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First arriving on-scene in April 2024, Raconteur Rye is a collaboration between The WoodWork Collective and blogger-turned-author David Jennings (AKA Rare Bird 101). David had the following to say of the inaugural release of the project:

“What began as a challenge to create a new flavor profile resulted in a rye expression reminiscent of the earliest days of my whiskey journey. If you’re a fan of early 2010’s 95/5 rye, you’ll love Raconteur Rye.”

If the photos are giving you the feeling that you’re looking at a whiskey from decades ago, you’re not confusing things at all. The labels feature a 19th century inspired design by artist Ricky Frame, printed on a vintage 1957 letterpress at Vahalla Studios in Kansas City, MO.. Raconteur Rye is certainly out there to give the whiskey drinker some vibes of American whiskey from days long since passed.

This bold whiskey is actually comprised of three unique seven year Indiana rye whiskeys made from a 95 percent rye and 5 percent malted barley recipe (commonly referred to as 95/5 rye) with each component receiving attention of it’s own to create the final product. I love knowing the nitty gritty info about releases like this, so I figured I would get my paws on the nerdy stats to share. Hang on, here come the gory details behind Raconteur Rye Batch No. 1:

• 95/5 Indiana straight rye whiskey aged in new charred-oak
• 95/5 Indiana straight rye aged in a 48-month-cured toasted oak barrel
• 95/5 Indiana straight rye finished in a second fill Mizunara oak
  cask that previously held 16-year-old Kentucky Straight Bourbon
• The final blend then spent a month in Mizunara casks to refine the marriage
• Bottled uncut and unfiltered at 120.48 proof
• 520 bottles
• $129.99 SRP

In addition to the details of the inaugural release of Raconteur Rye, I reached out to David Jennings for insight on each batch. He had the following to say about Batch No. 1:

“With batch 1 our goal was to craft a rye that tasted older than its stated age, but at the same time didn’t taste finished. I think we accomplished that by not allowing the Mizunara to dominate the profile. The straight and toasted elements helped to establish balance as well.”

On paper this certainly sounds like a rye to be excited about, and in all honesty it piques my interest because I have such a soft spot for bold rye whiskey expressions; however, of the ryes that I have truly loved throughout the years, Indiana-distilled ryes have not historically held my attention the way others have. I’m pretty excited to put together a collection of tasting notes on Raconteur Rye and see how it performs. While we hitting the data sheet, I’ll also share the details behind Raconteur Rye Batch No. 2 “Brazen” below:

• 95/5 Indiana straight rye whiskey aged in new charred-oak
• 95/5 Indiana straight rye aged in a 48-month-cured toasted oak barrel
• 95/5 Indiana straight rye finished in a second fill Mizunara oak
  cask that previously held 17-year-old Kentucky Straight Bourbon
• The final blend then spent a month in Mizunara casks to refine the marriage
• Bottled uncut and unfiltered at 122.74 proof
• 1000 bottles
• $129.99 SRP

I know, I know, the details from Batch No. 1 to Batch No. 2 don’t sound a hell of a lot different. Stick with me for a moment here, beloved reader, because as you well-know after reading through my Single Barrel Snapshot reviews, each barrel of whiskey is inherently different in nature. Even whiskey from the same distillation run, put into barrels on the same day, and dumped on the same day can come with as many differences as similarities simply due to the nature of whiskey maturation.  I asked David Jennings to speak about the differences in the vision behind Batch No. 1 to the “Brazen” No. 2 Batch, and he said the following:

“By the time we started blending batch 2 the barrels we’d been working with had changed due to the summer’s intense heat. Initially, we tried to force the whiskey in the direction of batch 1. After several failed attempts, we decided to roll with the changes and bolster the darker, more oak-driven characteristics with older whiskey and choice cooperage. The result is a rye, that while reminiscent of batch 1, showcases its own unique profile – a sweeter, richer Raconteur Rye – a bourbon drinker’s Raconteur Rye.” – David Jennings

I suppose with all of that said, it’s time to pour these two batches and start drawing a proverbial Venn Diagram to compare batches and overall profiles. Here we go!

I have to say, these are surprisingly different from one batch to the next; however, they both invoke the spirit of old timey rye whiskey for me.  I’m actually reminded quite a bit of Maryland Heritage Series of rye whiskeys (which you may recall as being significantly higher-priced ultra premium ryes).  There is a quality here that almost wants to be called ‘dusty’ in the sense that this whiskey, while being a modern expression, certainly has roots that hail from a forgotten era.

After numerous tastings of each batch (both alone and directly compared to each other) I lean toward Batch No. 2 “Brazen” as my personal favorite, which is surprising to me as it’s fruitier and brings a bourbon-like sweetness to the palate.  I’d have expected to lean more into the spice-driven profile of Batch No. 1, but here we are.  Being totally honest in terms of the whiskey itself, I would say these are both high quality expressions, and I’d be glad to sip either one at the end of the day, but the overall depth and balanced nature of Batch No. 2 “Brazen” does it for me.  An impressive collaborative effort that really shows talent in bringing a vision to the market with a product that does precisely what it’s touted to do.  This is nicely crafted rye, and I think whiskey lovers from either side of the rye or bourbon aisle will find themselves quite happy with Raconteur Rye.  Keep up the good work, folks!

The Bourbon Finder thanks Raconteur Rye for graciously providing us images and a sample of their product. Being able to try new things in the whiskey space, without strings attached, is an opportunity we greatly appreciate. Per our review ethos, we provide objective reviews and commentary on media samples of spirits and products; remember, friends, these are the good old days of whiskey!

Our grading system: As mentioned in our About Us page, we’re excited to share bourbon with our friends, family, and readers. There are enough critics, cynics, and curmudgeons in the whiskey world as it is, so our goal is to foster the bourbon community in a positive way by bringing fun and entertaining content whenever possible–as such–we decided that applying precise scores to whiskey was simply too serious for us (and didn’t accurately showcase variability in taste from day to day). We use a simple grade school system to apply a grade to the whiskeys we review because we feel it is indicative of the whiskey’s grade for us on that particular day. A grade of a “B” today may very well be a “B+” or even a “B-” on another day, so rather than focusing on a precise score today that may not stand the test of time, we are just sharing our overall grade of that pour for that one tasting. Pour a bit and enjoy, friends, these are the good old days of whiskey!