Before bourbon, there was rye. Early American farmers, working to preserve the value of unsold grain, fermented and distilled their crops, often rye.

Aged no fewer than two years, and usually more than three, our high-rye whiskey hits all of the classic notes without being an overwhelming spice bomb. Use it as both your neat sipper and your cocktail rye.

46.5% Alc/Vol
93 Proof
750 ml

Pink Peppercorn
Burnt Toffee
Lemongrass
Bergamot
Honeysuckle

Fortified Wines
Candied Ginger
Stone Fruits
Lemon

AWARDS

DOUBLE GOLD MEDAL
TheFiftyBest's Best Rye Competition
2020

GOLD MEDAL
John Barleycorn Awards
2020

"A clean, dry nose hides a beautiful, supple sweetness on the palate. Lots of dried fruit, chocolate, and vanilla, followed by a gentle but flavorful oaky finish. In a nutshell, I love this whiskey."

SILVER MEDAL
Berlin International Spirits Competition
2021

When we set out to find a home for Echo Spirits, it took us nearly three years to find the right space. While we were looking, we decided it made sense to see if a local distillery would lend us their still and some storage space to get something into barrels and aging. We took our rye whiskey recipe to our friends at Middle West Spirits and they were gracious enough to help us out. So in the summer of 2018, we spent a few days in their distillery having them help us make a big batch of rye!

We preach the ethos of Knowing Your Distiller, so transparency on this is important to us. Many distilleries are less actual distilleries and more brands. They purchase all of their spirits, label them as if they made them, and will never tell you anything different.

While our rye whiskey wasn't made on our equipment, it was made with our hands and our minds. We taste-tested as the barrels were aging, ensuring the utmost quality. When it came time to bottle, we tasted and tasted (and tasted) until we were sure of the right proof for our spirit, and our hands touched every single bottle with care. 

We have begun the process of making our rye whiskey in-house, but because it takes at least two years to age, it will be a little while before that starts to trickle out into bottles. Rest assured that we will be making a very big deal out of that day!

From time to time, we stumble on unique barrels that have a character all their own. Below, you can view a few of the fun finds we've made or look up information on a bottle that's in your hands right now!

BARREL 1754

Selected: August 2021
Age: 3 years
Tasting Notes: Dark cherry cordial,
caramel, toffee, tiramisu, bread pudding,
tobacco, bananas foster
$45 | 750mL | 93 proof

The Story

This was a very unique find due to the way this particular barrel impacted the flavor of the contents. When a 95/5 rye comes fresh out of the barrel, it is normally overwhelmingly peppery and often has quite a bit of heat. While bourbon is often appreciated at barrel proof, barrel proof rye whiskey is a bit harsh for most palates. Barrel 1754 was quite pleasant at barrel proof. In a blind tasting, we might easily have mistaken this for something low-rye, like a wheat whiskey or low-corn bourbon. We may never find a barrel like this again!

We also took the opportunity to support a good cause, and raffled off the actual barrel that held this unique spirit. All proceeds went to RescuedOhio, a local dog rescue.