Still Austin Distillery Reserve Series Ex White Port Rye Whiskey 750ml

Still Austin Distillery Reserve Series Ex White Port Rye Whiskey is a 114.72 proof (57.36% ABV) highly allocated, non-chill filtered craft spirit released in December 2025 as a standout entry in the brand's creative line of distillery exclusives. Produced completely in-house at their urban facility in Austin, Texas, this rare bottling features a minimum age statement of three years. It flips the script on typical barrel-finished spirits by pairing a bold, estate-grown grain profile with an uncommonly light, aromatic Old World wine cask to achieve an intentional study in absolute contrast and depth.

The core ethos and structural evolution of this bottle rely on a highly specialized secondary maturation using an incredibly elusive style of European wood finishing. While finishing whiskey in robust red wine, sherry, or Ruby Port barrels is common practice, White Port finishes are a true ghost in the spirits world due to how difficult they are to balance against the heat of a young distillate. The production team took their mature straight rye—already heavily concentrated by the punishing evaporation rates of the volatile Texas weather—and transferred the liquid into authentic, imported Portuguese ex-White Port casks. This slow-breathing environment lifted the underlying liquid, weaving delicate floral sweetness into the profile without weighing it down with heavy, dark grape sediment.

The liquid architecture was masterfully curated to champion a hyper-localized, grain-forward canvas that utilizes a 100% rye mash bill. Bypassing the standard practice of introducing corn or malted barley to soften a recipe, Still Austin distilled the liquid entirely from Texas-grown Brasetto rye, a grain prized for its deep, unconventional earthy spice and bread-like characteristics. The primary blending objective was to let the bright citrus oils, stone fruits, and vinous sugars of the White Port wood wrap around the aggressive, peppery grain heat. By bottling the final batch completely unblended and uncut at a robust natural barrel proof, the team locked in all the native wood lipids and essential grain oils to ensure complete mouthfeel preservation.

The rye’s highly expressive tasting experience opens on a pale golden amber pour that releases a vibrant, candy-sweet nose packed with fresh pineapple, apricot, and tangerine oil, beautifully balanced by glazed donuts, candy-coated citrus peel, and charred sugars. The palate delivers an exceptionally complex, full-bodied viscosity displaying prominent notes of spice cake, maple syrup, and raisin bran, which seamlessly transition into a refreshing mid-palate of lemon curd, birch beer, and hibiscus flowers. The journey concludes on a clean, medium finish where trailing traces of apple compote, mulled wine, and lemongrass give way to soft tobacco leaf, red tea, and a subtle touch of dry wood tannins.

For modern craft collectors and high-end spirits investors, this Ex White Port Finished Rye represents an exceptionally scarce, museum-grade trophy bottle that evaporated from the distillery's allocation channels almost instantly. Dressed in a striking, collectible black-and-white label featuring fine art photography by Texas artist Knox Kronenberg, the physical presentation visually mirrors the fluid's "Old World meets New World" design philosophy. It occupies a highly prized, creative tier within the Still Austin specialized catalog, tracking leagues ahead of their everyday Musician core lines as a definitive masterclass in modern secondary wood manipulation architecture.

• Size: 750ml
• Proof: 114.72 Proof (57.36% ABV) - Natural Barrel Proof
• Age: 3 Years Old (Plus secondary finishing period)
• Origin: Austin, Texas, USA
• Distillery: Still Austin Whiskey Co.
• Whiskey Type: Texas Straight Rye Whiskey (100% Rye Grain, Finished in White Port)
• Cask/Cooperage: New Charred American White Oak Barrels, finished in hand-selected Portuguese Ex-White Port Casks
• Bottling: Released December 2025; Limited Web-Allocation Distillery Exclusive
• Series: Still Austin Distillery Reserve Series (DRS #19)
• Selection: Hand-crafted utilizing 100% Texas Brasetto Rye; Features bespoke label art by photographer Knox Kronenberg
• Tasting Notes: Nose: Fresh pineapple, apricot, tangerine oil, lightly toasted oak, glazed donuts, and charred sugar candy. Palate: Warm and inviting with spice cake, maple syrup, raisin bran, lemon curd, ginger, pink Nerds, and hibiscus flowers. Finish: Medium length and brightly structured with apple compote, mulled wine, lemongrass, tobacco leaf, and red tea.