Green apple Jolly Rancher | Toffee | Straw | Orange marmalade

Tang | Green apple | Dried fruit | Light peach | Sandalwood

Rye spice | Oak | Touch of cinnamon | White pepper | Slightly dry | Medium length & hot

If you source your whiskey from Indiana and your distillery is in Wyoming, there are only a few ways to get said whiskey to your front door. One way is by train which gave birth to the idea of Railroad Rye. The whiskey making up this release traveled from Indiana to Chicago, before being loaded onto a Union Pacific 60’ sideload railcars headed towards Wyoming. This 1,776 miles along the Transcontinental Railway is as close to a straight shot across the country as they come. Once the barrels arrived at Brush Creek Distillery outside of Saratoga, Wyoming, they spent additional time aging 7,600 feet above sea level. For the first batch of Railroad Rye, dubbed “Boxcar #1,” 12 barrels were picked producing 3,000 bottles.  

There’s a certain amount of romanticism tied to the Transcontinental Railway and a deep rooted sense of adventure that’s tied to America’s expansion west. I don’t doubt many will ignore the whiskey’s backstory and creation, but as far as “whiskey aged on vehicles” is concerned, I get a kick out of it.

The whiskey opens with a classic rye whiskey aroma that adds its own spin to it. It’s hard to find fault with a rye that boasts green apple Jolly Rancher, toffee, straw, and orange marmalade in the opening part of its sip, as they simply work well together. From there the green apple carries over to the palate while adding Tang, dried fruit and light peach to its profile. Again, it's a good collection of flavors. While hot, especially for a 104 proof, the finish in turn focuses on spice and heat, with both coming out in force. Thankfully the finish doesn’t completely derail the sip, as the rest of the whiskey’s flavors firmly keeps you on track. Rye drinkers will enjoy the unique spin on the classic rye flavor profile that Railroad Rye offers. Just bear in mind that there isn’t anything revolutionary offered, just more of a fun and enjoyable sipper above all else.    

The bottle being reviewed comes from batch Boxcar #1, bottle #2868.