At the center of sustainability is community. At Dry Land Distillers, long-time Colorado Grain Chain members, where their mission is to craft award-winning small batch spirits that honor the land and the wild places we call home, seeds are a starting point for their community - this month that seed is rye. 

We are delighted to announce that Dry Land Distillers is releasing their first ever (and possibly the first ever) 100% Regenerative Organic Certified (ROC) Rye Whiskey. This special release will be made available at their R.O.C. Rye Whiskey Release Celebration on Saturday, July 27th at the distillery. Their 100% Malted Ryman Rye Straight Whiskey is crafted from locally grown rye by our dear friends, Michael and Sarah Jones of Jones Farms Organics, in the heart of the San Luis Valley (SLV), Colorado. While Dry Land Distillers and the Colorado Grain Chain are proud to celebrate rye and the farmers within our community behind it, that’s not the only thing that makes this rye so special, rather it’s the why behind the rye and how it is grown that truly makes this spirit a one-of-a-kind find and a sip worth sharing.

The San Luis Valley, like many other neighboring places among the high-desert of the American West, has been facing a multi-year drought that is not expected to end anytime soon. The result is an increasingly limited water supply, growing demands on the aquifer and shriveled soil quality. This puts farmers and the foundation of Colorado’s agriculture in a dire position. While acknowledging the impacts of climate change and a history of over-allocated water is deeply unsettling, farmers like the Jones family are on the frontiers of this challenge and are making strides on a path towards hope and resilience. 

If there is anyone that can tell you a thing or two about rye and its benefits in the full farm ecosystem, it is Michael and Sarah Jones. Sarah is an integral Colorado Grain Chain board member. Michael and Sarah of Jones Farms Organics have been growing rye as part of The Rye Resurgence Project (The Project). The Rye Resurgence Project was born from Sarah and Michael's vision for a future with a robust regional market for San Luis Valley Rye. The Project is a partnership with local farmers and the San Luis Valley Water Conservancy District, who received a grant from the Colorado Water Conservation Board for market development. The Conservancy District is greatly committed to the project because of the environmental and community promise of rye. 

 

A winter crop, rye improves soil health, prevents erosion during the windy spring months, and uses less water than other rotational crops. It is estimated that rye requires 12 inches to grow where crops such as barley or oats require an average of 20 inches. This difference is huge in a region that is working to find ways to conserve water in order to balance water use with supply. The Project partners see increased rye production as a way to support continued agriculture production while enabling water use reduction. By keeping farmers farming, the future health of the community will be sustained.

As Sarah notes, “Rye is especially important in the San Luis Valley as it can be planted after potato harvest in the fall and is one of the only crops that can survive the San Luis Valley winters.”

In addition to rye being a crop well suited for the harsh high-desert winters, Jones Farms Organics illustrates that reducing water usage while maintaining a successful harvest is possible. In fact, Jones Farms Organics started cutting back on water usage around 2003 as the farm began pursuing organic certification. Since the early 2000’s Jones Farms Organics has cut the farm’s total water use by 50%. This attention to the cycling of resources with water, soil, and rye all supporting one another is an exemplary showcase of regenerative agriculture principles. This is why Jones Farms Organics has officially become Regenerative Organic Certified - currently they are the only regenerative organic certified farm in Colorado.

Regenerative organic certified (R.O.C.) agriculture is a “collection of practices that focus on regenerating soil health and the full farm ecosystem. In practice, regenerative organic agriculture can look like cover cropping, crop rotation, low- to no-till, compost, and zero use of persistent chemical pesticides and fertilizers,” as defined by the certifying entity, the Regenerative Organic Alliance (R.O.A.).

The R.O.A. certifies farms and products that meet the highest standards in the world for soil health, animal welfare, and farmworker fairness. The underlying principles of regenerative organic agriculture are simple, while the results yield layers of complexity that nourish the “full farm ecosystem.” 

Jones Farms Organics implements R.O.C practices in a multitude of ways. For starters, the family farm has eliminated the use of synthetic fertilizers and pesticides. As Sarah notes, if a product has the suffix “-cide in it, like ‘pesticide, fungicide, herbicide,’ it should stay outside of our soil, our water, our grains, our produce, and our bodies.” 

Furthermore, the Jones support their farm’s soil health by integrating livestock into the mix. The Jones have raised sheep, chickens, and turkeys on the land. In addition, they work with George Whitten of San Juan Ranch, allowing his cows to graze their “multi-species cover crops.” 

Crop rotation and diversification is also important to the Jones’ farming practices. Over 30 varieties of crops and cover crops are grown on the farm, including the laudable Ryman rye.  

“We are on a six year rotation. This means that if something gets planted in one area of our farm, it won't be planted in that same soil for another six years. For example, our potato crops are rotated because they are harder on the soil,” shares Sarah. 

From eliminating harsh inputs on the farm to stewarding land through diversified and integrated systems that keep healthy roots in the ground, Jones Farms Organics continues to dedicate their efforts to producing crops that are nourishing to both the soil and to our communities. The Colorado Grain Chain is excited to celebrate the incredible partnership between Dry Land Distillers and Jones Farms Organics for the shared value in honoring the landscapes we love through regenerative organic agriculture. The grain to glass story behind Ryman rye is an exemplary expression of the Colorado Grain Chain and the Rye Resurgence Project. 

The rye is a gorgeously silky and complex expression of the original grain. It has been aging for two years in a new American oak char # 4 barrel that was hand-charred by the team at Kelvin Cooperage. The rye was malted by Troubadour Maltings in Fort Collins, Colorado and mashed, fermented, distilled, barreled, and bottled on site at Dry Land Distillers.

This rye is a true straight, 100% malted rye whiskey. The only ingredients are malted rye, water and yeast. 

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This Saturday, July 27th we invite you to join the Colorado Grain Chain at Dry Land Distillers to celebrate with our community here in Colorado that has made this exciting special release possible and all the more meaningful. Dry Land Distillers has opened preorders for the first 100% Malted Ryman Rye Straight Whiskey! Preorders are available only to Dry Land Bottle Club members. Dry Land will offer any remaining bottles to the general public on Saturday, July 27th starting at 2 pm - Invitation Here.