Less than one year after launch, our Rye Malt Whisky was judged World’s Best Rye Malt Whisky at the World Whiskies Awards in the US along with Australia’s Best New Make Spirit for Six Malt New Make and Australia’s Best Whisky for cask samples of our Single Malt Whisky — a great sign of things to come.

“We’ve had awesome feedback since we released our Rye Malt Whisky in 2019 and we’re honestly blown away by the result,” says Archie Rose founder Will Edwards. “We knew internally that this Rye Whisky was incredibly special – we were the first distillery in the country to source the malted rye required to produce it, weathered a nine-month global supply shortage in 2015, and replaced our entire mash tun in 2016 to handle the viscosity of the brew; so to win World’s Best Rye Whisky one year after launch has been incredible and is a testament to our distilling team and the passion that goes into creating these whiskies.”

At Archie Rose, we’re passionate about grain being the fundamental building block to our whiskies. We believe whisky starts its life in the field rather than the distillery, and so we’re working with Australian growers who are reviving heritage malt strains to not only support our own product but ensure the growth of the Australian whisky industry all together.

We strive to marry traditional methods with a progressive new world approach that honours the craftsmanship of distilling. We’ve trialled different yeasts, fermentation conditions, mashing regimes, cask treatments, malts and distillation techniques. We have a desire to challenge tradition where appropriate, with a long-term commitment to R&D, and a willingness to work with difficult raw materials, processes and production techniques, all in search of flavour and quality.

TO LEARN MORE ABOUT RYE MALT WHISKY, WATCH THE VIDEO BELOW:

OUR SPECIALTY MALTS:

To create Rye Malt Whisky, we selectively sourced rare malted rye and the finest malted barley from progressive malt houses.

Everything about working with malted rye is a challenge. It is difficult to source, difficult to malt, and due to its lack of husk, formidable viscosity, and unique chemical composition, is also extremely challenging to mash, ferment and distil. We persevere with this hardy malt however, due to the incredible character it brings to the final spirit. Less common but more approachable than raw, unmalted rye, it provides characteristic spice and herbal elements but with more restraint, elegance and complexity than a traditional rye—a point of distinction evident upon the very first sip.

Pale malt is a distinct malt grown for its individuality in the Australian climate. This malt offers floral and citrus aromas along with the celebrated biscuity notes all good barley should deliver.

We then mature our Rye Malt Whisky in American oak casks, which has been air-dried for 36 months and toasted and charred in a diversity of styles, achieving a fantastic complexity and balance to the final whisky.

This layered, aromatic spirit offers notes of spiced custard, ginger, stone fruit and baked apple pie with a fresh herbal finish that lingers on the palate.

How to Drink Rye Malt Whisky

We invite you to enjoy our Rye Malt Whisky in the spirit it was created: to be savoured in good company and served the way you like. Enjoy neat, on the rocks or why not try one of the cocktails below:

Rye Malt Whisky Highball

What could be more simple? Whisky and soda. It’s all too rare, but when it’s made well there are few sparkling drinks more elegant. It’s super dry, but this just brings out the accents of the whisky lengthening and highlighting its natural characteristics.

Ingredients:

• 60ml Rye Malt Whisky

• 120ml soda water

Method:

Build over ice in a highball glass.

Rye Malt Manhattan

Let’s take a deep breath and dive into one of the most rewarding and richest of historic cocktails - the Manhattan - blessed be the fruit (cherry, lemon or orange twist). There are three mainstays at the top of this family tree - Sweet Manhattan (also commonly known as a Manhattan), Dry Manhattan or Perfect Manhattan. A Manhattan is whisky (usually Rye or Bourbon) mixed with vermouth and bitters. If you use dry vermouth it becomes a Dry Manhattan, if you use sweet (unsurprisingly) it’s a Sweet Manhattan and if you use a combo of the two it’s perfect. We’re partial to a Sweet Manhattan - there is something about the fructose hit of sweet vermouth that buoys whisky. But heaven forbid you take our word for it - try them for yourself.

Ingredients:

• 45ml Rye Malt Whisky

• 15ml sweet vermouth

• 2-3 dashes of Angostura bitters (and we’re talking proper dashes here, not drops)

Method:

Combine all the ingredients in a mixing glass, stir until chilled, strain into a chilled coupette glass, garnish with an orange twist or a cherry.

This drink is there to play with, find your own ratio - if you find the ABV of Rye Malt Whisky confronting you may prefer a 40ml/20ml ratio, or some additional dilution. Whatever you end up with, we think you’re going to be as delighted as we are.

Explore detailed tasting and spirit production notes for Rye Malt via Spirit Data and shop online here.