Sextro Rye White Label is an authentic Prohibition rye from Carroll County, Iowa, distilled from a 100% rye grain bootlegger's recipe and bottled at 80 proof (40% ABV).
In 1920, Prohibition outlawed the manufacture and sale of alcohol, and the self-reliant, fiercely independent folk of Templeton and Carroll County, Iowa, decided to defy the law and make their own rye. Born on a small farm in Iowa in the early 1930s, this White Rye's award-winning recipe was created by grandmother and clandestine bootlegger Lorine Sextro, a resourceful woman who in 1932 learned the craft from a bootlegger who rented her attic. With five girls and two boys to feed, she made the best rye in the surrounding counties.
Nearly 60 years later, in 1989, Lorine finally shared her secret recipe with a family friend. Today Sextro Rye uses that recipe, the last known 100% rye whiskey recipe used by Templeton's bootleggers, creating a sweet mash on site from the finest 100% organic rye grain. It is cooked and aged in Carroll County just the way the Sextros used to bootleg it, and the distillery was named Organic Small Batch Rye Distillery of the Year in 2024.
The White Label is the purest expression of the range: delicate on the nose with impressive depth, powerful and complex on the palate with a smooth texture, and long and elegant on the finish.
Enjoy it neat or on the rocks, or let its rye character shine in a Manhattan or a rye Old Fashioned.
Tasting Notes
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Nose: Delicate, with impressive depth.
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Palate: Powerful, complex, smooth texture.
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Finish: Elegant and long.
Specifications
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Producer: Sextro Rye, Carroll County, Iowa
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Grain: 100% organic rye
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Recipe: Lorine Sextro's Prohibition-era recipe
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Style: Rye whiskey, White Label
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Proof / ABV: 80 proof (40% ABV)
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Size: 750ml
How to Enjoy It
Sip it neat or on the rocks, or stir a Manhattan.
Frequently Asked Questions
Whose recipe is it?
Lorine Sextro's, an Iowa bootlegger in the 1930s.
What grain is used?
100% organic rye.
Where is it made?
In Carroll County, Iowa.
Explore more in our Rye collection.
