French whisky doesn't get enough attention, and that's exactly why bottles like the Hautes Glaces RØØF24 Star Malted Single Rye deserve a closer look. This is a single rye whisky — not a bourbon-style rye blend, but a proper rye grain spirit — coming out of the French Alps at a punchy 50.3% ABV. The RØØF24 designation suggests a specific release or batch programme, and the "Star Malted" part tells us something interesting: they're malting their rye grain before distillation, which is a deliberate choice that changes the character of the spirit significantly compared to working with unmalted rye.
For those unfamiliar, malting rye is genuinely difficult. Rye is sticky, gummy, and a nightmare to work with on the malting floor compared to barley. The fact that Hautes Glaces commits to this process says a lot about what they're chasing flavour-wise. Malting converts starches to fermentable sugars more efficiently and tends to round out some of rye's sharper, more aggressive edges while keeping that signature spice intact. At 50.3%, this sits just above the 50% mark — enough proof to deliver real intensity without crossing into cask-strength territory where you might lose some of the subtlety.
What To Expect
This is a NAS release, so we don't know the exact age, but French whisky producers tend to work with younger spirits and rely on their grain quality and distillation character rather than extended wood ageing. At £83.50, you're paying a premium over standard rye offerings, but you're also getting something genuinely different from anything Kentucky or Indiana is putting out. The terroir argument is real here — Alpine-grown rye, mountain water, French oak influence — these aren't just marketing lines, they translate to a spirit that sits in its own lane.
The 50.3% ABV is a sweet spot I always appreciate. It's bottled strong enough to stand up in cocktails without drowning, but measured enough that you can sip it neat without your palate going numb after the first dram. That balance is harder to strike than people think, and it tells me the blender was paying attention.
The Verdict
I'm giving the Hautes Glaces RØØF24 a 7.7 out of 10. This is a whisky that earns its score through ambition and distinctiveness rather than trying to compete with the American rye establishment on their terms. It's doing something different — malted rye, French Alpine production, a bottling strength that respects both the spirit and the drinker. The price point is fair for what is essentially a craft single grain from a producer who is clearly serious about their process. If you're the kind of drinker who has explored the bourbons and the Scotches and wants to understand what rye whisky tastes like when a completely different tradition gets hold of it, this bottle is worth your money. It's not trying to be Rittenhouse or Sazerac — it's trying to be something that could only come from where it comes from, and I respect that.
Best Served
Pour this neat in a Glencairn and give it five minutes to breathe — that 50.3% will open up nicely with a little air. If you want to mix, try it in a Manhattan with a French sweet vermouth like Dolin Rouge. The rye spice and the herbal vermouth will play off each other beautifully, and you'll get a cocktail that's unmistakably European in character. A few drops of water won't hurt either — sometimes that's all it takes to unlock what a malted rye is really doing.
