Atlanta’s First Rye Since Prohibition
In distilling Atlanta's first rye since Prohibition – and one of the few in the country made from 100% malted rye, we at ASW Distillery take our cue from Georgia’s vibrant craft brewing community to explore a new, unique whiskey style largely ignored by large distilleries.
Rye is one of Georgia's traditional distilling grains. Today, the majority of Georgia's rye crop is devoted to cereal (unmalted) rye. We wanted to craft Resurgens as a wholly unique whiskey and thus employ 100% malted rye from the Midwest (with a touch of chocolate malted rye for good measure), to create a flavorful whiskey that showcases rye’s full potential.
The Story & The Artwork
We'd been drinking rye for years and when we first started looking for a site to build our whiskey distillery in the heart of Georgia’s capital, we knew that to make a world-class rye, we'd need a world-class Master Distiller. Through a chance connection, we met Justin Manglitz, former owner of the Athens, Ga. homebrew supply store, Blockader, and friend to many of Georgia's most well-known craft brewers. Justin had become a living legend in Athens for his craft-beverage prowess, so we asked him if he had a good rye recipe.
From malted barley to malted rye
Most of his experience was with malted barley, so he immediately got to work crafting a recipe for a unique take on a rye. What he settled on was a whiskey made from 100% malted rye. Why?
Because malting concentrate the flavor of a grain. So in crafting a whiskey from that most flavorful of grains, rye, we settled on a recipe to exhibit the most intense form of the most flavorful grain.
The Imagery & The Symbolism
Renowned Athens artist David Hale created the artwork for the label, with the phoenix and the antique lettering a nod to Atlanta's motto – fitting imagery for rye’s renaissance these last few years, as well as craft distilling’s renaissance more generally (which Prohibition more or less extinguished but which has since charted an unparalleled rise).
An added wrinkle to the evolution of Resurgens Rye is that David is a direct blood descendant of Basil Hayden, who – legend has it – was the first to introduce rye into original corn whiskey recipes, creating the modern-day bourbon as we know it.
The Mash Bill & Distillation
We distill Resurgens Rye from 100% malted rye, with apprximately 5% chocolate malted rye. Like most of our whiskies at ASW Distillery, we opted for grain-in distillation on our traditional, Scottish-style double copper pot stills outfitted with reflux balls and traditionally shaped swan's necks, along with an inverted condenser for the spirit still.
Resurgens is non-chill-filtered with no color added. Learn more about our distillation process here.