2020 Pinhook Flagship Straight Rye Whiskey, Kentucky, USA

The very first completely in-house Spirit from Castle & Key is a wonderful Straight Rye worthy of praise and steeped in tradition.

The story of Pinhook Whiskey starts in 2014 with its first release. You see, each fall the folks in the newly restored Castle & Key Distillery in Frankfort, Kentucky, create a single batch of Bourbon and a single batch of Rye. Each release is named after a thoroughbred racehorse coming up in the Bourbon Lane Stables — the horse’s stats are even printed on the labels. So each issuance is a bit different, just like each racehorse is different. It’s a great story and they sell out every year. In 2016 they refurbished the Old Taylor Distillery (mothballed in 1972) and are now bottling their first completely in-house Spirits.

Any way you cut it, Pinhook Rye’d On is a special release. It is the first Straight Rye that they’ve ever issued. And — importantly — it is the first taste of Spirit that is 100% produced in house at their new distillery. This singular Spirit is comprised of 60% rye, 20% corn, and 20% malted barley with every drop fermented, distilled, aged, and bottled at 48.5% ABV on site at Castle & Key.

The namesake horse this year is a three year-old chestnut… same as this Whiskey.