James Brown's drummer Clyde Stubblefield dropped "Funky Drummer" in 1970 — one of the most sampled drum breaks in music history — and Doc Swinson's named their most rhythmically complex whiskey after it. The metaphor earns its weight: this is a bottle that operates on a different frequency from standard rye, built on two distinct mash bills that play off each other the way a rhythm section plays off a lead, then finished in the most tonally distinctive casks in the rum world.

High-ester Jamaican rum casks are not simply rum barrels. They are the product of one of the most unusual fermentation traditions in spirits production — Jamaican distilleries that still use dunder pits, centuries-old fermentation vessels charged with spent distillation residue, creating wild, long-fermented washes packed with aromatic esters that produce rum's signature overripe tropical funk. The barrels that emerge from this process are saturated with those ester compounds, and when rye whiskey is placed inside them, the interaction is genuinely extraordinary: the rye's natural spice and pepper colliding with pineapple, banana syrup, Fuji apple, and tropical fruit aromatics in a finish that is bold, expressive, and unlike anything standard cask finishing produces.

Then there is the cask history — these are not freshly emptied Jamaican rum barrels. These casks were originally filled with Tennessee whiskey, then used to age Jamaican rums for upwards of 20 years before arriving at Doc Swinson's. The layered wood history those barrels carry — American whiskey, then two decades of high-ester Jamaican rum — creates a finishing environment of unusual complexity and depth. The result earned a Gold Medal at the San Francisco World Spirits Competition, joining the "French Toasted" expression in cementing Doc Swinson's reputation as the most consistently decorated cask-finishing operation in the American craft whiskey space.

Origins & Craftsmanship

Doc Swinson's operates out of Ferndale, Washington under Head Spirits Master Jesse Parker — a four-person independent bottling operation with an outsized award record built entirely on the quality and originality of its cask finishing program. The Exploratory Cask Series is the house's most ambitious platform, each release a genuine experiment in what happens when carefully selected American whiskey meets unusual, world-class finishing casks.

Funky Drummer is a blend of two five-year-old straight rye whiskeys — selected specifically for their structural compatibility with the planned high-ester finishing casks:

Mash Bill 1 — 95% rye, 5% malted barley: The classic high-rye composition. Bold, peppery, and assertive — built for the pepper-and-spice character that defines the best American rye whiskeys. This mash bill provides the structural backbone and the spice that the tropical cask finish needs to push against.

Mash Bill 2 — 45% corn, 51% rye, 4% malted barley: The more balanced rye formulation. The corn addition softens the profile and adds sweetness, creating a counterweight to Mash Bill 1's assertiveness and providing the canvas on which the Jamaican rum fruit character can develop most expressively.

The two mash bills are blended for complementary character before entering the finishing casks — a sequence of barrels with a unique three-chapter history: originally filled with Tennessee whiskey, then used to mature high-ester Jamaican rums for upwards of 20 years, then brought to Doc Swinson's for the final whiskey finishing chapter. That 20-year Jamaican rum tenure is the critical detail: a barrel used for two decades of high-ester rum production carries profound levels of tropical ester compounds saturated into the wood grain — far beyond what a single rum maturation cycle deposits. The result is a finishing environment of extraordinary aromatic intensity that Parker allowed the rye to inhabit until the balance between spice and tropical fruit reached exactly the right equilibrium. Bottled at 52.65% ABV — 105.3 proof — without chill filtration, preserving every ester compound the cask interaction produced.

Critics Reviews

San Francisco World Spirits Competition — Gold Medal

Doc Swinson's Exploratory Cask Series has earned Best in Show and Double Gold recognition at the San Francisco World Spirits Competition for the "French Toasted" expression, with Funky Drummer earning Gold Medal recognition — confirming the house's standing as one of the most consistently awarded finishing programs in American whiskey.

Tasting Profile

Nose Arresting and immediately unlike any standard rye. The high-ester Jamaican rum casks announce themselves from the first approach: overripe pineapple and banana syrup surge forward, followed by Fuji apple and a characteristic bubble-tape sweetness that is the unmistakable signature of dunder-pit fermented Jamaican rum esters. Beneath the tropical fruit, the rye's natural character holds firm — buttery grain, vanilla, and powdered sugar — grounding the aromatics in recognizable whiskey territory. Warm clove, nutmeg, and cinnamon emerge as the glass opens, adding a baking spice dimension that ties the two worlds together. Rich, layered, and genuinely exciting on the nose.

Palate The rye spice arrives first — assertive, peppery, and properly structured — before the Jamaican rum esters take over the mid-palate with a wave of tropical fruit sweetness that is bold without becoming cloying. Pineapple and ripe banana dominate, softened by loads of vanilla and a creamy, almost coconut-adjacent richness from the 20-year rum-saturated wood. Clove, nutmeg, and cinnamon cycle through in waves, keeping the spice component present and balancing the fruit. The dual mash bill approach is evident in the texture — the 95% rye mash bill provides backbone and pepper while the corn-containing mash bill adds sweetness and roundness. The 105.3 proof delivers intensity without heat, and the ester-laden finish environment ensures nothing falls flat.

Finish Medium-long, rhythmic, and deeply satisfying. The rye spice gradually reasserts itself as the tropical fruit sweetness fades, creating an alternating pattern of pepper and pineapple that persists well past the swallow. Vanilla and baking spice linger into a warm, clean close — funky but focused, and considerably more refined than the high-ester cask description might suggest to the uninitiated.

Quick Overview

Category	Details
ABV / Proof	52.65% ABV / 105.3 Proof
Origin / Region	Ferndale, Washington — Doc Swinson's
Producer	Jesse Parker, Head Spirits Master
Mash Bill 1	95% rye · 5% malted barley
Mash Bill 2	51% rye · 45% corn · 4% malted barley
Base Age	5 years
Finishing Cask	High-ester Jamaican rum casks — previously held Tennessee whiskey, then aged Jamaican rum 20+ years
Chill Filtration	None
Style / Identity	Jamaican rum-finished dual mash bill rye — tropical, spiced, high-ester funk
Aromas & Flavors	Pineapple, banana syrup, Fuji apple, clove, nutmeg, cinnamon, vanilla, buttery rye, tropical ester funk
Awards	Gold Medal — San Francisco World Spirits Competition

Serving & Occasion

Outstanding neat with several minutes of breathing time — the tropical ester character opens considerably with air, and the rye spice comes into sharper focus as the glass develops. A few drops of water at 105.3 proof will deepen the banana and pineapple notes and soften the pepper into something particularly expressive. A large single ice cube works well for a slower, more contemplative pour. An exceptional choice for rye enthusiasts looking for something genuinely new, Jamaican rum lovers who want to experience those ester characteristics in a whiskey context, and Tiki cocktail builders who understand exactly what high-ester rum cask character brings to a mixed drink. See cocktail suggestions below — Funky Drummer was made for the Tiki crossover.

Cocktail Suggestions

Funky Old Fashioned (the definitive Funky Drummer cocktail) 2 oz Funky Drummer · 1 tsp Demerara syrup · 2 dashes Angostura bitters · expressed orange peel. Stirred over a large ice rock. The Jamaican rum ester character transforms the Old Fashioned into something simultaneously familiar and startlingly tropical — the pineapple and banana notes cycle through the bitters and sugar in a way that no standard rye achieves. Named for the drink that put Funky Drummer in its natural habitat.

Funky Drummer Manhattan 2 oz Funky Drummer · 1 oz sweet vermouth · 2 dashes Angostura bitters · Luxardo cherry. Stirred over ice, served up. The tropical ester notes play beautifully against sweet vermouth's botanical complexity — adding a tropical dimension to the Manhattan template that is deeply unusual and deeply rewarding. A whiskey Manhattan for the adventurous palate.

Rye Daiquiri 2 oz Funky Drummer · ¾ oz fresh lime juice · ½ oz simple syrup. Shaken hard over ice, double-strained into a chilled coupe. The simplest showcase of what the Jamaican rum cask character brings — the tropical ester notes and rye spice play naturally against fresh lime in a daiquiri format that bridges the whiskey and rum worlds with unexpected elegance.

Tiki Rye Sour 2 oz Funky Drummer · ¾ oz fresh lime juice · ½ oz orgeat · ¼ oz Bitter Truth Golden Falernum. Shaken over crushed ice. The Tiki format is where Funky Drummer finds its highest expression — the almond and lime of orgeat and falernum amplify the Jamaican rum ester character already present in the whiskey, producing a sour of extraordinary tropical complexity with rye's natural spice holding everything together.

Rye Mule 2 oz Funky Drummer · ginger beer · ½ oz fresh lime · pineapple chunk garnish. Built over ice in a highball or copper mug. The ginger heat plays off the rye pepper and Jamaican funk in a long drink that is refreshing, tropical, and genuinely complex — the pineapple garnish echoes the whiskey's own fruit character and ties the whole presentation together.

Funky Paper Plane Equal parts Funky Drummer · Aperol · Amaro Nonino · fresh lemon juice. Shaken hard, served up in a chilled coupe. The Paper Plane format — equal parts bitter, herbal, citrus, and spirit — is where Funky Drummer's tropical ester character creates something genuinely new. The Jamaican rum funk adds a tropical dimension to the classic template that the original's bourbon or standard rye cannot achieve. Bold, balanced, and deeply memorable.

Doc Swinsons Bourbon Whiskey