Rye grain | Faint vanilla | Rye bread | Nutmeg | Grain-forward

Gentle rye spice | Rye bread | Light grain | White peppercorn | Dab of spiced honey | Gentle buttery mouthfeel

Watery vanilla | Rye grain | Mild rye spice | Dough | Short

Flag Hill Distillery bills itself as New Hampshire’s oldest distillery, having started distilling in 2004. The first legal distillery in the state after Prohibition, they produce a number of different spirits and wines. The company pivoted to whiskey in 2013, which is when the current owner, Brian Ferguson, came on board and later purchased the company in 2015. Using estate grown rye, and distilled and aged in-house, Flag Hill uses only 4 barrels in each of their rye batches. The distillery uses a high rye mashbill with the goal being to produce a Monongahela style rye.

Rye grain and bread notes are found throughout and are accompanied by light spice and vanilla. The palate is the highlight, pulling in lighter flavors that ride in on a buttery mouthfeel. Unfortunately, that isn’t carried over to the finish, which displays watery vanilla, rye grain, and dough that culminate in a quick ending to the sip.

Having been focused on whiskey for well over a decade, consumers might expect a distillery that is carving out their own flavor profile in the whiskey space. Using estate grown rye grain along with a low 100 entry barrel proof helps, but only to a point. The whiskey in review was bottled in 2024, meaning this was distilled around 2020. While I would expect future iterations to continue to improve, for now, what consumers will find when it comes to Flag Hill Rye is very much a grain-forward rye, but one that tastes very much from a craft distillery.

The rye in review is from Batch 10.