Frank August’s New Rye Whiskey Is Superb

Welcome to Taste Test, where every week our critic Jonah Flicker explores the most buzzworthy and interesting whiskeys in the world. Check back each Sunday for his latest whiskey review.

With so many new whiskey brands out there, even during what by many accounts is a softening market, what makes one stand out? Why should you pick new bottle X over new bottle Y, when both are sourcing their whiskey and are not able to tell you where it comes from? The answer is simple: quality of the liquid and price. And the new Small Batch Kentucky Straight Rye Whiskey from Frank August might veer towards the expensive side, but this is one of the best new ryes of the year so far.

This isn’t the first praise I’ve heaped upon Frank August: It’s bourbon-rye blend truly impressed me last winter, one of a series of new releases that have arrived since its founding in 2022. Johnathan Crocker is the CEO and cofounder, and he acknowledges that not everyone will be satisfied with the fact that he can’t reveal the source of the whiskey due to the NDA the brand had to sign. He points out which distilleries the whiskey doesn’t come from, however—Bardstown Bourbon Company, Green River, Castle & Key, Lux Row, Kentucky Artisan Distillers—and it is produced in Kentucky, which rules out Dickel or MGP (there has been some online speculation that the partner distillery is Wilderness Trail, but this is just a guess). “While we appreciate this can be a point of frustration for some customers, I think it’s important to note that this was not a decision we made as a brand, but terms we had to agree to in order to work with the quality of distilling partner that we are,” Crocker told Robb Report. “And if I’m permitted to get on my soapbox for a moment, I find it entertaining that it’s usually the same guy (or gal) that says all they care about is the whiskey, and if it’s good or not, that gets all bent out of shape when this kind of information is not disclosed.”

Well said, so let’s move on to another term that gets thrown about a lot but has no set definition: “small batch.” That can mean a lot of things depending on the distillery or brand—the Jim Beam Small Batch Collection might consist of hundreds of barrels per batch, but Crocker says this new rye is a blend of just 10 to 15 barrels. The liquid itself is the same whiskey that was in the previous rye release, Case Study: 03 Winter Cover Rye, but that was a batch of three barrels and was a bit older than this new core expression. Obviously the mashbill is not revealed, just that it’s not 95-5 rye like you’d expect from MGP, and that there’s more than 30 percent corn in the recipe. There’s no age statement, but this first batch is about 6.5 years old (future releases will likely be around the same age as the bourbon at 5.5 to 6 years old), and it’s bottled at Bardstown Bourbon Company at 100 proof.

Most importantly, it’s excellent. There is a nice balance of sweetness and spice on the palate, something that Crocker was explicitly aiming for, along with notes of dark chocolate, espresso beans, brûléed caramel, toasted coconut, black pepper, cinnamon, clove, maple, and a bit of menthol on the finish. I’ve sipped this neat and over a large ice cube, and both are superb ways to enjoy this rye, but it also works splendidly in a Manhattan, providing just enough spice and heat to counteract the bitters and vermouth. In other words, this whiskey is a versatile workhorse that is also delicate and complex enough to save for sipping.

Of course there is quite a bit of good, even great, rye whiskey out there that is made from a comparable mashbill, and Frank August’s new Small Batch Rye is a bit more expensive than some of those. Still, it’s a bottle that’s worth the splurge, and not just because it comes in a fetching decanter. Rye fans should add this bottle to their collection, and bourbon diehards should not sleep on it either. If Frank August continues to source and blend whiskey of this quality, the future looks pretty bright for this young brand.

Score: 97

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