Maiz Nation Rye Whiskey

Maiz Nation Rye Whiskey is a world first: the first-ever rye whiskey grown, mashed, and distilled in Mexico — 88 proof (44% ABV), non-chill-filtered, from rye cultivated at nearly 10,000 feet above sea level — and it is available to order online at Del Mesa Liquor, San Diego, CA.

The story reads like a fairy tale. Jonathan Barbieri went looking to learn more about the region's antique wheat varieties and, in the cloud forests of the Sierra Madre, met a farmer whose family had cultivated rye at nearly 10,000 feet for generations. That high-alpine rye — grown, mashed, and distilled entirely in Mexico at the solar-powered SolCraft Distillery in Oaxaca — became Maíz Nation's Oaxacan rye: slowly distilled on small copper pot alembics, proofed with rainwater, never chill-filtered.

Tasting notes: spicy, peppery rye up front with toasted, bready grains; caramel and tropical-citrus fruit underneath; vanilla and fresh oak from the barrel, finishing with black pepper and herbal spice.

Why buy it? Because it is a genuine first in whiskey — the only Mexican rye in existence, from rye grown higher than almost any grain on earth — and a bottle with a story no Kentucky rye can tell. Browse the world whisky collection, the Maiz Nation brand collection, and more rye whiskies for comparison.

Serving note: neat to taste the high-altitude rye character; try it side by side with a Kentucky rye in a Manhattan to taste the difference.

What is the proof? 88 proof (44% ABV), non-chill-filtered.

Why is it called the first Mexican rye? The rye is grown at nearly 10,000 feet in the Sierra Madre, then mashed and distilled in Mexico — the first rye whiskey ever made this way.

Who makes it? Maestro Destilador Jonathan Barbieri at the off-grid, solar-powered SolCraft Distillery in Oaxaca, Mexico.

Is it really distilled in Mexico? Yes — grown, mashed, and distilled in Mexico from traceable high-alpine rye.