Elijah Craig Joins Its Peers, Adds A Rye To The Line

Elijah Craig, a leading premium Kentucky Bourbon, today announced the launch of Elijah Craig Kentucky Straight Rye Whiskey. The line extension affords experimenting whiskey fans the opportunity to challenge their palates with a new extra-aged Rye offering from the award-winning Elijah Craig family of Bourbons.

Elijah Craig Rye is made as a traditional American Straight Rye Whiskey with 51% rye, 35% corn and 14% malted barley. This combination of grains, which relies heavily on corn as the secondary grain rather than a higher percentage of rye, has been the primary Rye mashbill used by Kentucky Bourbon distilleries since taking over virtually all American Rye production post-Prohibition; the same mashbill directly responsible for the Rye resurgence seen today. Extra-aging is a tenet of the Elijah Craig portfolio, and Elijah Craig Rye is no exception. The resulting taste carries a spicy sharpness from the rye balanced with sweetness from the corn. Packaged in the iconic Elijah Craig bottle, the Straight Rye is distinguished by new bottle decoration, face, side and neck labels with green features.

“Elijah Craig was a larger-than-life innovator and the new Elijah Craig Kentucky Straight Rye Whiskey celebrates his bold reputation,” said Heaven Hill Master Distiller Conor O’Driscoll. “Heaven Hill Distillery has the privilege within its vast inventory and distilling expertise to create American Whiskeys consumers desire. Elijah Craig Rye celebrates the heritage of Rye Whiskey in Kentucky and adds another quality option to an award-winning lineup of specially crafted whiskeys.”

Elijah Craig was a seminal brand in the revival of Kentucky Bourbon. Other brands, like Knob Creek and Woodford Reserve, came later and have already added rye whiskeys to their lines. Although the brand extension has left some enthusiasts scratching their heads, if the social media chatter is anything to judge by, it’s really just following a general industry pattern for premium whiskey brands.

With an SRP of $29.99, Elijah Craig Kentucky Straight Rye Whiskey will first launch in the limited markets of North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia and Oregon in January 2020.