Baking spices | Chocolate | Derby pie | Charred oak | Red pepper flakes

Cinnamon spice | Red fruits | Rye spice | Mud pie | Brown sugar | Clove | Baking spice | Oak

Rye spice | Baking spices | Chocolate brownie | Faint tobacco leaf | Peppery oak

When consumers hear the words “Shiner” and “alcohol,” they often think of the Texan beer: Shiner Bock. The brewery has been crafting beer for over a century, having been founded in 1909 in Shiner, Texas. While they may be well established in the world of beer, it wasn’t until 2023 that their distillery launched. Shiner Texas Legend Rye is comprised of three barrels from the distillery’s first rye distillation in December 2023.

While sporting a 2 year age statement is usually a foreboding sign of a sip full of youthfulness, whiskey distilled and aged in Texas has one big plus going for it: the extreme aging environment. Texas whiskey tends to progress a lot faster than those aged in a more typical Kentucky or Indiana climate due to their incredibly hot summers and generally mild winters. Shiner Texas Legend Rye is no exception, as the sip is well defined and will fool most who don’t know this whiskey’s age before trying it.

The sip opens with a pleasing aroma of spices and sweetness, thanks to baking spices and red pepper flakes floating against derby pie and chocolate scents. The midpoint pulls out an interesting cast of characters, as spices mingle with red fruits and sweetness, thanks to a mud pie note. Finishing on notes of spices and peppery oak, a chocolate brownie note brings in a touch of sweetness to balance things out.

For a distillery to be so young and put out a really good rye from their first distillation run would seem hard to believe. However, not all distilleries come with over a century of experience in the brewery space. While brewing beer and distilling and aging whiskey are two very different things, it certainly doesn't hurt to have such long-term knowledge to lean on. Shiner Texas Legend Rye is a really good whiskey, and I have to imagine that with even more time distilling under their belt, this will be a serious contender in the rye category in no time.