Hemingway Whiskey Co. of Louisville, Kentucky, announced expanded availability for Hemingway Rye Whiskey First Edition, after the inaugural batch of First Edition Collector’s Packaging sold out in less than one week in late 2022. The new rye whiskey was crafted by a team with deep experience in Kentucky whiskey. The Calls, a family with Bardstown roots and more than 230 years of distilling experience, distilled the whiskey in collaboration with the Hemingway and Groth families. It is now on shelves in Kentucky, Tennessee, and Florida, and available online in most states.
Hemingway Rye Whiskey First Edition has already received numerous accolades including being ranked in the “Top 5 Rye Whiskeys” of the year by acclaimed spirits columnist and critic, Fred Minnick in his annual top 100 ranking. Now with this latest First Edition release, even more rye whiskey lovers will have the opportunity to get their hands on a bottle.
The whiskey will come in a custom bottle adorned with a typewriter key design alongside Hemingway’s famed signature printed on the bottle. The Call Family’s signatures are also printed on the label. Each First Edition bottle also features a unique, removable card on the back, inspired by old-fashioned library book cards, inviting imbibers to pour their own stories and log who they share their rye with.This new whiskey is a great addition to any home collection or bar.
About Hemingway Rye Whiskey First Edition:
In Western Kentucky, three families came together to create Hemingway Rye Whiskey: the Calls, the Groths, and the Hemingways. Each family brought their own inspiration and stories passed down from generation to generation, and the result is a rye whiskey rich with tradition.
Inspired by American author, journalist, and storyteller Ernest Hemingway and crafted in collaboration with his family, Hemingway Whiskey Company is led by Steve Groth, whiskey pioneer and co-founder of the revered Angel’s Envy Bourbon brand. The Call family, Seventh-Generation Master Distiller Ron Call and his sons, Call Family Ambassador Clayton Call and Eighth-Generation Master Distiller Jacob Call hand source, blend, and finish the rye whiskey, building on generations of distilling expertise and innovation. The Call Family distilling history stretches back to the earliest days of bourbon when Samuel Call distilled whiskey on his Kentucky farm in the late 1700s.
The home for Hemingway Rye Whiskey will be Jacob Call’s new Western Kentucky Distilling Co. in Beaver Dam, Kentucky.
“As one of the earliest distilling families in Kentucky, we are proud to continue building on our family’s distilling history,” said Jacob Call. “It’s been an honor to work with my father and brother on Hemingway Rye Whiskey. Together, we have poured our hearts into this first edition, and it’s been nice to hear from so many people who have enjoyed it.”
Hemingway Rye Whiskey is a blend of straight rye whiskeys finished in ultra-premium rum-seasoned Oloroso Sherry casks. It is a captivating blend of 94% 9-year-old Indiana Straight Rye and 6% 4-year-old Kentucky Straight Rye, the latter distilled by Jacob Call and crafted with his signature spice. Both are finished with the sweetness and softness of Ron Call’s own rum-seasoned Oloroso Sherry casks. It is 100 proof and a dark amber color. It has a rich caramel and brown sugar aroma, complemented by back notes of soft rye and vanilla. On the palate, it has notes of rich cherry, toasted oak, creamy caramel, and cinnamon. A rich mouthfeel bursts with fruit flavor leading into a soft, sweet, and warm finish.
“The three families that came together to make Hemingway Rye Whiskey are connected by our shared values. We respect tradition, history, and the people who have come before us, but at the same time, have an itch to do things a bit differently,” said Steve Groth. “We knew we had something special with Hemingway Rye Whiskey First Edition, but we did not expect it to sell out so quickly. We also weren’t expecting folks to hold onto it as a keepsake, so we’re happy to release more for people to sip and savor.”
In November 2022, Hemingway Whiskey Company released the rye as an inaugural batch of 972 bottles of Hemingway Rye Whiskey First Edition in Collector’s Packaging. The bottles were hand-numbered and hand-signed by the Calls and encased in a library-style box with an old-fashioned library book card. These Collector’s bottles sold out in less than a week, so the team is thrilled to have more First Edition rye to share with whiskey drinkers this year in traditional packaging..