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Wyoming Whiskey is releasing a 7-year-old expression of its Outryder Straight American Whiskey January 2020.
Outryder, the only Bottled in Bond whiskey from Wyoming, was first released in October 2016, representing Wyoming Whiskey’s first use of rye, along with corn and malted barley. It quickly became a favorite amongst whiskey connoisseurs across the country and has a history unlike any other product in the Wyoming Whiskey portfolio. The story of how the product first came to be gives it notoriety that can’t be created in a marketing meeting.
Those who have been following the brand for the past decade may recall that Bourbon Hall of Famer and former Maker’s Mark Master Distiller Steve Nally was hired to run all production in Kirby when the company was created. He was instrumental in developing the Small Batch mash bill and selected yeasts that yielded specific taste profiles. It was Steve’s expertise in wheated bourbon making that caused the brand’s production to commence on July 4, 2009.
Following the early trend in rye whiskeys circa 2010, Co-Founder David DeFazio put a pointed request in with Nally that he develop a rye. Nally expressed reluctance to follow orders, telling DeFazio that “No, I don’t want to make rye” and clearly communicated his distaste for the spirit. Over a few months, the founders strongly encouraged the Bourbon Hall of Famer to reconsider his position and Nally ultimately surrendered to the request, albeit with reluctance mixed with defiance. Two different whiskies were laid down in November and December of 2011 at the behest of DeFazio and his partner Brad Mead. Nally made nearly 100 barrels of “rye” and 200 barrels of bourbon made with rye.
A couple of years after these whiskies were made, Nally left Wyoming Whiskey to return home to spend more time with his family and pursue other projects. Fast forward to 2016 when it was time to bottle the nearly 5 year-old-barrels of bourbon and “rye”. Wyoming Whiskey’s Distiller, Sam Mead, called DeFazio to explain that the whiskey Nally produced was only 48% rye, which disqualified it from the rye whiskey category. The team was stunned and dumbfounded. How could it be?
DeFazio paid a phone call to Nally and said “I want you to know that the “rye” you made is spectacular … but why did you only use 48% rye in the mash bill?” Nally responded with an implied smirk, “Because I told you I didn’t want to make rye.” To hear a snippet of the story from David DeFazio himself, check out this video on The Spirit Guide Society’s recent Instagram post.
With a phenomenal high-rye whiskey that did not meet the legal 51% requirement to be called a rye, Wyoming Whiskey was left with no choice but to develop a straight, and distinct, American whiskey from Nally’s two whiskies. The first whiskey contains 48% winter rye, 40% corn, and 12% malted barley and the second reflects a traditional bourbon mash bill of 68% corn, 20% winter rye, and 12% malted barley.
Wyoming Whiskey master blender, Nancy Fraley, fine-tuned the Outryder expression through barrel selection and its specific blending process. Fraley gave Outryder excellent marks, going so far as to say that it is her favorite Wyoming Whiskey product.
As a bottled in bond, the new Outryder is bottled at 100 proof. It’s an 8 year old whiskey and will be priced at $75 per 750ml bottle.
