Porter’s Small Batch Rye Whiskey Review

By Andrew Graham

Grade: B-

Based 10 miles east of Great Salt Lake in Utah, Ogden’s Own Distillery is perhaps best known in their region for its portfolio of Porter’s flavored whiskies. It also makes vodka and gin, and it now sells a rye, which is sourced from MGP in Indiana.

Porter’s Small Batch Rye uses the popular MGP rye mash bill of 95 percent rye and five percent malted barley. It’s the same mash bill that makes up other well-known ryes, such as Bulleit, High West, Redemption, and Templeton. The Porter’s rye spent between three and four years in heavy charred, new American oak barrels.

Porter’s points to two factors that give this expression some character: the climate and the water supply.

The Great Salt Lake region has a dry climate with cold winters and hot summers, which I suppose would lead to a bit more barrel action than what would occur if this whiskey were kept in Indiana, as is the case with other MGP-sourced ryes. It is also cut from 111 proof down to 90 proof with local water that the producer also uses for its Five Wives Vodka line.

Around 1,000 cases of the Porter’s Small Batch Rye were bottled and released in 2019, so I don’t expect it is particularly easy to find outside of the Salt Lake City area.

The whiskey

Porter’s Small Batch Rye has a chestnut color and a nose of lemon pound cake with a touch of lavender fragrance, which was a nice surprise. On the palate, flavors of cinnamon, pepper, and baking spice shine, which turn to notes of caramel, more citrus, and a bit of mint on a long finish.

This is, at best, a useful and practical rye that can be an affordable workhorse for rye-based cocktails and mixed drinks. While it does not batter the palate with aggressive aromas and flavor notes, I found it to be delightful with a chunk of ice, a dash of bitters, and a squeeze of lemon, and that it held up well as the base of a manhattan.

That said, I can say those things about many ryes. While this is a perfectly good rye to drink, it’s missing a defining characteristic — a finishing, perhaps, or a secondary maturation — that would set it apart from others.

The price: Porter’s Small Batch Rye can be found for around $40 on various online retailers.