our top ryes of the year, easily.

Average price: $89
Rating: 94

Calumet Farm High Rye Kentucky Straight Rye Whiskey

This unusual 91 percent rye whiskey is packed with baking spice on the nose, balanced out by notes of caramel and vanilla, with a lingering spice from the oak. The price is pretty high for what you’re getting, and we’re still dubious where this was sourced from (Barton? New Riff??), but we can’t deny how tasty it is.

Average price: $89
Rating: 91

SirDavis American Whisky

Don’t shoot the messenger: Beyoncé’s whiskey is pretty damn good. “Crafted” with help from industry legend Dr. Bill Lumsden, this is rye finished in Pedro Ximénez sherry casks then packaged in a silly bottle. Lower proof than it should be (44 percent ABV), higher priced likewise, it’s nevertheless an enjoyable pour (dark fruits, baking spices, toffee), and one that might lure neophytes into the category

Average price: $89
Rating: 89

Pinhook Vertical Series Rye 9 Year

Yet another welcome release in this yearly series that follows the maturation of a group of 450 sourced 95/5 MGP barrels as they age from four to 16 years. This 9-year release, produced from a blend of just 20 barrels, offers a highly sophisticated, well-rounded palate — even at cask strength — with notes of oatmeal cookie, fruit cake, butter brickle, and even some anise. This is a series we will eagerly continue to follow for the next seven years.

Average price: $93
Rating: 93

The Best Rye Whiskeys Over $100

George Dickel x Leopold Bros. Collaboration Blend

Column-distilled rye from Cascade Hollow Distilling Co. (George Dickel) is blended with Leopold Bros.’ unique Three Chamber rye to create a truly sui generis whiskey. Grainy and agricultural on the nose, with floral and tea-like hints. The palate is citrusy, bursting with honey and caramel that build toward a robust finish. A must-try for any rye fan.

Average price: $110
Rating: 93

FAQ

Is rye whiskey smoother than bourbon?

Since rye is best known for its so-called spice notes (think: cinnamon, allspice, nutmeg, clove, and pepper) it’s often thought of as less “smooth” than bourbon, which uses a higher proportion of corn (and often wheat) in its mash bill, typically rendering it sweeter tasting.

What is the highest-rated rye whiskey?

While it may be hard to find, thanks to its small production, Old Potrero California Cellar Series #3 is our highest-rated rye whiskey.

What is a good affordable rye whiskey?

Assuming you can find it at MSRP, liter bottles of Sazerac Rye 100 Proof are about as affordable as it gets. Woodford Reserve Kentucky Straight Rye Whiskey will be a little more costly, though surely much easier to find.

The article The 30 Best Rye Whiskeys to Drink in 2025 appeared first on VinePair.