High West Yippee Ki-Yay Rye Whiskey

One day, just for fun, we put some rye whiskey into barrels originally used to age wine. When we mixed the ‘vermouth-ed’ and the ‘syrah-ed’ we discovered an all-natural, not disgustingly sweet whiskey for the rest of us.

Yippee Ki-Yay shows best at room temp, neat. With a little time in the glass sitting idle (just a few minutes) the bouquet really opens up to it's full potential

The Name
Where did “Yippee Ki-Yay” come from? Is it a real expression of joy popular with cowboys in the 19th century Western United States? Is it part of the greatest one liner in movie history? Was it influenced by the phrase ‘Yippie-yi-yo-ki-yay’ from the 1936 hit song “I’m an Old Cow Hand from the Rio Grande” about a 20th-century cowboy who has little in common with cowpunchers of old and sung by Bing Crosby in the film “Rhythm on the Range” (also sung later by Roy Rogers and Frank Sinatra) and considered one of the Top 100 Western songs of all time? We’re not sure. But we are sure we like how we feel when we say it... and recommend you use it every chance you get.

Back Label Story
We confess...we didn’t coin the term “Yippee Ki-Yay”. Moreover, we didn’t paint the picture on the front label. It’s an historic poster (Gift of The Coe Foundation and Henry B. Balink) now at the Buffalo Bill Center of the West in Cody, Wyoming (centerofthewest.org, you really ought to visit). Furthermore, we didn’t distill the whiskeys in this bottle - it’s our Double Rye! However, we did come up with a combination that we think will make you say...Yippee Ki-Yay drinkers of horrible tasting cheap flavored uisge beatha! One day, just for fun, we put Double Rye! into oak barrels that had originally been used to age two different types of wine and discovered an all-natural, not disgustingly-sweet sipper for the rest of us.

Technical Details
Ratio of whiskeys: top secret!

Filtration: not chill-filtered, or carbon treated.

TTB Designation

A Blend of Straight Whiskies

Proof & ABV
ABV: 46%

92 Proof

Age(s), Distilled by & Mashbill(s)

A blend of straight rye whiskeys aged from 2 to 16 years

Straight Rye whiskeys:

95% rye, 5% barley malt from MGP

53% rye, 37% corn, 10% barley from Barton

80% Rye, 20% malted rye from High West Distillery

Barrel Type(s)

Aged in new, charred, white American oak barrels and finished in French oak barrels that previously contained vermouth and Syrah wine

High West Distillery was founded in 2006 by David Perkins and his wife, Jane. David, a former biochemist, was inspired to open his own distillery after seeing the parallels between the fermentation and distilling process and his own work in biochemistry during a trip to the Maker’s Mark Distillery in Loretto, Kentucky. In 2004, David and his family relocated to Park City, Utah to begin their new venture, where they began distilling in 2007. They chose Park City because of David’s love of the Old West and Utah’s little-known whiskey history (see Utah’s Distilling History for more).

High West began with humble roots, opening a small, 250-gallon still and Saloon in an historic livery stable and garage. What was once a small operation in downtown Park City has grown to be an internationally-recognized brand with four unique locations. In 2015, High West opened their distillery in Wanship, Utah, which acts as a space for educational whiskey tasting, pairings and tours, and houses a 1600-gallon copper pot still. Meanwhile, the Saloon continues to operate as a must-visit gastro-distillery, featuring alpine-inspired western fare alongside the original still, the Nelson Cottage offers unique whiskey-paired dinners, and the Saloon at the Salt Lake City airport allows for some last tastes of High West on the way out of town.