I can't begin to tell you how excited I am that Jim Beam has been putting more effort into the Overholt brand.  This is a legacy rye brand dating back nearly 220 years (established in 1810).  However, after Beam acquired the brand, it's mostly just been a forgotten brand in the Beam-Suntroy portfolio.  A few years back, an 11-year old version of Overholt Rye was released and now we have a nearly complete overhaul with this Monongahela Mash release.  Whoever it was that decided to revitalize this brand, I speak for all whiskey nerds when I say, THANK YOU!

Beam pulled out all the stops for this release.  Nearly every aspect harkens back to the original stylings of how founder, Abraham Overholt, would have produced and sold his whiskey.  The most notable of these being the bottle and label redesign.  A dark amber glass bottle is used which is what the product was originally sold in during the 1800's.  A beautiful antique style label is overlaid on the glass.  And paying attention to every detail, they even used a wooden cork topper which is as close to a wooden plug as we can get in today's time while complying with regulations.  

The same attention to detail was paid to the whiskey itself as well.  Original rye whiskeys of the Mid-Atlantic region, especially in Pennsylvania (Overholt's original production site), were made with either 100% rye or with a 4-1 ratio of rye to malted barley.  There was no corn utilized.  Adding corn to a rye mashbill is considered a "Kentucky-Style" rye and typically doesn't veer too far off the typical profile of a bourbon whiskey.  With this in mind, Beam produced this product with 80% rye and 20% malted barley - the original recipe of Abraham Overholt.  Not only that, they sourced rye grown in the Monongahela region of Pennsylvania, which is likely similar to what Abraham would've had available to use in his whiskey as well.  

It's great all this detail was given, but would all be for naught if the whiskey itself wasn't good.  So let's check it out.  My first impression is "Wow this is rich and bold!"  The aromas jump out of the glass - rye bread, raisins, cinnamon, and other baking spices.  On the palate it's a very rich and viscous mouthfeel.  I get molasses, rye bread, cinnamon cookies, and despite being only 4 years old, a noticeable woody quality underneath.   The finish is a solid rye spice finish with a moderate burn and lingers well.  

I'm very impressed with this.  For $40, you're not going to get a much better rye than this.  However, if you're not a big rye fan or are only just beginning your rye journey, I wouldn't recommend this.  It's a big rye, as expected from the lack of corn in the mashbill.  But if you are established in your foray into ryes or are just a whiskey nerd in general, then I highly recommend you try this.  This has got to be as close as we can get to tasting 1800's whiskey today!