Latitude Beverage has announced the arrival of Wheel Horse Rye, an all-new straight whiskey distilled at the O.Z. Tyler Distillery in Owensboro, Kentucky.
This will be the first straight rye that whiskey lovers will see from the historic rebuilt distillery. Distilling on the site dates back to the 1880s, but a turbulent history tells stories of a fire in 1913, the onset of Prohibition in 1920, and a few owner bankruptcies along the way. The property was purchased by the Medley family in 1939, who kept a hand in the business until 2007. In 2014, new owners took over the distillery, renamed it to O.Z. Tyler, and hired Jacob Call as Master Distiller.
Under Call, O.Z. Tyler has released their own bourbon and rye, they use a TerrePURE process that simulates aging and bottle their bourbon after just one year and one day in the barrel. Wheel Horse, however, has spent two to three years aging “the old-fashioned way” in the barrel. (Boubons and whiskeys labeled “straight” must have those two years in the barrel under their belt before bottling.) Wheel Horse is bottled at 101 proof without chill filtration.
“America has seen a resurgence of rye whiskey over the past decade, and there’s no end in sight to its impressive growth,” said Terry Lozoff, Latitude Beverage’s VP of Marketing and Spirits Director.
“We are excited to enter this category, and even more excited to be doing so in partnership with O.Z. Tyler; a distillery with roots dating back to the late 1800s, and that once produced whiskeys for historic brands like Ezra Brooks, Green River and Old Medley,” he continued. “We are proud that Wheel Horse is the first aged rye to come out of the fully restored O.Z. Tyler.”
While some brands hide the name of the distillery from which their whiskey comes, only naming the state of origin, Wheel Horse is embracing the connection.
“Latitude Beverage was founded on the model of bringing incredible alcohol beverage products to consumers at unbeatable values by partnering with distinctive, world-class producers,” said Kevin Mehra, Latitude Beverage founder and CEO.
“For 10 years we’ve brought some of the best values in wine to the market through the 90+ Cellars brand,” Mehra explains. “We’re in a unique position to bring this expertise to other categories as well, which is why we are excited to release one of the best ryes under $30 on the market with Wheel Horse.”
The first bottles of Wheel Horse Straight Rye Whiskey will begin arriving on shelves across the Northeastern U.S., California, Colorado, and Illinois later this month for a suggest retail price of around $28.
