A Midwinter Night’s Dram Rye Whiskey Review (2026)

By Richard Thomas

Rating: B+

The new Midwinter Night’s Dram is out from Utah’s High West Distillery, a company I only just published an interview with. This fan-favorite expression is defined by its multi-sourcing for the whiskeys in the bottle and its broad use of cask finishes.

Introduced in 2013 as a spin-off of Rendezvous Rye, 2026 marks its fourteenth release as an annual limited edition. The whiskey in question is a blend of MGP’s famous 95% rye; whiskey contract produced at Bardstown Bourbon Company; and High West’s own in-house rye production. The core finishes of Midwinter Night’s Dram are Tawny and Ruby Port casks, with the 2026 edition adding Amontillado, Oloroso and PX Sherry casks into the mix. The expression is then cut down to 98.6, a bit of a joke in that this is the same as typical human body temperature.

The Whiskey Reviewer has not written up this expression since the 2015 release. That was eleven years ago and sourced from an undisclosed Kentucky distillery and MGP, although that was so long ago the distillery was still called LDI back then; and the cask finishes were Tawny and Ruby Port plus new French oak. Some things change, some stay the same.

The Whiskey
The color on my pour was light, very orange amber. Basically, what happens when you darken the copper coloring that so many rye whiskeys possess.

The scent opened with a layer of mustiness, but behind that was a current of berry sweetness and spiciness, like a mulled strawberry and blackberry wine. Repeat nosings refine the spicy current as herbaceous, and the mustiness into a dry, tannic oak.

That pattern repeats on the palate. Sips begin with an earthy and dry character–cookie spices plus very dark, high cocoa chocolate and tannins–before opening up as the cookie spices transition to peppermint and the fruity sweetness kicks in. The latter is now berries plus raisins. Add a modest vanilla note and that rounds the whiskey out. The finish rolls off that sweetness for a conclusion that certainly doesn’t sprint off, but nor does it linger.

The Price
The price on this bottle is $125. This represents a rarity, even after the end of the Bourbon Boom, of a company lowering the price on a popular, annualized limited edition. Last year, the price tag was $150.