Premier Drams - 7yo Rye Single Barrel #20400

Premier Drams

Rye Single Barrel, Aged 7 Years, Barrel Strength

Cask #20400, Distilled 2016, Bottled 2024, 50.5% abv, 750ml

The new independent bottling series Premier Drams from Bill Thomas is finally here! If you’re not familiar with Bill, he’s the owner of the legendary Jack Rose Saloon in Washington DC, widely cited as one of (for some THE) best whisk(e)y bar in America, which hosts an annual whisky festival also called Premier Drams. Bill has been hinting for a while now that he would be launching his first ever series of his own releases, and they have finally debuted. Expect a launch event at Jack Rose in the coming weeks. We are fortunate to call Bill a good friend — Drammers Club has hosted numerous events with him over the years and we’re very proud to say he carries many of the Drammers barrel picks behind the bar. Now, we’re thrilled to announce that we split 3 single barrels with him that will only be available at The Jack Rose Saloon and to Drammers Club members here at DRINQY.com.

Ok, so it tastes great, but what is this exactly? Bill’s not allowed to say who distilled it, though we think it’s pretty obvious from the pallet and especially if you know Bill. For one thing, there aren’t many American whiskies that command a $219 price for a 7yo, so that’s a pretty big hint. The bottle says “Bardstown” and then has an arrow pointing at “Frankfort”. We do note some reviews out there are pretty blunt about where they think it was distilled. One review at District Drams notes: “Bill Thomas has a famously good relationship with Willett […] the long and short of it is this is supposedly contract distilled Willett aged at Castle and Key.” In any case, just to be clear — Bill’s not confirming anything. The back of the bottle says it is 1 of 234 bottles, cooperate was an ISC barrel, “Warehouse B Est. 1912, 2nd and 5th Floor”. Mash Bill: Rye.