2022 was a great year to be a Jayhawk. We hung a banner in Allen Fieldhouse, our football team went bowling for the first time in 4 years, and the first edition of Rock Chalk Rye hit shelves all over the state of Kansas.
We’re kicking off 2023 with a second edition of Rock Chalk Rye featuring the 1920 Jayhawk. Let's raise a glass to the successes of 2022, and, more importantly, the great things that lie ahead this year!
Our Rock Chalk Rye Whiskey is twice-distilled rye that consists of 96% rye and 4% malted barley. After distillation, this Rye was put into new charred white oak barrels from Independent Stave in Lebanon, Missouri. After more than 5 years of aging in our Kansas City rickhouse, we cut the Whiskey to 88 proof, a nod to the 1988 Kansas Jayhawk Basketball Championship, and bottled for you to enjoy.
On the nose, it's immediately floral with bright orange blossom and Spring flowers with more subtle hints of dried herbs and fresh tobacco leaves. Up-front, flavors of black pepper, caraway, salted peanuts, baking spices, and a note of cumin follow. It's loaded with red fruits balanced by dark chocolate. French toast with raspberry preserves. Mid-pallet richness with vanilla and allspice. Reminiscent of a Root Beer Float. Lots of sweetness for a Rye, but still plenty of spice, finishing with a light, airy notes of thyme, eucalyptus, and black tea.
This is legacy in a bottle. Our limited-edition Rock Chalk Straight Rye Whiskey represents two pillars of Midwestern history. When the game of basketball first came to Lawrence in the winter of 1898, our founder had already opened J. Rieger & Co. thirty-five miles away. As KU was establishing its own renowned dynasty in college basketball, J. Rieger & Co. was becoming the largest mail-order whiskey house in the country. After 120 years, people still come to KU for the best in college basketball, and they come to us for the finest whiskey.
