Cocktail Bar
Workhorse Rye
California rye whiskey built on heirloom grain from dry-farmed West Coast fields.
- Founded
- 2011
- Founded by
- Rob Easter
Making it since
2011
Their story
Workhorse Rye is the project of distiller Rob Easter, who started the brand in 2011. He spent 2012 to 2014 at Kings County Distillery in Brooklyn, where he helped develop its peated bourbon, before bringing his ideas back to California.
Rather than build his own distillery, Easter works as an itinerant distiller, renting still time at established California distilleries such as Sutherland Distilling in Livermore. That keeps the operation small and lets him focus on grain and recipe.
How it's made
Since 2014 Easter has bought most of his grain directly from farmers growing non-irrigated heirloom rye, wheat, corn and barley. The core mash is 70 percent West Coast rye with malted barley and malted wheat, and it takes more than 1,000 pounds of grain to fill one barrel. Releases are aged in charred new oak.
Why we carry them
We think Workhorse is a good way to taste what West Coast rye can do, with grain that comes straight from the growers.
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