Apricot | Green apple | Peach | Vanilla | Plum | Caramel

Tangerine | Cinnamon | Candy corn | Glazed donut | Touch floral

Creamy caramel | Ginger | Rye spice | Aged oak | White pepper | Cinnamon

Larrikin Bourbon Company is located in Lawrenceburg, Kentucky, and began as Lawrenceburg Bourbon Company. The company was founded by LCDR Greg Keeley, which stands for Lieutenant Commander and hints towards the founder’s background, which is noted by the company as “a Service-Disabled Navy Combat Veteran. Greg has the unique honor of commissioned service in both the United States Navy and the Royal Australian Navy, with combat roles in Iraq, Afghanistan, and the Pacific. Raised in Oz, he also served with the Australian Federal Police.” The term “Larrikin” is Australian slang, meaning “a person who disregards convention; a maverick.

While we’ve seen a surprising number of high aged ryes hit the market over the past few years – many of them are quite excellent in their own right – Larrikin 9 Year Single Barrel Rye has a lot of great things going for it. Though the aroma is a bit light for its 122.5 proof, it's very fruit-forward with apricot, green apple, and peach up front. The fruit notes continue into the palate, where sweet, juicy tangerine dominates and is incredibly inviting. From there, cinnamon, candy corn, and glazed donut combine to create an immediate sugary effect. Not to be outdone, the finish offers rich, creamy caramel and light ginger before rye spice and white pepper create a manageable spicy pop. Cinnamon closes things out in a traditional rye sense.

What the tasting notes don't fully convey is how impressively well it all comes together. Though its 64% rye, 30% corn, 6% malted barley isn’t common and offers a decent amount of uniqueness, the sip never comes off as outlandish or peculiar. It manages very effectively to chart its own path away from where other high aged ryes typically go. It doesn’t rely on a big sensory rye pop that high aged, high proof ryes typically offer. It’s fruit-forward, sweet, and surprisingly subtle and complex. As a single barrel, hopefully other barrels are similar in style, since this is a well-crafted and memorable rye released so far in 2026.