Circle City's 12-Year Rye: Limited Release Alert

We first introduced Circle City here on the site just over two years ago, and since then, we’ve offered a range of their releases, including bottled-in-bond, toasted, and double-oaked expressions. In April, we offered our first Seelbach’s single barrels, but they quickly sold out in PRO, including a 12-year single barrel rye from the same lot of barrels as today’s 12-Year Rye Batch 02.

Owner Drew Black assured me there was something special about the lot they had. When visiting their brand-new tasting room in north Indianapolis this past February, we tasted through a handful of the barrels and realized he was right.

This five-barrel blend is made up of of 12-year, 10-month-old barrels that were distilled and aged for 6 years in Lawrenceburg, then spent another 6 years in Western Michigan before coming home to Circle City. The result is a deliciously sweet 95/5 rye with floral notes and barrel-tamed spice. This level of depth and character is the result of more than a decade of maturity.

Last year, their 12-Year Straight Rye Batch 01 was a finalist in the American Rye Whiskey 11+ Year category at the ASCOT Awards. This year, Batch 02 not only earned Double Platinum, but also won Best American Rye Whiskey 11+ Year. We have just a little over 100 bottles available.

The nose smells like the most perfectly baked apple pie, wrapped in soft linens and placed in a cedar chest with a big glass of Mountain Dew next to it. It has plenty of crisp baked apple notes to start, followed by warm caramel, sweet mint-kissed vanilla, aromatic oak, and a unique twist of effervescent citrus soda.

The palate continues those unique, effervescent citrus cola notes from the get-go, moving into freezer Thin Mint cookies, dark chocolate-dipped strawberries, dried cherries, and a coating of maple sweetness with candied sweet oak.

The finish is nice and slow, just like Usher’s 1997 hit. Gobs of molasses and cola concentrate carry through with black pepper, torched orange peel, dried cherry, and caramel Bundt cake, all while continuing that mint-kissed sweet oak.