Most of the fall’s collectible whiskey releases are relegated to the bourbon category, although there are a few exceptions—see the two rye expressions in the just announced Buffalo Trace Antique Collection. Speaking of rye, Utah distillery High West just announced the details of its most collectible whiskey, the annual Midwinter Night’s Dram, and this year’s edition sounds like another port-finished delight.

Midwinter Night’s Dram Act 13 is, as you can guess from the name, the 13th edition in this series. The first “act” arrived more than a decade ago in 2013, and since then each release has varied in terms of components with one consistent through line—it’s a blend of rye whiskeys that is finished in port barrels. Initially, High West sourced all of its whiskey from other distilleries, mostly MGP in Indiana, but also Barton in Kentucky. Around 2020, the distillery switched to a blend of MGP rye and its own in-house produced whiskey, although the blend still leans heavily on the sourced whiskey component.

This year’s release is a blend of whiskey aged from four to 10 years. Specifically, the components are 95 percent rye and 5 percent malted barley rye distilled at MGP, and High West-distilled rye made from a mashbill of 80 percent rye and 20 percent malted rye, a relatively unusually mashbill for the category. The exact proportions of each whiskey in the blend are not revealed, but presumably the sourced whiskey still makes up the bulk of what’s in this bottle. The whiskey is then finished in ruby and tawny port barrels, the defining feature of this particular expression, and is bottled without chill filtration at 98.6 proof. We did not get a sample to try yet, but the official tasting notes sound intriguing (and very specific)—”marionberry preserves, chocolate-dripped cherries, marbled rye bread, mochaccino cinnamon bark, oolong tea, winter pine, and smoldering Havana cigar.”

While port finishing defines the bourbon produced by Louisville’s Angel’s Envy, there are also some notable examples in the rye category—among those are expressions from Baltimore’s Sagamore Spirit, Milam & Greene in Texas, Iowa’s Cedar Ridge distillery, and Hillrock Estate in upstate New York. None of these have really achieved the collectible status of A Midwinter Night’s Dram, however, but if you act fast you can find this whiskey for sale now at the distillery or through its online shop (SRP $150). And if you want to dip into the back catalogue, previous releases are still available at websites like Total Wine.