Early Times is crafted from a traditional whisky mashbill, or recipe, of corn, rye and malted barley. Rye adds a spicy, lively character to whisky. Corn adds sweetness. Malted barley gives it a malty, cocoa, cereal taste. The Early Times mashbill contains more rye than many other whisky recipes. Only charred American white oak barrels are used to mature Early Times. Each barrel is toasted and charred so the new whisky can develop an even greater range of taste, aroma and characteristics. The toasting process sets up the rich vanilla flavor found in Early Times, while the charring process caramelizes the white oak's natural wood sugars into a layer of flavor we call "red layer."