HORTON HEIRLOOM RYE

From 10 seeds to 250 acres
A New York comeback for the ages.

The story of a lost and forgotten rye grain, brought back to New York farms and into every bottle of Jaywalk.

A GRAIN WORTH WAITING FOR.

The search led New York Distilling Company to Horton Rye, an heirloom variety once grown in New York that had not been cultivated commercially for more than a century.

The project began with just ten seeds and one audacious question: could Horton be brought back at a meaningful scale?

10

SEEDS

The modest starting point in 2010.

13+ YEARS

OF PATIENCE

Testing, planting and replanting to grow enough rye to distill and age.

250 ACRES

IN THE FINGER LAKES

The annual New York harvest of Horton rye.

RAISED IN NEW YORK

From ten seeds to commercial viability.

Working with New York farmer Rick Pedersen and agricultural researchers, the team patiently multiplied those first seeds.

It took years of planting, selection and propagation before there was enough grain to distill. What began as an experiment eventually became a working crop grown in New York’s Finger Lakes region.

A DISTINCTIVE GRAIN

NOT ALL RYE LOOKS THE SAME.

Horton is visibly different from conventional rye, with a distinctive grain head that reflects its unusual heritage.

Its appearance is only part of the story. The reason for reviving Horton was the possibility of character that could travel from the New York field into the finished whiskey.

WHY HORTON?

FLAVOR OVER CONVENIENCE.

Horton was never the easy route. It was pursued for the possibility of character beyond the familiar generic spice of rye and because bringing a New York grain back to New York whiskey was worth the effort.

The harvest is only the beginning. Distilling, maturation and blending reveal what this remarkable grain can become in the glass.

THE JAYWALK RANGE