On a quiet Friday afternoon in the tasting room in late March, we gathered as a team to reflect on Batch 10 of Judson & Moore Rye Whiskey. We wanted to mark the milestone and identify some of the things we have gleaned from the 18,483 proof gallons of J&M Rye that have filled 360 barrels and 5,853 bottles since its initial bottling in March of 2022. Colleen returned eagerly from the J&M archive with one dust-coated bottle, Rye Batch 1. We took turns passing it around.
The tenth batch of J&M Rye had been bottled the week prior to our tasting. Joe took lead on the barrel picks for the blend. Six barrels were selected and emptied into a large tank, ready to be proofed down for bottling. “I composed this batch with the same number of barrels as the last bottling for consistency, but also considered the relationship of batches from the past, present, and future. As the consistency of batches is established, the blend becomes easier and easier.”
Brian poured one by one, as we all started twisting and swirling our glassware to examine the two batches. Batch 1, aged 22 months in heavy char new American White Oak from Minnesota. Batch 10, aged three years, with a slightly different mash bill. The first sips and smells were taken. The two spirits represent the flagship J&M whiskey while highlighting developments in our technical choices during distillation, a shift in the mash bill, and the influence of longer maturation.
“Early on our hearts fraction was smaller, and we were doing that on purpose because you can take a really small slice and have whiskey that tastes really good as a new make…” said Collin. Meaning during the distillation process during Batch 1, we were collecting a smaller portion of hearts to keep the flavor profile simple and pure. Nowadays, we take a larger hearts fraction for longer maturation and recycle the heads and tails collected after a single run. This helps us to develop the house flavor on a deeper level. “It's so great to taste this stuff side by side and think okay, we're on track! That makes me feel good.”
Check out this video on our Instagram to hear more reflections from Collin and the team. And come on by to get a taste of Judson & Moore Rye Batch 10.