Woodford Reserve Delves Deeper into Kentucky Rye

For all those great Kentucky ryes you love to sip, virtually all the rye grains come from outside the Bluegrass State. Rye output in Kentucky is tiny, because this cold weather crop tends to wilt in the heat and humidity. The local rye is used mainly as a cover crop that’s planted between the harvests of Kentucky’s two dominant grains, corn and soybeans. There are a handful of small exceptions to this—Wilderness Trail uses local Heritage rye for its bottled in bond rye, and Heaven Hill has worked with local farmers since 2016 using cover crop rye for distillation and cultivating Heritage rye strains. For the vast majority of production, however, Kentucky’s distillers must look elsewhere for their rye supply, mainly to Canada and Europe.

But can rye become a more widespread Kentucky crop? Woodford Reserve certainly hopes so. About five years ago it embarked on the beginnings of a plan to develop rye as a Kentucky grain, launching a research partnership with the University of Kentucky and liaising with local farmers. Last week it announced a deeper dive, securing commitments from two farmers to start growing rye on their properties over the next five years. Two other deals are expected soon, and Woodford will purchase the entire rye output for all of them.

The University of Kentucky is providing hybrid and open-sourced rye varieties including Serafino, Tayo, Hazlet, Dylan, and Aventino, as well as experimental varieties yet to be determined. Once the new rye is harvested and milled, it initially will be used in small distillation trials conducted at the Louisville headquarters of Woodford’s owner, Brown-Forman. But the ultimate goal is to use it for the rye component of Woodford Reserve’s bourbon mashbill, which is 72% corn, 18% rye, and 10% malted barley.

There are currently no plans for Woodford to produce its own rye whiskey from these grains. “But we could potentially see new [heritage] expressions in our Master’s Collection or our Distillery Series,” says master distiller Elizabeth McCall. “This opens the door to exploring more small grains and widening our innovation pipeline.”

That leads to another question: Are there flavor differences between locally grown rye and out-of-state rye? Certainly not after maturation, McCall has found. But it’s always possible some heirloom rye variety might result in a flavor difference at some point down the road.