Epoch Reserve Straight Rye Whiskey 750ml

Epoch Reserve is produced by Baltimore Spirits Company, a distillery founded to revive Maryland's nearly vanished rye whiskey tradition. Before World War II, Maryland rye stood alongside Pennsylvania and Kentucky styles as one of the country's most sought-after whiskeys, distilled in small batches using methods brought over by Scottish and Irish settlers. Prohibition, the Depression, and wartime rationing eventually wiped out the state's distilling industry, and Baltimore Spirits Company, originally launched as the Baltimore Whiskey Company, set out to bring that lost regional identity back to life.

Epoch Reserve is made from a mash of 100 percent rye grain, with roughly a quarter of that malted, a recipe distilled on a custom pot still built to echo the low-rectification methods used in the 1800s rather than the column stills that dominate modern whiskey production. The result leans closer to single malt production in spirit, even though the grain itself is entirely rye. This is the brand's flagship, mature expression, aged a minimum of four years in American oak barrels, marking a clear step up in depth from the distillery's younger straight rye offering.

The nose brings candied cherry, apricot, and a rich Bananas Foster sweetness, with mint and cedar rounding things out. On the palate, that fruit character carries through alongside cinnamon and old leather, giving way to a long, warming finish with notes of tobacco and toasted wood. Its layered sweetness and spice make it a natural fit for an Old Fashioned built with a touch of orange bitters.