Japan’s top bartenders have spent decades building a culture of craft so precise, so exacting, that earning a place behind those bars is a genuine endorsement. Beverly High Rye, a small-batch American rye whiskey sitting on Erewhon’s shelves in Los Angeles, just got the nod.
An Unlikely Journey East
Founded in 2021 by Andrew Borenzweig and produced in collaboration with Cedar Ridge Distillery — a family-owned operation in Swisher, Iowa, and the first distillery to open in Iowa since Prohibition — Beverly High Rye is now being poured at Aman Tokyo (#25 on the World’s 50 Best Hotels), VIRTU at the Four Seasons Otemachi (#45 on the World’s 50 Best Bars), and Gold Bar at Edition Tokyo (#67 on the World’s 50 Best Bars Asia). Japan’s 18th-ranked bartender in the world is building cocktails around it.
That’s three venues; three world-ranked lists; one $64 bottle from a Los Angeles grocery store.
The Man Behind the Bottle
Borenzweig is a Los Angeles entrepreneur with nearly a decade of experience in the spirits industry, having cut his teeth as part of the original team behind a high-profile whiskey venture backed by Drake and Proximo Spirits. That background (part creative instinct, part industry savvy) shows in how Beverly High Rye has been positioned: as a genuinely luxury-minded American whiskey brand with a clear point of view. Beverly Hills as the pinnacle of American high living. The name isn’t an accident.
Master Blender Murphy Quint and Borenzweig spent years refining the recipe together, marrying bright baking spices from the rye with lush viscosity and a smooth finish, drawing a touch of sweetness from the corn in the bourbon.
What’s In the Glass
A 50/50 blend of straight rye and straight bourbon, aged in barrels from both Iowa and Indiana, it opens with a distinct aroma of cinnamon stick — remarkably smooth, with well-integrated flavors of vanilla, cherry, and maple that deepen into a swirl of brown sugar. The finish is long, landing on caramel, toffee, and candied pecans. The Tasting Panel gave it 98 points. It also took two Gold Medals at the San Francisco World Spirits Competition — one for American Whiskey, one for Design.
Drink it neat to appreciate the character, on the rocks to unwind, or let Tokyo’s best bartenders show you what it can do in a cocktail.
A Record That Speaks for Itself
The accolades have stacked up. Beverly High Rye was named Best Rye of 2024 by Rolling Stone and recognized as one of the 13 Best American Whiskeys by Food & Wine. It’s already found its way onto the menus at Nobu and Gucci Giardino.
Japanese Gravitas
Any brand can land a placement. Getting embraced by the culture is something else entirely. Japan’s bartenders are among the most respected in the world precisely because they are selective. They pour what they believe in, not what they’ve been pitched. For Beverly High Rye to show up across three of Tokyo’s most celebrated venues is more than a coincidence.
Beverly High Rye is available at Erewhon, Los Angeles. $64.
Photos courtesy of Beverly High Rye
