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Rye whiskey

Spirits & brews· spirit

Rye whiskey

What it is

Rye whiskey is whiskey distilled from a mash of at least 51 percent rye grain.

What it tastes like

On the nose: dry, pear, apple. Among its measured molecules: ethyl myristate, rotundone, 1-butanol, 2,3-butanedione, 2-methyl-1-butanol.

What goes with it

155 more go with it. See them all in the full library →

Salt and acid

Salt

Salt not measured yet.

Acid

Acid not measured yet.

Unusual pairings

Pairs the library can cite that almost nobody makes.

Every one of its 15 compounds carries a paper the library can cite.

  • acetaldehydearomaaldehydereads as pungent, fruity odor (PubChem)Measured in 18 of 338 ingredients.cite
    the abstract reports 'low concentrations of acetaldehyde (from 22.25 to 34.07 mg/L of 100% v/v alcohol)'; the table spans 22.18-34.93 across all 32 distillatesBalcerek et al. 2026, Molecules (Table 5, column 'Acetaldehyde'; Abstract)
  • 1-butanolaromaalcoholreads as dry, burning taste (PubChem)Measured in 12 of 338 ingredients.cite
    7.19-18.86 mg/L of 100% v/v alcohol; named in the prose among the higher alcohols of rye distillateBalcerek et al. 2026, Molecules (Table 6, column '1-Butanol'; Results prose)
  • 2,3-butanedionearomaketonereads as strong odor (PubChem)Measured in 15 of 338 ingredients.cite
    1.33-87.64 mg/L of 100% v/v alcohol; grouped by the paper with the Maillard/Strecker carbonylsBalcerek et al. 2026, Molecules (Table 5 (Acidity and carbonyl compounds in tested rye distillates), column '2,3-Butanedione')
  • phenylacetaldehydearomaaldehydeMeasured in 21 of 338 ingredients.cite
    0.46-6.58 mg/L of 100% v/v alcohol; named among the Maillard/Strecker products of the rye mashBalcerek et al. 2026, Molecules (Table 5, column 'Phenylacetaldehyde'; Results prose)
  • 1-propanolaromaalcoholreads as burning taste (PubChem)Measured in 22 of 338 ingredients.cite
    111.98-836.45 mg/L of 100% v/v alcohol across the 32 rye distillatesBalcerek et al. 2026, Molecules (Table 6, column '1-Propanol')
  • ethyl octanoatearomaesterMeasured in 24 of 338 ingredients.cite
    0.08-17.73 mg/L of 100% v/v alcoholBalcerek et al. 2026, Molecules (Table 7, column 'Ethyl Octanoate')
  • ethyl decanoatearomaesterMeasured in 17 of 338 ingredients.cite
    1.89-27.69 mg/L of 100% v/v alcohol; the paper notes higher ethyl octanoate, ethyl decanoate and ethyl tetradecanoate in distillates from organic ryeBalcerek et al. 2026, Molecules (Table 7, column 'Ethyl Decanoate')
  • 2-methyl-1-butanolaromaalcoholMeasured in 15 of 338 ingredients.cite
    reported as a co-eluting sum with 3-methylbutanol, 612.26-3727.79 mg/L of 100% v/v alcohol; named in the prose as one of the four higher alcohols of rye distillateBalcerek et al. 2026, Molecules (Table 6, column '2-Methylbutanol and 3-Methylbutanol'; Results prose)
  • ethyl acetatearomaesterreads as fragrant odor (PubChem)Measured in 42 of 338 ingredients.cite
    the paper states that 'ethyl acetate predominated (from 109.15 to 223.05 mg/L of 100% v/v alcohol)' among the esters of the rye distillatesBalcerek et al. 2026, Molecules (Table 7 (Esters in tested rye distillates), column 'Ethyl Acetate'; Results prose)
  • 3-methylbutanalaromaaldehydereads as apple-like odor (PubChem)Measured in 22 of 338 ingredients.cite
    0.24-7.28 mg/L of 100% v/v alcohol; the paper groups 2,3-butanedione, 3-methylbutanal, 2-methylbutanal and phenylacetaldehyde as 'Maillard reaction and Strecker' productsBalcerek et al. 2026, Molecules (Table 5, column '3-Methylbutanal'; Results prose)
  • isoamyl alcoholaromaalcoholMeasured in 43 of 338 ingredients.cite
    reported as a co-eluting sum of 612.26-3727.79 mg/L of 100% v/v alcohol across the 32 rye distillates — the largest congener group measured; the paper names 1-propanol, 1-butanol, 2-methyl-1-butanol and 3-methyl-1-butanol as the higher alcohols of these distillatesBalcerek et al. 2026, Molecules (Table 6 (Methanol and higher alcohols in tested rye distillates), column '2-Methylbutanol and 3-Methylbutanol'; Results prose)
  • ethyl hexanoatearomaesterMeasured in 36 of 338 ingredients.cite
    0.04-4.06 mg/L of 100% v/v alcoholBalcerek et al. 2026, Molecules (Table 7, column 'Ethyl Hexanoate')
  • isoamyl acetatearomaesterreads as pear-like odor (PubChem)Measured in 26 of 338 ingredients.cite
    0.07-6.01 mg/L of 100% v/v alcohol; the paper calls it 'the dominant 3-methylbutyl acetate, also known as isoamyl acetate' among the acetate estersBalcerek et al. 2026, Molecules (Table 7, column '3-Methylbutyl Acetate'; Results prose)
  • ethyl myristatearomaesterMeasured in 2 of 338 ingredients.cite
    0.44-4.21 mg/L of 100% v/v alcoholBalcerek et al. 2026, Molecules (Table 7, column 'Ethyl Tetradecanoate')
  • rotundonearomaterpenoidMeasured in 3 of 338 ingredients.cite
    0.434 µg/L in a ~4-year-old rye whiskey; the paper states 'The rye from Bulleit contained one of the highest rotundone concentrations among the whiskeys evaluated' and identifies rotundone as the source of the spicy, woody, incense-like note of oak-aged spiritsGenthner-Kreger et al. 2021, Molecules (Table 2 (Concentration of rotundone in oak-aged distilled spirits), row 'Bulleit Rye Whiskey (~4 year)'; Results)

Sources

  • Balcerek et al. 2026, Molecules
  • Genthner-Kreger et al. 2021, Molecules