Alias Straight Rye Whiskey Review

This Alias Straight Rye Whiskey comes from the Ross & Squibb distillery (ex-MGP) and uses their 51/45/4 mash. This barely-rye is meant to celebrate the unsung women of distilling’s past who had to use male aliases to run the distillery and do business.

We know women played pivotal roles in whiskey history, and have indeed been largely left out of the stories, so the premise isn’t off. What is off is the total lack of follow-up on this whiskey. No website, no deeper explanation, no big movements with women-owned bars, female bar tenders or… anything.

This is Luxco making something, throwing it out and then just shrugging off its existence. But maybe there’s a reason for that. Let’s dig deeper and get to drinkin’!

Alias Straight Rye Whiskey – Details and Tasting Notes

 

Whiskey Details

Style: Rye (Straight)
Region: Indiana, USA
Distiller: Ross & Squibb (MGP)

Mash Bill: At least 51% Rye, 45% Corn, 4% Malted Barley
Cask: New Charred Oak
Age: 4+ Years
ABV: 45%

Alias Straight Rye Whiskey Price: $28*

Related Whiskey

Rebel Yell Small Batch Rye
New Riff Rye Whiskey
Frey Ranch Rye Bottled-In-Bond
Redemption Rye
Sagamore Spirit Rye

“Celebrate the craft. Celebrate the craftiness” – Alias Rye

Alias Straight Rye Tasting Notes

EYE
Light caramel

NOSE
Woody, grainy, dried orchard fruit, herbal spice, pie crust, copper and a spirity kick

Smells younger than it supposedly is and has a slight solvent-like sharpness to it.

PALATE
Watery rye spice, woody oak, caramel, dried fruit, grassy grain and some copper and sharp piney-herbal notes.

Not a huge fan of this palate, it comes across raw and unrefined.

FINISH
Med-short -> Caramel, copper, stale spice and earthiness

BALANCE, BODY and FEEL
Not balanced, medium body, sharp acidic feel.

Alias Straight Rye – Overall Thoughts and Score

This definitely feels like a Luxco “throwaway project”. The terrible bottle design, the lack of online information, the immature harsh whiskey. Nothing about this feels like it’s a product meant to last more than a press cycle or two. I haven’t even seen it on the shelves of stores that carry a lot of other Luxco products.

Alias Straight Rye drinks hotter than it should, I would not guess 45% blindly, and has a strange herbal-earthy-musty note that drifts awkwardly across the senses. This is not a whiskey I’d reach for, but it does, oddly, make a decent Manhattan if you use all sweet red vermouth. There are dozens of I’d rather use, but this doesn’t do a terrible job as a cocktail rye. At least it has that going for it.

SCORE: 1.5/5 (not good, only recommendation is to avoid ~ C- | 70-72)

*Disclosure: The bottle for this rye review was graciously sent to me by the company without obligation. The views, opinions, and tasting notes are 100% my own.

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