The Old Pepper Distillery is rich with history. Assigned DSP-KY-5, its roots date back to 1780 when the distillery was first established. James E. Pepper was a third generation distiller and operated the distillery until 1906, when he passed away. In 1958, the distillery fell on hard times and shut down. In 2008, Amir Peay of Georgetown Trading Co. acquired rights to the brand and began efforts to bring it back to life. Up until recently, their whiskeys have been sourced from MGP in Indiana, but the company has recently started to transition to their own distillate.

Given the lightness and overall familiarity of Old Pepper Single Barrel Straight Rye’s nose, I thought I knew what to expect just from its scent. Boy, was I wrong, as there is a surprising amount of weight to its sip, both in flavor and viscosity. With the aroma so light and leaning towards traditional, the sudden shift to the complete opposite makes this whiskey two-faced in the best of ways.

Immediately, the sip is thick with semi-sweet cocoa powder and ample cinnamon coating your tongue. This is followed by a slight repeal thanks to notes of honey, almond, and light nutmeg. The finish is arguably the star of the show, thanks to big notes of black pepper, dark chocolate, and peppermint that combine to statement-making intensity. Somehow within all of this uniqueness (remember this has a 100% rye mashbill), a pronounced musty note is present. I have no idea how Old Pepper Distillery was able to create a 4 year old 100% rye that tastes like this, with its thick viscosity and punchy musty note, but this rye is something else. I can’t wait to taste more ryes from the company and see if they can replicate these qualities over time. Despite this being a small sample size of just one single barrel, it’s enough for me to be extremely interested in what the future brings to their rye whiskey line.