A 40 Percent Rye Mash Bill From Western Pennsylvania
Liberty Pole Spirits released its High Rye Straight Bourbon on Friday, October 23, 2026, adding it to the permanent core range beside its Wheated Straight Bourbon. The announcement was a press release dated October 19. The recipe is 51% Bloody Butcher corn, 40% rye and 9% malted barley, and both straight bourbons are blends of barrels aged a minimum of 4.5 years, bottled at 100 proof, with a suggested retail price of $55 plus tax.
The company said it was inspired by rye whiskeys that use only the 51% minimum rye. The idea is to flip the balance: make a bourbon that keeps the legal minimum of corn and fills the rest of the grain bill with a large dose of rye.
What High Rye Means in Bourbon
Bourbon must be made from at least 51% corn, which leaves 49% of the mash bill for other grains. Most distillers use rye or wheat as the secondary grain, with malted barley as a small enzyme-rich addition. A "high rye" bourbon has a larger share of rye than the typical 8% to 15%. Rye contributes a spicy, peppery, sometimes herbal character, which tends to show up as a bite on the front of the palate. A mash bill at 40% rye sits near the upper limit of what is possible without crossing the corn minimum.
In the language of the Liberty Pole announcement, the High Rye Straight Bourbon is a deliberate counterpart to the company's wheated bourbon, which uses wheat in place of rye for a softer profile. Offering both in the core range gives drinkers a straightforward choice between a smooth, soft style and a spicier one.
The Corn Matters Too
Liberty Pole uses an heirloom red corn called Bloody Butcher. According to profiles of the distillery, this heirloom variety has a high phosphorus content, which results in a sweeter spirit once distilled. In a high-rye recipe, the corn is half the mash bill and is the counterweight to the rye's spice. Whether the Bloody Butcher sweetness holds up against 40% rye is the central tasting question, and I could not find a published review or tasting note for the new release, so the flavor remains unverified.
A Distillery Named for a Tax Revolt
Liberty Pole Spirits is the brand name of Mingo Creek Craft Distillers in Washington, Pennsylvania. The Hough family opened it in July 2016: Jim, Ellen, Rob and Kevin Hough started it as a family-owned and operated craft whiskey distillery. Jim Hough's interest in distilling began earlier, when he bought a small still while learning the craft.
The name comes from the 1790s Mingo Creek Society, which protested the federal whiskey excise tax during the Whiskey Rebellion. The protesters raised liberty poles as symbols of opposition, and the company's legal name reflects the society's name. Western Pennsylvania was the center of that rebellion, so the distillery is working on historic ground. The region's farmers distilled their surplus grain into whiskey that could be carried to market more easily than the grain itself. Sources describing the rebellion refer to corn whiskey as well as rye in the region, so the choice of a high-rye bourbon built on heirloom corn is a nod to both grains.
Local Grain
The distillery emphasizes local sourcing. One profile says its rye comes from nearby Westmoreland County. A 600-gallon still has been in operation since 2019, helping the distillery fill 53-gallon barrels. The company's range, per a directory listing, includes Old Monongahela Full Proof Rye, a peated bourbon, a wheated bourbon and a corn bourbon. I could not confirm current product names and mash bills against the company's own site, so the list should be treated as approximate.
The Whiskey Rebellion in Brief
The name Liberty Pole points back to a violent chapter in early American history. The Whiskey Rebellion was a 1791 to 1794 protest by western Pennsylvania farmers against the federal tax on distilled spirits, and it tested the new national government's authority. Treasury Secretary Alexander Hamilton proposed the tax as part of his 1790 financial program, mainly to fund federal assumption of state Revolutionary War debts, and Congress passed it on March 3, 1791. Its breaks favored larger distilleries, mostly in the east, while the small stills of western Pennsylvania were hit hardest.
Mingo Creek
The Mingo Creek Society, a group of dissidents founded in February 1794, met at the Mingo Creek Presbyterian church in what is now Union Township, Washington County. On July 16, 1794, about fifty Mingo Creek militiamen, frontier farmers and Revolutionary War veterans, confronted tax inspector John Neville at Bower Hill, seven miles southwest of Pittsburgh. The next day, several groups of armed men made repeated attacks on Neville's house, and it was burned. Crowd estimates vary, and one source puts the number of attackers on July 17 at six hundred.
The protesters demanded Neville's resignation and vowed to boycott tax officials. They shut down the courts and patrolled to stop any tax collector from doing the job, and violent opposition and threats made it impossible for Neville to collect the tax.
The Federal Response
In October 1794, George Washington personally led about thirteen thousand militiamen toward the rebellion, the only time a sitting U.S. president has commanded troops in the field. The rebellion was easily defeated militarily, but its political effects lasted much longer, and the tax was repealed eight years later. The distillery's name keeps that story alive in a region where the history is part of local identity.
Why the Name Fits the Product
A distillery that takes its name from a tax revolt and sits in the county where the revolt happened is making a deliberate claim about place. Putting out a bourbon that leans on a grain bill with a large share of rye ties the product to the region's early whiskey-making tradition, even though bourbon itself is traditionally associated with Kentucky. The announcement's framing of the bourbon as a Pennsylvania take on America's native spirit points the same way, toward local grain and a local heirloom corn.
Recent Moves
The new bourbon follows a busy year. In June 2026, Liberty Pole worked with MB Roland Distillery on special releases to mark the U.S. semiquincentennial, described in coverage as a Kentucky-Pennsylvania whiskey blend. Whiskeypulse reported on that collaboration at the time. In 2024, Fred Minnick covered the launch of Old Monongahela Full Proof Rye. Together these point to a small distillery that has been steadily expanding its lineup and its visibility.
Price and Position
At $55, the High Rye is priced above most mainstream bourbons and comparable to other craft releases with age statements of four to five years. The minimum age of 4.5 years, the 100 proof bottling and the use of an heirloom corn variety are the main justifications. For drinkers used to $30 to $40 bourbon, the price will need to be backed by flavor.
Putting both a wheated and a high-rye bourbon in the permanent range also says something about the company's plans: it wants to be known for a set of bourbons, not just a rye. The move from limited releases to core products is a sign of confidence in demand.
How to Taste It
If you can find a bottle, a side-by-side with a standard bourbon at around 10% rye is the best way to hear what the extra rye does. Taste each neat, then with a few drops of water. At 100 proof the bourbon has enough strength to carry the flavors without needing ice. It should also work in an Old Fashioned or a Manhattan, where rye's spice is welcome, though it is a pricey choice for mixing.
Where to Look
The announcement lists the bourbon as an ongoing offering from October 23. Liberty Pole's distribution is regional, so the easiest place to start is the distillery in Washington, Pennsylvania, or Pennsylvania retailers. Check the company's site for current availability, since small distilleries sometimes sell out of new products in their first weeks.
