Casey Jones sent me four full size bottles to sample - not sample bottles, four full bottles. That kind of confidence earns your attention immediately. The Single Barrel is the one that impressed me most out of the lineup. 75% yellow corn, 21% rye, 4% malted barley, aged five years in a medium toast barrel, bottled at 116.5 proof from one single cask. The high rye mashbill changes everything compared to the Barrel Cut. This is a bolder, spicier, more structured pour - and it delivers at every level.

A 21% rye content puts this firmly in high-rye territory - the same neighborhood as Four Roses and Bulleit, where the rye grain asserts itself throughout the profile and gives the bourbon a spice-forward backbone that a lower-rye mashbill simply cannot produce. Combined with the medium toast barrel - a slower, more controlled heat application that caramelizes the wood sugars without the aggressive char of a standard barrel - and the square copper pot still that Casey Jones uses for all of their distillation, what you get at five years and 116.5 proof is a bourbon with real structural complexity and a layered profile that earns every bit of the 4.0 rating.

Distillery	Casey Jones Distillery - Hopkinsville, Kentucky
Master Distiller	Arlon Casey Jones
Style	Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey - Single Barrel
Mashbill	75% Yellow Corn · 21% Rye · 4% Malted Barley
Still	Authentic Square Copper Pot Still
Barrel	Medium Toast - New American White Oak
Age	5 Years
Proof	116.5 (58.25% ABV) - Single Barrel Cask Strength
Format	Single Barrel - Uncut · Unfiltered · No Blending

Deep amber with warm copper highlights and excellent viscosity in the glass. The medium toast barrel produces a slightly different color profile than a standard charred barrel at the same age - warmer and more golden at the edges, with a rich mahogany core that speaks to real wood interaction over five Kentucky seasons. The legs are long and deliberate. At 116.5 proof this pours with a weight and presence that immediately tells you something serious is happening in the glass.

The high rye mashbill announces itself immediately on the nose - assertive rye spice leading the charge with cinnamon and black pepper right up front. But what happens next is where the medium toast barrel earns its place in the story. Instead of the sharp barrel char bite you would expect from a standard cask at this proof, a wave of caramelized brown sugar and vanilla cream softens the rye edges and pulls the nose into something far more elegant than the proof point suggests it should be. That is the medium toast doing its job perfectly.

Dark cherry and dried fruit develop as the glass opens - classic rye-forward bourbon fruit notes that build on the spice backbone rather than competing with it. Toasted oak arrives next, warm and well-seasoned rather than sharp or tannic, the slower toast extraction having built depth into the wood character over five years without the aggressive bite that an over-charred barrel can produce. Baking spice threads through the back of the nose - nutmeg, clove, a touch of allspice - adding layers that reward the extra time you give it before the first sip.

At 116.5 proof the ethanol is present but the rye spice and the medium toast sweetness work together to keep it in check. A few drops of water and the nose blooms considerably - the fruit notes gain definition and a fresh grain quality emerges that is distinctly Kentucky and completely genuine.

The palate is bold, structured, and layered in a way that a lower-rye mashbill simply cannot produce. The entry leads with corn sweetness - caramel and brown sugar arriving first and coating the tongue - but the 21% rye is right behind it, delivering a spice backbone of white pepper, cinnamon, and a building heat that keeps the sweetness honest and gives the whole profile real definition. This is not a soft pour. It is a confident one.

The medium toast barrel contribution becomes most evident in the mid-palate. Instead of the char-driven vanilla that defines most Kentucky single barrel expressions at this age, you get a richer, creamier sweetness - butterscotch and brown butter - that integrates with the rye spice in a way that creates real harmony between the grain character and the wood. Dark cherry and a touch of dark chocolate develop through the middle, adding fruit and depth that push the profile well beyond what the age statement suggests is possible.

The pot still mouthfeel is present and doing important work at this proof level. The natural oils retained through copper pot distillation give the palate a roundness and coating quality that softens the 116.5 proof heat considerably - you are aware of the proof but it never dominates the flavor. The rye spice and the medium toast sweetness carry the mid-palate together in a combination that is genuinely impressive for a five-year-old craft single barrel.

Long, spiced, and satisfying - the finish is where the high rye mashbill and the medium toast barrel come together most completely. Rye spice and cinnamon lead the exit with real authority, followed by the warm butterscotch sweetness of the medium toast extraction holding on through the mid-finish. Dry oak arrives late and adds structure without bitterness - five years of medium toast interaction producing a wood character that is seasoned and integrated rather than sharp or tannic.

Dark cherry and a light tobacco note thread through the back end, adding complexity that keeps the finish interesting well past the point where most five-year craft bourbons have gone quiet. The heat from 116.5 proof settles into a warm, pleasant glow in the finish rather than a sharp burn - the pot still character and the medium toast sweetness buffering the proof in a way that makes this genuinely enjoyable to sip neat. A long, spiced, Kentucky finish that leaves you reaching for the glass again. That is exactly what a single barrel at this proof should do.

Since Casey Jones sent the full lineup, here is the honest comparison. The Barrel Cut earns its 4.0 on distinctiveness - the 50/50 corn and cane mashbill produces something genuinely unlike anything else in Kentucky. The Single Barrel earns its 4.0 on technical execution - a high-rye mashbill through a medium toast barrel at five years and 116.5 proof that competes with single barrel expressions from distilleries with far longer track records. They are different bottles with different stories and different audiences. Both earn the same score for completely different reasons. If you can only buy one, buy the one that matches your palate - sweet and unusual versus bold and spiced.

The corrected mashbill tells a completely different story than what I initially expected from this bottle - and a more interesting one. A 21% rye content is a serious grain bill that requires real skill to manage at cask strength, particularly in a medium toast barrel where the wood extraction is softer and the rye character has more room to assert itself. Arlon Jones managed it well. Very well.

What you get in this single barrel is a bourbon that puts the rye grain front and center from the nose all the way through the finish, balanced by the medium toast barrel's caramelized sweetness and the copper pot still's natural roundness. It is bolder and spicier than the Barrel Cut in every way - more assertive, more structured, more traditionally Kentucky in its character - and it earns that distinction with five solid years of barrel work backing it up at 116.5 proof.

Casey Jones is a distillery worth paying attention to. This single barrel is the clearest evidence of why. Find it and buy it.

4.0 out of 5. High rye. Medium toast. One barrel. Live the Life. ♠