March 27, 2025 • 10 mins
Tonight, we pour the poetic and port-finished Midwinter Night’s Dram from High West — affectionately dubbed the Pappy of Rye (though not quite in price).
We explore:
-
🥃 The unique blend of two rye mash bills (95/5 & 80/20)
-
🍇 Rich notes of soaked currants, raisins & plum
-
🍷 The port barrel finish that delivers that wintery hug
-
❄️ Why this dram is best enjoyed in front of a fire with chocolate
-
📦 Why it’s harder to find in the US than in Australia
A rye so smooth it makes you feel like you’re snowed in — and fine with it.
🟠 Keywords: A Midwinter Night’s Dram, High West, port-finished rye, Pappy of Rye, Act 11, winter bourbon, rye whiskey, Aussie bourbon lovers
Chapters
00:00 Introduction to Midwinter Night's Dram 02:58 Exploring Rye Whiskey Characteristics 05:49 The Influence of Port Barrels on Flavor 09:08 Personal Preferences in Whiskey Tasting
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:00):
Incredible flavours, even better stories.
(00:05):
One Pour, 10 Minuts.
Aussie bourbon lovers, sharingbourbon with Australia.
You got a good pop, Dave.I know.
A rare Dave Collins's Good Pop.I know.
What are we having, Ece?
Well, I can't see the bottle label.
And it's the one I told you that- You'vetold me that it's the Pappie of Rye.
(00:28):
It's a Midwinter Night's Dram from?
What's from High West?High West.
There you go.
Wow.It's a cool bottle, too.
Yeah, you're right.It's a cool bottle.
Here, have a look at thecolour on that thing.
Oh, my gosh.That's a beautiful colour.
That's a nice colour.
Do you want to know wherethe colour comes from?
(00:50):
You can tell me in a sec.Okay.
All right.Well, I won't rush into it then.
No, I was going to cheers first.Oh, cheers.
Wow.
Where does the colour come from?
Because that smells likecurrents and raisins.
It's like someone's making Christmaspudding and they're soaking the fruit.
Right.There we go.
(01:11):
Keep talking becauseyou're getting it right.
This is all guesswork because I have doneno research on this one and
don't know anything about it.
So I'm asking you allthe questions tonight.
A midwinter night's tram is a rye.
So let's begin with that, right?
And it's a mix of this particular one.
So this one's Act 11.
It's a The blend of two different ryes.One's 95.
(01:33):
5, so 95 % rye, 5 % maltedbarley, and the other one's 80.
20, I'm pretty sure that's right, whichis, again, 80 % rye, 20 % malted barley.
So it's pretty close to whatpeople call that classic 95.
5.
But they finish it in-Well, I was justabout to say-you were getting
(01:54):
the colours, the flavours, right?
Well, no, because the smell made me thinkof having a drink of
port at your dad's place.They're finishing port barrels.
And the finishing port barrel.There you go.
I was like, that's- And that'swhere that colour comes from.
Look at that colour.My goodness gracious me.
So deep.But it's a rye still.
Yeah, but I'm really proud of my nosebecause I got the flavours in the port,
(02:17):
and then I read it onthe label afterwards.
Yeah, congratulations.
You're really good at this.Don't worry.
The Pappie of Rye is a bit of a stupidthing to say, but that's the
way We will describe this.
In the States, this one isactually probably more pronounced.
Where did we get this one?
It's really easy for us to get here inAustralia, but quite
(02:39):
hard to get in the US.
And it's definitely not the carrythe same price tag as Pappies.
Pappies, but because of its rarity orbecause it's a bit scarcity, maybe it's
the right term, a lot of people, they'rereally sought after the
midwinter night's dream.Well, they certainly have been.
They've named it perfectly.
Butyou want to be sitting in front of a fire
(03:01):
and it's nearly midnight andhave some chocolate?
Something about a Colorado snowstorm.
I can't remember what that one was.A snowstorm?
Yeah.
Well, if you like port- That's what it is.
They describe the finish as a beautifullylong Colorado winter hug,
lasting notes of rye spice plum and port.
(03:23):
Yeah, I got the spices and the fruitiness.
It's really like Christmas cake.
You almost want You could eat it with adelicious fruit cake because that's-
Do you know one of thethings for me about rye?
I'm such a bourbon drinker, andI'm such a goose about this.
I like ryes that are Kentucky-style rye.
(03:46):
So what you get with your McDoors rye,which is- About your Peelers,
do you like their rye?Yep.
So what's different aboutthat rye compared to this rye?
The Mashbill is not 95.
5.
And I could be wrong about Peelers becauseI I don't know that matcha bill on top of
my head, but I reckon that that's closerto Kentucky style rye is that thing where
you push the rye amountright down close to the 51 %.
(04:09):
And then you put in the other grains.
So it's just tips over the rye.
And you could put a lot ofcorn in there if you wanted to.
You can do what you want withit, but needs to be 51 %.
That's how you get the classification.
So I like that.
And then I like things like sea grass,which is that, again,
finished in different barrels.Yeah.
(04:31):
Finishing this in the port barrel, Ithink, is beautiful because
if you're a port drinker and you haven'ttried bourbon, this would be a fabulous
introduction.
If you're a port drinker and you haven'ttried bourbon, burn your mouth off.
But I suppose, yeah.
I'm just like, I don't know.
Like your dad would likethis because he likes port.
(04:52):
Okay.
I should whip it out andmake someone's around.
Yeah.Yeah.
Okay.You really should.
It's More pronounced.
The port on this is more pronouncedthan on an angel's envy, for example.
Yes.
And they're finished inPort Ballard as well.
They are.You're right.
But this just the smell.
I could sit here smelling it all night.
Just smells like Christmas,currents and raisins.
(05:13):
It's really good.
Shout out to the boys on the Bourbon Lenspodcast because they are massive high West
fans, huge high West fans, andacross all the expressions.
But Midway Night's Dram is thefamous rye expression of theirs.
I I really enjoy it.
To be honest, I think I'm probably this...
(05:34):
When we go to Kentucky Bourbon Fest, I'mthe person who says, I'm really more of a
bourbon drinker, but I'll try you rye.
And everyone goes, Oh, but a lot ofbourbon drinkers like this, right?
And I often like what they're pulling.
Yeah.
So I think maybe you've justput yourself in that category.
Do you think I'm understanding myself?Yeah.
I think you should go this year when wego, you should just
(05:54):
straight up try the rise first.Yeah.
All right.You got the notes right, by the way.
Holiday plum pudding, brewingwith mulling spices dried fruits.
Again, me just winging it.
Dave doing his actual research.
Am I in trouble for having done research?
Or am I in trouble for notputting the kids to bed?
No, I think it's great.
(06:16):
I've put the kids to bed.
You've done your research, and I'veguessed correctly.
I haven't missinformed our listeners.
Age 4-7 years, and then it'sfinished in the port barrels.
But I reckon that it must have a good bitof time in the port barrels to
get that amount of influence.
Yeah, I suppose it depends on how longbecause be interesting to see
how long these guys leave it.
(06:39):
Yeah, we don't know.To the people at Angels Envy.
Well, I think it's goingto be longer, surely.
But I also wonder, maybe the rye takes onthe port flavours more quickly than a-
I've got a quote from a mid-summernight's dream on the back.
Well, did you know about the WilliamShakespeare play in
mid-summer night's dream?Yeah.
This is what they play on these.
(07:00):
What's the quote?
Are you sure that we are awake?
It seems to methat yet we sleep, we dream.
That's pretty good.
I've had probably just the right amount ofdrinks to need to stop
and ponder that for a bit.
He stopped and ponder that daywhile I enjoy this delicious drop.
What are the listeners going to do?
(07:21):
They can...
Enjoy their own drop of that?
Enjoy their own drop ofthat or find the most...
Or see if there's any bottles on theirshelf that have a port barrel finish.
I'm finishing port barrel.
Angels Envie is the one I know offthe top of my head, but I don't know.
Maybe you've got a bottle sitting on yourshelf at home that is
finished in a port barrel.
(07:41):
I know that we're not intellectwhen it comes to this stuff.
Really, Dave?Yeah.
That's probably the mostaccurate thing you said or not.
But you know people talkabout over-oaking bourbon.
This bourbon might beover-oaked or whatever.
It's obviously on theone individual's opinion of that because
someone else thought that was perfect,and that's why they put it in a bottle.
It depends what you like.
(08:02):
People who don't like that portbarrel finish would hate this.
There's two things, I suppose.
Maybe I've had different expressions ordifferent releases of Angels Envy where I
felt like there was moreport barrel influence.
But the one that's on the shelf at themoment, I've
(08:23):
tried to look for what tastes like portlike this one, and I haven't
been able to find it.
I know it's I know it's got a uniqueflavour profile, and I know it's
different, and I know that there'ssome fruitiness to it, for example.
But it doesn't really have that portiness.
But I've had a bottle of Anges in the MVin the past where I've gone,
Yep, that's like bourbon port.
You can taste the bourbon port.Yeah.
But it would depend on the timethey leave it in the barrel, too.
(08:46):
Or how long the port wasleft in the barrel, maybe.
But this is what I'm saying, is at whatpoint does the influence of the finishing
barrel become too much?I'm not saying it is here.
I'm just What's asking?
Well, it would depend on who's drinkingit, Dave, because some people
would love itoveroaked and very porty, and other people
(09:08):
might be like, I do not like when the portflavour really comes through,
or I do not like it too oaky.
So it depends, Dave.
When you go to Utah,I think there's two...
Is it Parks in Utah?
When we go to Utah on our next- Thisis when everyone's just off to Utah.
You can zip up and see them.
And there is, I think, some experiences.
I think there's a cool bar and restaurant.
(09:30):
And I feel like it's up in themountains, but I don't know enough.
Why have we not been here?Yeah, we'll go.
We'll go.High West.
They got lots of expressions.
And you can get lots of thehigh West expressions here.
And they've got small flavoursand campfires and stuff like that.
So Are you getting angry that Ihaven't got more bottles here?
Yeah.All right.
So I'll get more bottles of that.I want a small flavour.
Well, the good thing about it is when theysay, finish in a port barrel and it's got
(09:54):
that port flavour, it actually doeshave that really good port flavour.
So if they say it's got small flavour,pretty sure that I can trust them to
taste delicious.Sounds like I'm off to the shops.
Cheers.Thanks for listening.
Make sure you're connected with us onTikTok, Instagram, and YouTube, and stay
connected with us by clicking subscribeon your favourite podcast app.
Incredible flavours, even better stories.
(00:05):
One Pour, 10 Minuts.
Aussie bourbon lovers, sharingbourbon with Australia.
You got a good pop, Dave.I know.
A rare Dave Collins's Good Pop.I know.
What are we having, Ece?
Well, I can't see the bottle label.
And it's the one I told you that- You'vetold me that it's the Pappie of Rye.
(00:28):
It's a Midwinter Night's Dram from?
What's from High West?High West.
There you go.
Wow.It's a cool bottle, too.
Yeah, you're right.It's a cool bottle.
Here, have a look at thecolour on that thing.
Oh, my gosh.That's a beautiful colour.
That's a nice colour.
Do you want to know wherethe colour comes from?
(00:50):
You can tell me in a sec.Okay.
All right.Well, I won't rush into it then.
No, I was going to cheers first.Oh, cheers.
Wow.
Where does the colour come from?
Because that smells likecurrents and raisins.
It's like someone's making Christmaspudding and they're soaking the fruit.
Right.There we go.
(01:11):
Keep talking becauseyou're getting it right.
This is all guesswork because I have doneno research on this one and
don't know anything about it.
So I'm asking you allthe questions tonight.
A midwinter night's tram is a rye.
So let's begin with that, right?
And it's a mix of this particular one.
So this one's Act 11.
It's a The blend of two different ryes.One's 95.
(01:33):
5, so 95 % rye, 5 % maltedbarley, and the other one's 80.
20, I'm pretty sure that's right, whichis, again, 80 % rye, 20 % malted barley.
So it's pretty close to whatpeople call that classic 95.
5.
But they finish it in-Well, I was justabout to say-you were getting
(01:54):
the colours, the flavours, right?
Well, no, because the smell made me thinkof having a drink of
port at your dad's place.They're finishing port barrels.
And the finishing port barrel.There you go.
I was like, that's- And that'swhere that colour comes from.
Look at that colour.My goodness gracious me.
So deep.But it's a rye still.
Yeah, but I'm really proud of my nosebecause I got the flavours in the port,
(02:17):
and then I read it onthe label afterwards.
Yeah, congratulations.
You're really good at this.Don't worry.
The Pappie of Rye is a bit of a stupidthing to say, but that's the
way We will describe this.
In the States, this one isactually probably more pronounced.
Where did we get this one?
It's really easy for us to get here inAustralia, but quite
(02:39):
hard to get in the US.
And it's definitely not the carrythe same price tag as Pappies.
Pappies, but because of its rarity orbecause it's a bit scarcity, maybe it's
the right term, a lot of people, they'rereally sought after the
midwinter night's dream.Well, they certainly have been.
They've named it perfectly.
Butyou want to be sitting in front of a fire
(03:01):
and it's nearly midnight andhave some chocolate?
Something about a Colorado snowstorm.
I can't remember what that one was.A snowstorm?
Yeah.
Well, if you like port- That's what it is.
They describe the finish as a beautifullylong Colorado winter hug,
lasting notes of rye spice plum and port.
(03:23):
Yeah, I got the spices and the fruitiness.
It's really like Christmas cake.
You almost want You could eat it with adelicious fruit cake because that's-
Do you know one of thethings for me about rye?
I'm such a bourbon drinker, andI'm such a goose about this.
I like ryes that are Kentucky-style rye.
(03:46):
So what you get with your McDoors rye,which is- About your Peelers,
do you like their rye?Yep.
So what's different aboutthat rye compared to this rye?
The Mashbill is not 95.
5.
And I could be wrong about Peelers becauseI I don't know that matcha bill on top of
my head, but I reckon that that's closerto Kentucky style rye is that thing where
you push the rye amountright down close to the 51 %.
(04:09):
And then you put in the other grains.
So it's just tips over the rye.
And you could put a lot ofcorn in there if you wanted to.
You can do what you want withit, but needs to be 51 %.
That's how you get the classification.
So I like that.
And then I like things like sea grass,which is that, again,
finished in different barrels.Yeah.
(04:31):
Finishing this in the port barrel, Ithink, is beautiful because
if you're a port drinker and you haven'ttried bourbon, this would be a fabulous
introduction.
If you're a port drinker and you haven'ttried bourbon, burn your mouth off.
But I suppose, yeah.
I'm just like, I don't know.
Like your dad would likethis because he likes port.
(04:52):
Okay.
I should whip it out andmake someone's around.
Yeah.Yeah.
Okay.You really should.
It's More pronounced.
The port on this is more pronouncedthan on an angel's envy, for example.
Yes.
And they're finished inPort Ballard as well.
They are.You're right.
But this just the smell.
I could sit here smelling it all night.
Just smells like Christmas,currents and raisins.
(05:13):
It's really good.
Shout out to the boys on the Bourbon Lenspodcast because they are massive high West
fans, huge high West fans, andacross all the expressions.
But Midway Night's Dram is thefamous rye expression of theirs.
I I really enjoy it.
To be honest, I think I'm probably this...
(05:34):
When we go to Kentucky Bourbon Fest, I'mthe person who says, I'm really more of a
bourbon drinker, but I'll try you rye.
And everyone goes, Oh, but a lot ofbourbon drinkers like this, right?
And I often like what they're pulling.
Yeah.
So I think maybe you've justput yourself in that category.
Do you think I'm understanding myself?Yeah.
I think you should go this year when wego, you should just
(05:54):
straight up try the rise first.Yeah.
All right.You got the notes right, by the way.
Holiday plum pudding, brewingwith mulling spices dried fruits.
Again, me just winging it.
Dave doing his actual research.
Am I in trouble for having done research?
Or am I in trouble for notputting the kids to bed?
No, I think it's great.
(06:16):
I've put the kids to bed.
You've done your research, and I'veguessed correctly.
I haven't missinformed our listeners.
Age 4-7 years, and then it'sfinished in the port barrels.
But I reckon that it must have a good bitof time in the port barrels to
get that amount of influence.
Yeah, I suppose it depends on how longbecause be interesting to see
how long these guys leave it.
(06:39):
Yeah, we don't know.To the people at Angels Envy.
Well, I think it's goingto be longer, surely.
But I also wonder, maybe the rye takes onthe port flavours more quickly than a-
I've got a quote from a mid-summernight's dream on the back.
Well, did you know about the WilliamShakespeare play in
mid-summer night's dream?Yeah.
This is what they play on these.
(07:00):
What's the quote?
Are you sure that we are awake?
It seems to methat yet we sleep, we dream.
That's pretty good.
I've had probably just the right amount ofdrinks to need to stop
and ponder that for a bit.
He stopped and ponder that daywhile I enjoy this delicious drop.
What are the listeners going to do?
(07:21):
They can...
Enjoy their own drop of that?
Enjoy their own drop ofthat or find the most...
Or see if there's any bottles on theirshelf that have a port barrel finish.
I'm finishing port barrel.
Angels Envie is the one I know offthe top of my head, but I don't know.
Maybe you've got a bottle sitting on yourshelf at home that is
finished in a port barrel.
(07:41):
I know that we're not intellectwhen it comes to this stuff.
Really, Dave?Yeah.
That's probably the mostaccurate thing you said or not.
But you know people talkabout over-oaking bourbon.
This bourbon might beover-oaked or whatever.
It's obviously on theone individual's opinion of that because
someone else thought that was perfect,and that's why they put it in a bottle.
It depends what you like.
(08:02):
People who don't like that portbarrel finish would hate this.
There's two things, I suppose.
Maybe I've had different expressions ordifferent releases of Angels Envy where I
felt like there was moreport barrel influence.
But the one that's on the shelf at themoment, I've
(08:23):
tried to look for what tastes like portlike this one, and I haven't
been able to find it.
I know it's I know it's got a uniqueflavour profile, and I know it's
different, and I know that there'ssome fruitiness to it, for example.
But it doesn't really have that portiness.
But I've had a bottle of Anges in the MVin the past where I've gone,
Yep, that's like bourbon port.
You can taste the bourbon port.Yeah.
But it would depend on the timethey leave it in the barrel, too.
(08:46):
Or how long the port wasleft in the barrel, maybe.
But this is what I'm saying, is at whatpoint does the influence of the finishing
barrel become too much?I'm not saying it is here.
I'm just What's asking?
Well, it would depend on who's drinkingit, Dave, because some people
would love itoveroaked and very porty, and other people
(09:08):
might be like, I do not like when the portflavour really comes through,
or I do not like it too oaky.
So it depends, Dave.
When you go to Utah,I think there's two...
Is it Parks in Utah?
When we go to Utah on our next- Thisis when everyone's just off to Utah.
You can zip up and see them.
And there is, I think, some experiences.
I think there's a cool bar and restaurant.
(09:30):
And I feel like it's up in themountains, but I don't know enough.
Why have we not been here?Yeah, we'll go.
We'll go.High West.
They got lots of expressions.
And you can get lots of thehigh West expressions here.
And they've got small flavoursand campfires and stuff like that.
So Are you getting angry that Ihaven't got more bottles here?
Yeah.All right.
So I'll get more bottles of that.I want a small flavour.
Well, the good thing about it is when theysay, finish in a port barrel and it's got
(09:54):
that port flavour, it actually doeshave that really good port flavour.
So if they say it's got small flavour,pretty sure that I can trust them to
taste delicious.Sounds like I'm off to the shops.
Cheers.Thanks for listening.
Make sure you're connected with us onTikTok, Instagram, and YouTube, and stay
connected with us by clicking subscribeon your favourite podcast app.
Popular Podcasts
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com
On Purpose with Jay Shetty
I’m Jay Shetty host of On Purpose the worlds #1 Mental Health podcast and I’m so grateful you found us. I started this podcast 5 years ago to invite you into conversations and workshops that are designed to help make you happier, healthier and more healed. I believe that when you (yes you) feel seen, heard and understood you’re able to deal with relationship struggles, work challenges and life’s ups and downs with more ease and grace. I interview experts, celebrities, thought leaders and athletes so that we can grow our mindset, build better habits and uncover a side of them we’ve never seen before. New episodes every Monday and Friday. Your support means the world to me and I don’t take it for granted — click the follow button and leave a review to help us spread the love with On Purpose. I can’t wait for you to listen to your first or 500th episode!