Bourye, High West’s blend of bourbon and rye whiskeys, was once a national release, but that ended in 2019 as the distillery ran low on its aged sourced stock. (It also had a three-year hiatus from 2012 to 2015 after its original 2009 launch, as the distillery tinkered with the blend.) Since then, Bourye—when available—has been limited to Utah, and with the latest release, it narrows that field even further, becoming a distillery exclusive.
This year’s Bourye is a blend of straight rye and straight bourbon whiskeys aged for a minimum of 10 years. Two ryes are in the blend; one is sourced from MGP and uses a mashbill of 95% rye and 5% malted barley, and the other is own-make from High West’s Wanship distillery that’s made from 80% rye and 20% malted rye. As for the bourbons in the blend, one comes from MGP and uses a mashbill of 75% corn, 21% rye, and 4% malted barley, and the second is sourced from Kentucky and made from a mashbill of 78% corn, 10% rye, and 12% malted barley. Previously, High West tapped the likes of Barton and Four Roses for its older distillates, in addition to MGP (then LDI), but those wells had run dry by 2019.
If you’re a longtime Bourye fan, you will have to make a trip out to Park City, Utah, to get this whiskey, where it’s available at the High West Saloon for $125.
