Still Austin Whiskey Co. opened its doors in 2017, billed as the city of Austin’s first distillery since Prohibition. It’s located in the St. Elmo District just south of the city center, a former industrial neighborhood that’s now a destination for dining, shopping, and entertainment that also features a brewery, urban winery, coffee roaster, and other businesses.
The distillery started as a collaborative project between retired business executive Cleveland Seals and his son Chris, along with several other locals. Early on, it recruited renowned master blender Nancy Fraley to help create whiskeys with a grain-to-glass approach, but it set itself apart with its maturation process. The regimen, which was devised by Fraley, sees small amounts of water added to barrels as they age to stave off the impact of the harsh Texas climate.
The distillery has come a long way in a relatively short time. Still Austin has recently been scoring some high ratings, led by its rye whiskeys—including an impressive 93-point cask strength expression, which was named an Editors’ Pick in our Winter 2023 Buying Guide. Now comes the introduction of a new bottled in bond rye.
In terms of composition, this new bonded rye is nearly identical to the other Still Austin ryes, namely The Artist and Cask Strength. All three were made with the same 100% Texan rye mashbill. The proofing is also comparable, with this one (50%) sitting just above The Artist (49.8%), yet still below Cask Strength (58%). The difference here is the extended maturation. It was aged for 4 years and 1 month, meaning it’s twice as old as its 2 year old counterparts.
The rye also acts as the final chapter for Still Austin’s Bottled in Bond Series. This collection kicked off last June with the promise of four bonded whiskeys, each representing a particular season. The inaugural summer release was a red corn bourbon, which we rated at 92 points. Next came autumn’s release, a high rye bourbon, which landed in September and earned 89 points. It was followed by a blue corn bourbon in late November, representing winter, which also scored 92 points.
Bottled in Bond Straight Rye carries a suggested retail purchase of $80, and is currently available for purchase at the distillery’s tasting room in Austin, Texas. There will also be an online sale and a limited retail release, but those won’t happen until sometime next month.
Still Austin plans to turn the Bottled in Bond Series into an annual release, with each expression slated to make a comeback next year—with Red Corn bourbon’s second batch coming this summer. Two of the three bonded expressions we’ve tasted so far have been impressive, and we’re looking forward to seeing if this expression can clinch the hattrick for Still Austin.
