*Liberty Pole Rosen Rye Bottle. Photo courtesy of Liberty Pole Spirits.*

You know I love a nerdy whiskey, and you probably know I’ve been keeping up with the Rosen Rye projects happening around the mid-Atlantic and Great Lakes. On the heels of Stoll and Wolfe in Pennsylvania coming out with their own aged Rosen Rye late in 2024 (my review here), Liberty Pole Spirits - also in Western Pennsylvania - has released their own, a limited release that will be available sporadically for now while the rye grows and more of the distillate ages.

This barrel, #672, was barreled on October 7, 2020 and Bottled on November 8, 2024. The Rosen distillate was aged in a 53-gallon, heavy toast #3 char barrel made of Appalachian oak, and the grain was grown by Dancing Star Farms.

Comparing the two - this release and Stoll and Wolfe’s - is inevitable, and knowing the founders/distillers I’m confident they expect people to do so. This release earns an 8.2, the Stoll and Wolfe an 8.4. Both scores are exemplary and in must-buy territory, so why the 0.2 point difference?

For me, it came down to this being slightly more savory, with the heavy toast adding (oddly) char notes the way a toasted marshmallow becomes a burnt one: still sweet, but with every sugar molecule seemingly caramelized or burnt. The lemony herbs and herb stems are a commonality that identifies this as a Keystone Rosen Rye. I tend to think of sweeter whiskies being more approachable, and so this one is just a bit less so than the other. It’s not a mark of whether one is better than the other, only that between the two, the Liberty Pole Rosen Rye (I think) requires a palate more familiar with less-sweet whiskies let alone the Rosen ecosystem and why this tastes different than a 95/5 or even another Monongahela/Western Pennsylvania style rye.

All that said, you could look at it this way: Rosen is back. There are distilleries like Liberty Pole who are doing exceptional things with a once-mighty-then-lost grain. It’s a new golden age of rye, and I am excited.

Liberty Pole Rosen Rye: Specs

Classification: Pennsylvania Straight Rye Whiskey

Producer: Liberty Pole Spirits

Mashbill: 61% Rye, 13% Red Winter Wheat, 13% Rye Malt, 13% Malted Barley

Proof: 111.4º (55.7% ABV)

Age: 4 Years Old

Location: Pennsylvania

Liberty Pole Rosen Rye Price: N/A

Official Website

Liberty Pole Rosen Rye: Tasting Notes

Eye: Orange blossom honey. Barely-there rims and legs, tiny droplets hang on the bell of the glass.

Nose: Freshly quartered oak and a hint of wormwood. Unsweetened lemon iced tea. Warm bread, seedless rye and the Outback honey wheat. Savory, woody herbs and spice blend, rye toasting in a pan with butter.

Palate: Super savory, fruity rye with lots of rosemary and thyme stems and grilled lemons. The black iced tea continues, a touch of proof but nowhere near 111.4. Tastes like the barrel was lower char and higher toast, burnt vanilla and a dry, less-sweet honey. Mouthfeel is silky and medium-bodied, still just barely drying, oily and piquant mid-tongue. Lemon-herb desserts.

Finish: Spicy flash on the tip of my tongue, olive oil cake with grilled lemon and a thyme element. Drying more here than on the palate, a thin lacquer coating. Medium-long.

Overall: Remarkable. It’s so savory, yet there are just enough sweet elements to add complexity and counter the herb stems. I love a lemony rye and having it grilled just adds to the profile. Equally remarkable for how different it is from other aged Rosen Ryes I’ve had.