Still Austin The Artist Rye Review

Still Austin opened in 2017 as the first distillery inside Austin's city limits since Prohibition, and it built its reputation on a promise most craft distilleries quietly break: no sourced whiskey, and no grain from outside Texas. "The Musician," its straight bourbon, came first and sold faster than almost anything in the state's history. "The Artist" is the rye that followed in December 2022 — 100% Brasetto rye, grown in Texas, distilled on a 42-foot column still shipped in from Scotland, and bottled at 99.6 proof. The mash bill is not the 51% legal floor, and it is not the 95/5 MGP recipe that defines most of the American rye shelf. It is all rye, and you can see the rest of that small club in our 100% rye whiskey collection.

Two Years That Don't Taste Like Two Years

The single most repeated observation across our sources is disbelief at the age. One critic said it "could pass for twice its age statement"; another opened with "shocker from the start: this comes across as much more mature and interesting than a 2 year old rye"; a third went further still, guessing it "could easily be 6-8 years old already." That is three independent reviewers arriving at the same reaction unprompted, and it is the strongest signal in the whole pool. The likely mechanism is not marketing: Texas heat cycles barrels harder than Kentucky does, and the cold water reduction proofing means the spirit meets its water slowly, in the barrel, rather than all at once at bottling.

Honey, Citrus and Chocolate

If you come to this expecting a dry, austere American rye, you will be surprised. Honey is the anchor on the nose, named by six independent reviewers and by the distillery itself, with cherry, crisp apple and citrus behind it, a cool line of mint, and oak underneath; a few reviewers also pick up a grassy, freshly cut edge. The palate swings warm and dark: chocolate is the most-cited note of all, alongside caramel and cinnamon, with pepper providing structure and citrus keeping it bright. Baking spice, ginger, coffee and molasses all turn up across several sources too — this is a busy, generous rye rather than a lean one.

Where the Critics Disagree

This is not a unanimous bottle, and it would be dishonest to present it as one. One long-form critic rated it 9 out of 10 and said he would reach for it beside Rittenhouse any day; another, reviewing the same liquid, gave it 2.5 out of 5 — average on that publication's scale — despite writing warmly about it in prose. Most of the rest land between those poles, and the large retail rating pool runs warmer than the community pool. That spread is why the consensus figure here sits at 3.9 rather than higher, and why its confidence reads Solid rather than Strong. If you want the same distillate with the volume turned up, the Still Austin Cask Strength Rye is a barrel-proof selection drawn from this very stock.

Our Verdict

A real achievement for a two-year-old whiskey, and one of the more distinctive ryes under $50 — honeyed, chocolatey and bright with citrus, with enough proof to work in a Manhattan without being sanded down. It is not a traditionalist's rye and it will not satisfy anyone hunting age. It is, however, exactly what grain-to-glass Texas whiskey was supposed to deliver, and it mostly delivers it. For a Texas peer at a similar strength, compare the Balcones 100 Proof Rye.