High West Rendezvous Rye is one of two High West year-round rye releases, the other being Double Rye! (exclamation included for free). The main difference between the two is that Rendezvous Rye uses more older whiskey in the blend. Just like with Double Rye, Rendezvous Rye’s blend is an interesting point of conversation because it has changed a number of times as the availability of higher-aged sourced rye dwindled and their own distillate aged.
Releases 2018 and onward are a blend of 4-7 year old ryes from MGP and High West’s own distillate while pre-2018 batches were 100% sourced. This 2017 batch is a blend of 5 to 19 year old rye from MGP and Barton, and pre-2017 batches were blends of 6 year old MGP and 16 year old Barton rye. 16+ year old Barton rye now is impossible to find, so the addition of it into the blend is still very unique and interesting. I bought this bottle in late 2019 on sale for $50, so it had been hiding out somewhere for a while, and for less than the usual $60-80.
Before I forget, this is the mashbill breakdown for this 2017 batch –
– 95% rye, 5% barley from MGP
– 53% rye, 37% corn, 10% barley from Barton Distillery
– 80% rye, 10% corn, 10% barley from Barton Distillery
Let’s find out more about this “vintage” whiskey in this High West Rendezvous Rye review.