Middle West Spirits Double Cask Collection Ported Pumpernickel Rye Whiskey 750ml

Middle West Spirits built its reputation in Columbus, Ohio on rye unlike anyone else's, and the Double Cask Collection Ported Pumpernickel Rye Whiskey is the thesis statement. The distillery starts from its signature dark pumpernickel-style rye mash, a nod to the hearty breads of the region's immigrant bakers, producing a spirit with unusual depth of toasted grain flavor before a barrel ever enters the picture.

Five years of primary maturation in medium-toasted American white oak lay down structure, vanilla and warm spice. The whiskey then moves into French oak casks that previously held tawny port, where secondary aging folds in the fortified wine's dried fig, red berry and nutty sweetness. The finished spirit is bottled at a confident 99.5 proof (49.75% ABV) as part of the distillery's Double Cask Collection.

In the glass it shows burnished mahogany. The nose leads with baked dark bread, stewed stone fruit and cocoa. On the palate, spiced rye snap meets port-borne plum and raisin, with nutmeg, cinnamon and molasses rounding out a finish that lingers sweet, toasty and long. The elevated proof keeps everything vivid without turning hot.

Ohio whiskey rarely gets mentioned alongside Kentucky and Texas, yet Middle West's grain-to-glass rigor has been quietly winning national medals for years. For rye drinkers who have exhausted the usual suspects, this port-finished pumpernickel expression offers a genuinely new flavor map — familiar rye spice traveling through unfamiliar, delicious territory.

• Size: 750ml
• Proof: 99.5 (49.75% ABV)
• Age: Five years primary maturation plus port cask finish
• Origin: Columbus, Ohio, USA
• Distillery: Middle West Spirits
• Style: Port-finished dark pumpernickel rye whiskey
• Cask/Finish: Medium-toasted American white oak, finished in French tawny port casks
• Tasting Notes: Baked dark bread, plum, raisin, nutmeg, cinnamon and molasses