Kooper Family Rye Review
Kooper Family Rye is a straight rye whiskey that is a blend of whiskies from Indiana and Tennessee that are then matured in Texas.
I recently tasted and enjoyed the Kooper Family’s Sweetheart of the Rodeo whiskey, which showed what the skillful ageing of whiskies can achieve, so I was very keen to try their Kooper Family Rye. The Kooper Family is a husband-and-wife team who decided they wanted to make whiskey, but instead of distilling it themselves they would buy in whiskies to blend and mature at their base in Texas.
Sweetheart of the Rodeo was a single whiskey that was produced in Indiana and matured in Texas, whereas this Kooper Family Rye is a blend of two straight rye whiskies. The couple, Troy and Michelle Kooper, bought a 95% rye from Indiana and a 51% rye from Tennessee. The Indiana rye was matured for at least three years in white oak casks, while the Tennessee rye spent at least five years in the casks.
The two whiskies are then blended and put into used bourbon casks and matured some more till the blend achieves the flavor profile that the Kooper Family wants. The result is a straight rye whiskey that you might say is a bit of a mongrel. It’s 51% rye, 36% corn, and 13% malt from Tennessee, and 95% rye and 5% malt from Indiana, matured from 3-5 years (and a bit), and is bottled at 45% ABV.
Family Connections
To stress the family connections, the label of this Kooper Family Rye has a sketch on it of a boxer, who was grandfather Howard. It shows him in 1944, when he was 22, and when he became the U.S. Armed Forces Heavyweight Boxing Champion.
He was already a husband and a father, became a soldier, and I can’t put it better than the family says on their website: ‘[He] proved to himself what grit, determination, and a willingness to fight for greatness could achieve. Those values he passed down are the defining principles that guide our family and our relentless dedication to our craft.’
Tasting Kooper Family Rye
I may have jokingly referred to this as a mongrel but when you taste it you discover it’s more of a thoroughbred. That heavy rye content produces a nose that is very sweet indeed, with a strong vanilla presence along with toffee, caramel, honey, spice, raisins, and an oaky aroma from the barrels.
The sweetness continues when sipping the whiskey, with more vanilla and caramel, and a lovely buttery taste. To contrast that, there’s some cinnamon, lemon, peppery spice – there’s all kinds of things going on in there! The finish is also wonderfully buttery smooth, with more vanilla, spice, and some oakiness. It’s a terrific whiskey, especially if you’re a sweet rye fan.
It’s a bit of a cliché to say this, but it’s a whiskey that should also appeal to people who think they don’t like whiskey. And if you don’t like this one, there’s definitely no hope for you.
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