Table Of Contents
The Details
| Rating | 88 |
| Style |
Rye American Whiskey Whiskey |
| Produced In |
Indiana United States |
| ABV | 44% |
| Availability | Year Round |
| Price | $89.00 |
| Reviewed By | |
| Review Updated | 2024-10-04 |
SirDavis Straight Rye Whisky Review
The world of celebrity-founded spirits brands just got perhaps its heaviest-hitting entrant yet — and we had an early taste of the new juice.
Beyoncé Knowles-Carter — the artist with the most Grammy Awards of all time — has teamed up with Moët Hennessy to launch SirDavis, a new brand with an inaugural release in the rye category. It’s the first-ever Moët Hennessy brand developed internally and within the United States (as opposed to an acquisition).
The brand is named for Davis Hogue, Knowles-Carter’s paternal great-grandfather. According to a press release, Davis was a farmer and Prohibition-era moonshiner who once stashed bottles in cedar trees to avoid prying eyes.
To develop the first release, Moët Hennessy enlisted Dr. Bill Lumsden of its portfolio distilleries Glenmorangie and Ardbeg. Working with Knowles-Carter (who the brand says is a noted Japanese whisky drinker), Lumsden and his team settled on an Indiana-distilled straight whisky made from a mash bill of 51 percent rye and 49 percent malted barley. (The distillate comes from an unnamed Indiana-based producer, with all signs pointing to MGP.) Notably, some non-distilling producers, including Smoke Wagon, have previously released MGP rye from that mashbill. SirDavis reps have said that moving forward, the brand has exclusivity on that and a range of similar mashbills from its partner producer.
The non-age stated rye is shipped to Texas (Knowles-Carter’s home state) and finished in Pedro Ximenez sherry casks. Blending and bottling (at 88 proof) also takes place in Texas. Brand reps have confirmed that this release exceeds the minimum age requirements for straight rye (i.e. 2 years).
Here’s a sentence I never saw myself writing: Let’s see how Beyoncé’s whisky tastes!
SirDavis Straight Rye Whisky: Stats and Availability
SirDavis rye officially releases on Aug. 20, 2024. It’s available online at SirDavis.com and will be distributed to California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Louisiana, Maryland, New York, Tennessee, Texas, and Washington D.C. starting in September. It will also be available in select retail locations in London, Paris, and Tokyo, as well as a handful of major U.S. international airports.
The suggested retail price for SirDavis’ inaugural release is $89.99. This is presented as an ongoing release, so in the long run, I don’t anticipate it commanding too much of a markup beyond that.
SirDavis Straight Rye Whisky Review
As with all of VinePair’s whiskey reviews, this was tasted in a Glencairn glass and rested for at least five minutes.
Nose
Right off the bat, this nose is distinct from the familiar 95 percent rye mashbill we’re so used to from MGP. It’s slightly less herbal and a little more fruit-forward, with a dried oak quality that continues throughout. It’ll be challenging to distinguish the impact of mashbill versus sherry cask aging, but ultimately, what matters is the quality of experience. So let’s get on to specifics!
There’s certainly a marked malt quality here, with cereal grain and rye spice — predominantly nutmeg — leading from the front. In addition, the early nose features a pop of mandarin orange slices in syrup, sweeter than tart but quickly fleeting as dryer fruit elements march on in. Dried citrus peel and red grape mash follow, which form the bulk of the fruit components from here on out.
Grain-forward malt never dissipates among the fruit. But additional dried, toasted oak builds, and that spice gradually evolves from nutmeg to cinnamon. Finally, some herbaceousness folds in, closer to sawgrass than the more familiar dill.
Taste
The first sip is light and oak-forward, which could be a function of an aging lifecycle across multiple casks. A next progression is decidedly spice then fruit, the rye character bringing (again) cinnamon and nutmeg.
What comes next throws me for a loop: roasted peanuts. It’s a flavor I taste both early and late, toward the tip of my tongue and then toward the end of each sip at the back and sides of the palate. A silky mouthfeel and hint of sweetness pushes this close to creamy peanut butter territory, but overall it’s a bit darker, as if the papery peanut skins had been left on during the roast.
Orange oil forms the backbone of fruit along the midpalate, along with very dark chocolate, and neither are ever decoupled from roasted nuts. It takes some time, but eventually blackcurrants and dark grapes build along the very center of the tongue.
Thus far, SirDavis’ rye is accounting for a lot of sectors on the American rye flavor wheel: citrus, oak, nuts, berries, and spice, to name a few. Comparatively, its sweetness is dialed back; it’s as if the second maturation in Pedro Ximenez sherry casks did more to add dryness than imparting additional sweetness.
Finish
The finish leans away from cereal grain and back into rye spice. It’s lengthy and tannic, reminiscent of a dry, full-bodied Cabernet Sauvignon. As with the palate, I would have welcomed an additional element of sweetness, but the spirit’s final act is generally on par with its palate.
SirDavis Straight Rye Whisky Rating
88/100
Recap
SirDavis launches with an unrivaled celebrity name, though I hope folks will make their own assessment of what’s in the bottle. While we’ve seen this mash bill before, coupled with a sherry finish, it’s a unique take on American rye that delivers a broad spectrum of flavor.
Overall, this is a tasty first release for SirDavis, and if bottle costs weren't a factor, I'd consider it a pretty versatile option at home or on-premise. Priced outside the normal range for a cocktail ingredient, I’m curious if certain bars will leverage the celebrity tie-in for high-end mixology offerings, in addition to selling neat or on-the-rocks pours. Moët Hennessy has clearly gone mass-market instead of super premium with this launch, and I’ll be interested to see if the brand expands offerings up or down the chain moving forward.
Related Reads
Learn About Rye
Related Rye Reviews
New Riff Balboa Rye:
First announced in 2019, New Riff’s Balboa Rye is a bottled-in-bond expression distilled from a mash containing mostly heirloom grain. In ...
Wild Turkey Master's Keep Triumph:
Since it launched in 2015, Wild Turkey’s Master’s Keep series has been the distillery’s go-to line for adventurous takes on premium ...
Starlight Double Oak Rye Whiskey:
Produced using a blend of two, rye-heavy mashbills, this whiskey is made using estate-grown rye and locally sourced malted barley. It’s ...
Castle & Key 'Restoration Rye' (2022):
All in all, this year’s Castle & Key Restoration Rye is just as good, if not better, than last year’s release. The nose bursts with ...
Featured Rye Articles
Cocktails, Rye, and F. Scott Fitzgerald: The Curious, Boozy History of the Seelbach Hotel:
The story of the Seelbach is a story of Louisville's continued place as a focal point of whiskey culture. Read all about it here.
How Foursquare Rum Casks Became the Ultimate Whiskey Finishing Vessel:
In many recent cases, Foursquare gets the same billing on product labels as the whiskey brands finishing their products in the rum casks.
The 50 Best Spirits of 2023:
Read on for VinePair's authoritative list of the best 50 spirits of 2023! These are 50 of the best spirits you can buy. See them all now!
Next Wave Awards Master Blender of the Year: Nic Christiansen:
Nic Christiansen was put on the map when she released a "Seagrass" finished rye whiskey that others are trying tirelessly to recreate.
