The first Blue Run Spirits whiskey made with bourbon legend Jim Rutledge serving as the contracted master distiller is now available.
Blue Run Kentucky Straight High Rye Bourbon is distilled from a mash bill of 65% yellow corn, 30% rye and 5% malted barley. Only 100 selected barrels went into this bottling, each toasted to a #4 alligator char and aged in Frankfort and Bardstown, KY.
Blue Run High Rye Bourbon is 111 proof.
“For a four-year-old bourbon, I’m impressed with the quality of this release, and I look forward to evaluating the subsequent releases of these barrels, after additional maturation,” says Rutledge.
Blue Run High Rye Bourbon shows caramel, baking spices and a toasted oak frame that builds into a stone fruit and black pepper finish, the company reports. Each bottle features an iridescent coating on the brand’s signature gold butterfly.
“As we celebrate our one-year anniversary as a company, we wanted to release something that really made a statement and honored the deep traditions of whiskey making,” says Mike Montgomery, CEO and cofounder of Blue Run Spirits. “The legendary Jim Rutledge helped us craft a bold, spicy bourbon that even at 111 proof is incredibly sippable, with a pronounced, memorable finish. We are very excited to see how these barrels evolve over time for subsequent bottlings.”
Blue Run Kentucky Straight High Rye Bourbon Whiskey can be found in select retailers in the U.S., as well as online at BlueRunSpirits.com (beginning at 3 p.m. ET today).
Blue Run Spirits is available in Kentucky, Louisiana (RNDC); Georgia (Savannah); South Carolina and Tennessee (Advintage); Washington, D.C., Maryland and Delaware (Prestige-Ledroit); Illinois and Colorado (Breakthru); California and Florida (Park Street); New Jersey (Fedway Associates); and Canada (Evergreen).
Blue Run Kentucky Straight High Rye Bourbon Whiskey has a suggested retail price of $89.99 per 750-ml. bottle.
Since Blue Run Spirits launched in October 2020, the company has released five whiskies: the inaugural 13-Year-Old Bourbon, 13.5-Year-Old Single Barrel Bourbon, 14-Year-Old Small Batch Bourbon and the most recent release, Golden Rye Whiskey.
For more than four decades, Rutledge worked in bourbon-making at Seagram and Four Roses — including leading the latter into the global brand it is today — before recently branching out into other whiskey projects.