Cedar Ridge Port Cask Finish Bourbon & Straight Rye Review

 

These days, several distilleries are finishing whiskey in Port casks. Finishing is fine in practice, and I'm generally a fan - not just when a former Port cask is used, but most types of finishing. I enjoy seeing (rather, tasting) how whiskey can be changed by having it rest for a few months in a different cask.

 

But what is Port? In simple terms, Port is a fortified wine that comes from the Douro Vally of northern Portugal. Fortified refers to blending wine and spirit (with Port, it is brandy). There are various reasons why fortifying wine happens; it started as an inexpensive and safe means to transport wine over long distances.

 

Port comes in four styles: White, Ruby, Tawny, and Vintage/Late Bottle Vintage. White is made exclusively from white grapes; Ruby is typically made by blending wines from various vintages and is aged only a few years; Tawny is aged long-term in smaller casks and made exclusively from red grapes; and Vintage is made from a single vintage and aged no more than two years.

 

The Quint family at Cedar Ridge Winery & Distillery has been involved in the distilling business for nine generations. Its Master Distiller, Murphy, creates a variety of spirits and learned how to distill from the folks at Stranahan's in Colorado. The operation is located in Swisher, Iowa, and was the first legal post-Prohibition distillery in the state.

 

In its infancy, the distillery utilized only corn grown on the family farm. As Cedar Ridge’s whiskeys became more popular, it couldn’t grow enough corn fast enough and now relies on 100% Iowa-grown corn to supplement what the family can grow. The barrels are stored in natural-environment warehouses, which allows the angels to take a larger-than-average share of the whiskey – about 18% versus the national average of 12%.

 

Today, we’ll #DrinkCurious and dive deep into two Port-finished whiskeys from Cedar Ridge Winery & Distillery: a Bourbon and a Rye. Both are annual limited-releases. I’m grateful to Cedar Ridge for providing me with samples of each in exchange for my no-strings-attached, honest reviews.

 

I used fresh Glencairn glasses and sipped each neat.

 

Port Cask Finished Bourbon

 

 

• Release: April 2025
• Mashbill: 74% corn, 14% malted rye, 14% malted barley
• Age: NAS
• Alcohol Content: 47% ABV (94°)
• Price per 750mL: $49.99

 

Appearance: This Bourbon presented as a bright orange amber. It created a thick rim with thick, slow, distant tears.

 

Nose: Dried cherries dominated. It took effort to hunt for what lay beneath. I found cocoa, oak, and light caramel. There were sweet raisins and figs when I drew the air through my lips.

 

Palate: The Bourbon’s mouthfeel was thin and oily. I discovered ripe cherries, plums, and figs on the front of my palate. The middle tasted of fudge brownies with drizzled caramel, and the back included oak, black pepper, and leather.

 

Finish: Chocolate, cherries, plums, black pepper, and leather seemed glued to my tongue and melted in my throat. The pepper and leather stuck around the longest. I timed it at 1:36, making it medium-long.

 

Bottle, Bar, or Bust: I admire distillers who use malted rye. It is uncommon; it mellows harsh, spicy notes (almost like Tennessee Whiskey through the Lincoln County Process) and provides an overall chocolatey experience. Mix that with the stone fruits, and it becomes dessert-like. It drank at its stated proof.

 

We know this aged at least four years in oak before being transferred to Port casks. It may have spent more time finishing than needed; the influence muted much of Cedar Ridge’s flagship Bourbon character (which I reviewed several years ago). It scores somewhere between a Bar and a Bottle, and when that happens, I choose the lower rating, so Bar it is.

 

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Port Cask Finished Straight Rye

 

• Release: April 2025 (Batch 2)
• Mashbill: 85% rye, 12% corn, 3% malted barley
• Age: NAS
• Non-Chill Filtered
• Alcohol Content: 52.5% ABV (105°)
• Price per 750mL: $59.99

 

Appearance: The deep, burnt-umber-colored whiskey produced a massive rim with gluey, widely spaced droplets.

 

Nose: Dense chocolate permeated my olfactory sense. I smelled dates, apricots, cherries, and raw bread dough. Pulling the vapor into my mouth allowed me to taste dried apricots.

 

Palate: Its oily texture slid across my tongue as I sipped this American Rye. Cherry cola, salted caramel, and dates came first. The middle featured chocolate, rye bread, and leather. Flavors of cinnamon spice, clove, and dry oak formed the back.  

 

Finish: Cinnamon spice, rye, clove, chocolate, and dates were left in its wake. It was one of those finishes that began soft and then built momentum. There was some heat, but it wasn’t overwhelming. The duration ran 1:28, placing it in the medium category.

 

Bottle, Bar, or Bust: The aroma left me wondering if I was given a sample of something other than Rye whiskey. Nothing about it was familiar to what I’d reasonably expect. All that was thrown out the window when I took that first sip; the classic rye notes became not only evident but obvious. The Port influence complimented them.

 

The Port Cask Finished Straight Rye drank between 5 and 10 points above its stated proof. It also sucked any remnants of moisture from my mouth. My tongue clicked on the roof of my mouth.

 

I reviewed Cedar Ridge Bottled-in-Bond Rye in 2022. I enjoyed the heck out of it, and I believe the Port Cask Finish is superior. This one is $60.00, and when contemplating everything this American Rye has to offer, it is worth the premium. It is an easy Bottle rating for me, so don’t let this one slip away from you. Cheers!

 

 

 

My Simple, Easy-to-Understand Rating System

• Bottle = Buy It
• Bar = Try It
• Bust = Leave It

 

Whiskeyfellow encourages you to enjoy your whiskey as you see fit but begs you to do so responsibly.