Jefferson's Ocean Aged at Sea Rye visited 30 ports on five continents.
You might expect Jefferson’s to produce a rye more in the style of its bourbon, a Kentucky-made whiskey with a mashbill of somewhere between 51 and 60 percent of the grain. That’s not the case here, as this is a 100 percent rye whiskey that was distilled and aged in Canada. After spending five years aging, it was given a double barrel finish—75 percent in char #3 barrels, and 25 percent in toasted oak—before embarking upon its voyage to visit five continents and 30 ports.
“I love ryes in cocktails,” said Zoeller at a recent tasting. “They are nice and sharp and have that great flavor, and then they dry out and shut up and allow the other components to shine.” For this release, he was intent on creating a sipping rye whiskey, something with mouthfeel and flavor that you’ll want to enjoy neat, and doesn’t necessarily shut up.In that, Zoeller has succeeded.
The spirit of experimentation at Jefferson’s is why the brand continues to be so intriguing. At that recent tasting, Zoeller revealed one of the failed attempts of the last few years, a Tabasco barrel finished whiskey that quite literally burned your palate with intense pepper flavors . So yeah, not every lightbulb that goes off in the head of a person who runs a whiskey brand is going to work, but that’s okay.