Rye spice | White pepper | Green apple | Honey

White grape | Splash of honey | Rye spice | Sweet undertones | Light body

Allspice | Green apple | Hint of caramel | Graham cracker

Minden Mill Distilling is located on a 1,200 acre estate in Minden, Nevada, which is part of the state’s Carson Valley region and located east of Lake Tahoe. The distillery was founded by Christopher and Camille Bentley, and opened in 2019 after 4 years of construction and an estimated cost of $100 million. Originally known as Bently Heritage Estate Distillery, it closed a few years later. Later in 2023, it was acquired by Foley Family Wines, a large organization that owns wineries in the United States and abroad, for an undisclosed amount. When it reopened, it was rebranded to Minden Mill Distilling.  

Minden Mill’s straight rye is an easy drinking affair that’s well rounded and surprisingly sweet. It leads with rye spice, white pepper, green apple, and an undercurrent of honey on the nose. White grape, honey, and rye spice on the palate are propped up by sweet undertones. Allspice, green apple, a hint of caramel, and graham cracker cap the whiskey off.

Estate whiskeys are typically grain-forward, with the intent of highlighting the unique terroir of the region. Minden Mill’s rye is far from grain-forward, instead drinking more like a tried and true rye from an established distillery though they state their mashbill ratio was “designed to highlight the candied orange peel reflective of the Carson Valley terroir.” Interestingly, Minden Mill swaps corn for wheat as the secondary grain, which is highly unusual. While corn and wheat are both known for bringing sweet flavors to whiskey, the inclusion of wheat seems to have contributed to a more defined undercurrent of sweetness that permeates throughout Minden Mill Straight Rye. It’s subtle, but the rye spice against this sweetness makes for a rye that skews just slightly from the established norm as a result. Still, it remains a fairly straightforward rye whiskey overall.