Honeysuckle | Eucalyptus | Apricot | Mango | Apple

Apricot | Peach | Rye spice | Almond | Nutmeg | Malt

Cream puff | Chocolate eclair | Light coffee | Ginger | Rye spice | Mint | Dry toasted oak

Following up last year’s Walleye Run Malted Rye Very Small Batch release, this release is adding another finishing barrel (brandy) and a partner distillery (Journeyman Distillery, about an hour drive south). The 7 year old release is a  50% blend of malted rye from New Holland Distillery and 50% rye from Journeyman Distillery, which was then blended and finished in brandy and toasted oak casks.

For fans of New Holland’s malted rye, some won’t necessarily welcome the inclusion of rye from another company, let alone it also being unmalted. Fans of malted rye are a passionate bunch who have been drinking well over the last few years, as malted rye has risen in popularity. But the inclusion of Michigan’s Journeyman Distillery helps add yet another dimension to the sip on top of the brandy and toasted oak finishing.

Including non-malted rye in the blend does pull back on some of the malted notes from last year’s release, but there is still more Walleye Run that comes through this than not. New Holland has such a distinct flavor that it's hard for it not to show through. Furthermore, the brandy finish adds a slight tweak to the flavor profile, with it being more pronounced at first and then gently receding.

It shouldn’t be a surprise that Walleye Run’s flavor profile pairs nicely with a brandy finish. Scents of honeysuckle, eucalyptus, apricot, mango, and apple all flow together nicely. The palate has the brand’s apricot note against peach, rye spice, almond, and nutmeg. The finish is where the Journeyman Distillery is displayed more. Rye spice and mint play a larger role than usual, and the combination of cream puff, chocolate eclair, light coffee, and ginger is interesting and delicious.

The inclusion of Journeyman Distillery’s rye and brandy barrel finishing makes for an interesting pour; it's hard to say that it's necessarily better than last year's release. It’s definitely more dynamic, but as we’ve seen with the company’s Dragon’s Milk Toasted Origin releases, the base releases are so good that the extra finishing sometimes offers only a light variation on the tried-and-true and doesn’t always improve them. It’s a good problem to have, as Walleye Run Malted Rye Very Small Batch 2026-01 “Fisherman’s Batch” is still a must-have for malted rye fans.