Table Of Contents
The Details
| Rating | 86 |
| Style |
Rye American Whiskey Whiskey |
| Produced In |
Kentucky United States |
| ABV | 47.5% |
| Availability | Year Round |
| Price | $39.99 |
| Reviewed By | |
| Review Updated | 2024-04-29 |
A. Overholt Monongahela Mash Straight Rye Whiskey Review
Over the past four years, Kentucky-based Jim Beam has been showing more love to the Old Overholt line of rye whiskeys, a brand it acquired in 1987. That includes increased age statements — a limited-edition 11 year product, and the base expression bumped up to four years — as well as a mighty tasty cask strength offering.
Now, Beam is pushing Overholt in a “new” direction meant to turn back the clock: the recently released A. Overholt Monongahela Mash Straight Rye, which uses a mash bill similar to what founder Abraham Overholt distilled in Pennsylvania all the way back in 1810. It’s made from 80 percent rye and 20 percent “soft” malted barley.
To market the release, Beam is pushing the tagline “Pennsylvania born, Kentucky made.”
A. Overholt Monongahela Mash is bottled at 95 proof and carries a four-year age statement. It joins three other expressions as ongoing releases in the Old Overholt rye line:
- Old Overholt 4 Year Old (86 proof)
- Old Overholt 4 Year Old Bottled in Bond (100 proof)
- Old Overholt Extra Aged Cask Strength (10 year age statement)
Like other Old Overholt expressions, A. Overholt is non-chill filtered. It’s currently the only expression made from the aforementioned 80/20 mash bill. Given Beam’s propensity for new Overholt releases these last few years, I wouldn’t be surprised to see more expressions from that mash as early as 2025. (Just a guess!)
Let’s see how the newest Overholt rye tastes.
A. Overholt Straight Rye Whiskey: Stats and Availability
While last year’s Old Overholt Extra Aged Cask Strength was initially sold only in select markets, the new A. Overholt Straight Rye is a nationwide, ongoing release. It carries a suggested retail price of around $40. This is certainly aimed at the value consumer, so I would expect virtually all retailers to respect MSRP here.
A. Overholt Straight Rye Whiskey Review
As with all of VinePair’s whiskey reviews, this was tasted in a Glencairn glass and rested for at least five minutes.
Nose
Rich rye spice leads, the 80 percent mash bill clearly showing its stripes from the start. Of course, rye spice itself is multi-pronged, in this case bringing a vegetal quality to a mix of baking spices. That’s punctuated by honeysuckle (the predominant sweet note here) and fennel seeds.
That spice is so pronounced that the first few sniffs nose slightly higher than the whiskey’s 95 proof. A few more minutes in the glass bring some welcome calm, which allows more honeysuckle to waft to the top of the glass.
Instead of oak, the wood scents lean more into pine and aspen bark. It’s bright, vegetal, and just a tiny bit soapy. What’s absent are some elements of darker, leathery aromas one might expect from a four-year rye; with this grain in particular, that’s often a turning point in the barrel for deeper, richer wood influence.
Apart from those early notes, the nose isn’t terribly complex, though that’s not necessarily to its detriment. If the goal is to highlight the rye’s direct influence — and not necessarily the influence of years in a cask — A. Overholt is thus far fulfilling its objective. The taste and finish will decide whether that’s a goal worth celebrating.
Taste
The initial flavor is unexpectedly muted; that heavy rye spice is nowhere to be found until the midpalate on the second and third sips. Instead, the early dominant flavor is sourdough — really sour mash — like a sweetened version of the distiller’s beer from which the whiskey is ultimately made.
It takes a few sips, but suddenly, the palate blooms, carried by a notably silky mouthfeel that feels a bit above league for 95 proof. Sweet, fruity flavors slide across the midpalate: sweetened condensed milk, caramel apple, cinnamon-spiced dried orange rind, and apricot. Up next is a lighter series of spice, more ginger and clove than cinnamon.
Still, even those composed flavors don’t really unfold until halfway through each sip, as if the palate itself experienced arrested development. More sweetness on the tip of the tongue — and more mature wood-forward flavors in the back half — would certainly improve the overall dram. A great rye whiskey boasts a wide swath of flavors that build with each return to the glass; here, those notes plateau and never quite reach the grain’s full potential.
Finish
Thankfully, the finish punches above the palate’s weight. Green apple and raisins lend fruit-forward sweetness, while ginger and cinnamon gradually linger in the mouth and throat. It’s not a particularly long third act, but just enough to elevate the experience and end on a higher point.
A. Overholt Straight Rye Whiskey Rating
86/100
Recap
A. Overholt Monongahela Mash Rye pays tribute to a bygone era of whiskey, with a flavor profile that stands apart from its Beam-distilled contemporaries. A straightforward nose is followed by a somewhat dampened palate that feels like it’s pulling at least one punch. Fortunately, the finish sticks the landing, adding a layer of satisfaction missing from the mouth. Tasty but imperfect, A. Overholt feels a bit like a work in progress.
It’s worth contextualizing that analysis. Sipped neat, there are simply better American ryes in this proof and cost range. (Look at Beam’s own 7-year Knob Creek rye for a similarly-priced option.) But in a mixed drink, and compared to its contemporaries, A. Overholt is likely to bring a different type of rye flavor. In promotional materials, the brand itself is quick to suggest uses in cocktails. Right now, it’s a bottle I’d gladly hand to a mixologist for experimentation galore.
We know Beam is willing to push this line in both proof and age. Let’s hope it’s willing to do the same with this mash bill. I’ll be waiting.
As of 2024, VinePair no longer participates in any affiliate programs. All links included in our content are as a convenience to our readers, not for earning commission — we receive no monetary value from them. Learn more about our tastings & review department here!
Related Reads
Learn About Rye
Related Old Overholt Reviews
Old Overholt 114 Proof Aged 4 Years:
2020 saw Old Overholt — one of America’s oldest whiskey brands — add a few extra proof points to its core expression. Simultaneously, ...
Old Overholt 10 Year Cask Strength Rye:
Old Overholt is America’s oldest continually produced whiskey brand, with a rich history deserving of its own feature article. The ...
Related Rye Reviews
E.H. Taylor, Jr. Barrel Proof Rye Whiskey:
Over the past decade, Buffalo Trace’s E.H. Taylor, Jr. brand has climbed toward the top ranks of American whiskey, at least among spirits ...
Knob Creek 10 Year Old Rye:
On the opposite side of the age-statement debate, there’s no denying the pleasure that comes with finding an American whiskey that spent ...
Featured Rye Articles
Loved at Home, Ignored Abroad: Why European Whiskey Drinkers Aren’t Buying the Bourbon Hype:
While bourbon is everywhere in the U.S., abroad there is no mania, not even in Europe, home to the world's biggest whiskey drinkers.
The Strange History of Medicinal Whiskey and Its Modern Revival:
Prohibition remains one of the most romanticized periods in U.S. history, and recently, legacy distilleries have played into that nostalgia.
All of the Best Whiskeys to Drink in 2024:
From single malt to single barrel, barrel proof to cask finished, these are the best whiskeys to drink in 2024.
Why Do Rye Whiskeys Almost Always Have Green Labels? An Investigation.:
VinePair explores why when you stroll down the rye aisle at any liquor store in America, you’ll be seeing green.
