13th Colony Cask Strength Rye / Batch 2 (2026)
The Stats
- Distillery: 13th Colony Distilleries
- Location: Americus, GA
- Type: Cask Strength Rye Whiskey
- Batch: Batch 2
- Age: 5–6 years
- Proof: 122.9 (61.45% ALC/VOL)
- Mash Bill: 95% Rye, 5% Malted Barley
- Price: $90 MSRP
13th Colony Distilleries has a habit of making whiskey that drinks bigger and richer than you expect. The 2026 Cask Strength Southern Rye may be one of the better examples.
The nose almost tricks you. Toasted oak, caramel, vanilla, and dessert-like sweetness make the whiskey feel surprisingly bourbon-forward at first. Then you take a sip.
The rye shows up quickly. Mint, pepper, toasted grain, and earthy spice push through the sweetness, creating a whiskey that seems to have two different personalities. It starts rich and sweet, then steadily becomes spicier, oakier, and unmistakably rye. That transition is what made this bottle interesting for us.
The Whiskey Behind the Bottle
The 2026 release is Batch 2 of 13th Colony’s Cask Strength Southern Rye and follows the first cask-strength version released in 2025.
It is made from a mash bill of 95% rye and 5% malted barley and aged between five and six years in 13th Colony’s South Georgia rickhouses. The 2026 batch is bottled at 122.9 proof, making it the highest-proof annual release of the Cask Strength Southern Rye so far.
Another important piece of this rye is its oak. 13th Colony uses French oak spirals in its Southern Rye program, adding another layer of oak influence to a whiskey already aging in Georgia’s warm, humid climate. The distillery has talked about allowing those rye barrels extra time in the rickhouse and aging them to taste rather than simply chasing an age statement.
The 2026 release carries an MSRP of $90, which puts it in a pretty competitive spot for a limited cask-strength rye.
Tasting Notes
Aroma
The nose is immediately impressive. Toasted oak, vanilla, caramel, and plenty of sweetness give it an almost dessert-like quality. Rye sits underneath, but the first impression is surprisingly bourbon-forward, rich, and oaky.
Taste
That changes quickly on the palate. Rye spice comes forward with mint, pepper, and toasted grain, followed by caramel and vanilla sweetness. An earthy peppermint quality develops, almost like mint candy or mint ice cream, with oak running underneath the entire sip. It starts sweet and rich, then progressively becomes more rye-forward.
Finish
Pepper and rye spice carry into a long, warming finish. Mint, toasted oak, and lingering sweetness remain after the sip, with enough heat to remind you this is cask strength without overwhelming everything around it.
Artfully Bourbon Rating
8 / 10 - Very Good
13th Colony Cask Strength Rye is a good example of why a shared score does not always mean a shared experience.
Arthur rated this much higher, while Scott found it a little less convincing. That difference probably comes down to how much you enjoy the bigger, more aggressive side of rye. There is a lot of personality here, but it’s not especially polished or restrained.
What works is that it never feels boring. This is a rye with a clear point of view, and we would take that over something technically solid but forgettable almost every time.
The oak influence, high proof, and sweetness push the whiskey beyond a more traditional rye profile, making it feel distinctive even if it doesn't land the same way for everyone. For us, that puts it at 8/10, Very Good.
Buy or Skip:
Buy
At around $90, it's easy to justify the price. This is not simply a higher-proof version of an everyday rye. The added oak influence, South Georgia aging, and cask-strength presentation give it a much richer profile than we expected from a 95% rye mash bill.
If you like rye that leans heavily into mint, spice, and oak while still carrying plenty of caramel and vanilla sweetness, this is an easy bottle to recommend.
And if the nose briefly convinces you that you accidentally poured bourbon, just give it one sip. The rye will clear things up pretty quickly.
Where Does It Rank?
Every whiskey we review is scored using the same 10-point scale, making it easy to compare bottles across styles, distilleries, and price points. Explore our complete whiskey rankings to see how every bottle stacks up.
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