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The rise of rye whiskey in last 15-ish years

Posted by Potomac <iframe src='https://members.boardhost.com/onedeuce/info/user=Potomac' width='330' height='300' border=0 style='border:none;'> on April 5, 2024, 8:49:58

In recent years, I have noticed much more shelf space for rye whiskey, more people who drink it, and other data about a trend in play for maybe 15 years. The Sangamore Spirit distillery went up in Baltimore about ten years ago to make rye, as another visible example.

I was thinking about it yesterday at a tour of the Jack Daniel's distillery in Tennessee. At the end, we had a taste flight of Gentleman Jack, No. 7, and Rye, and three flavored (honey, "fire" and apple).

I asked the guide about rye, and he said JD had only started selling rye in 2017, and certainly the market had jumped. Perhaps they got caught off-guard, and of course it takes a while to get a new whiskey through the pipeline. He also said it's one area where you will see more products, as companies try to adapt.

A woman on the tour said she liked the rye the best, and that she was normally a red wine drinker. The guide said that was not unusual at all, regarding paired preferences.

I own no rye, and may have to try some more. Do we have any rye drinkers here?

The JD apple was meh, reminiscent of those green Jolly Ranchers.

Got a bottle of haighter’s rye today

Posted by Potomac <iframe src='https://members.boardhost.com/onedeuce/info/user=Potomac' width='330' height='300' border=0 style='border:none;'> on April 7, 2024, 17:10:20, in reply to "The rise of rye whiskey in last 15-ish years"

Old Potrero Single Barrel Reserve. Complete with barrel number and bottle number. Aged 8 years, 8 months. 132 proof is certainly a lot for me. I look forward to a taste, not today.

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Give it an singular ice-cube and let it mellow. Above 130 is too hot IMO...

Posted by haighter <iframe src='https://members.boardhost.com/onedeuce/info/user=haighter' width='330' height='300' border=0 style='border:none;'> on April 7, 2024, 17:32:45, in reply to "Got a bottle of haighter’s rye today "
Boo Haighter

...but it's what the whiskey nerds request. A lot more flavors open up in the 100-110 range...let straight tingly burning.

You aren't really tasting anything when your mouth is on fire anyway.

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Old Potrero Single Barrel Reserve. Complete with barrel number and bottle number. Aged 8 years, 8 months. 132 proof is certainly a lot for me. I look forward to a taste, not today.

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Does everyone here enjoy whiskey?

Posted by IlliniHimey <iframe src='https://members.boardhost.com/onedeuce/info/user=IlliniHimey' width='330' height='300' border=0 style='border:none;'> on April 5, 2024, 10:12:17, in reply to "The rise of rye whiskey in last 15-ish years"

I have tried and tried and tried and tried and tried, and I find it to be piss.

Same goes for Bourbon and Gin.

I know many will say that it is a taste that takes time. I just can’t do it.

In fairness, I find coffee to taste like dog piss. I will just settle with pop, rum, and beer.

ADAM Ant..........up and ADAM!!!!!!

Bourbon, Gin, and Coffee enjoyer --------------------------------->*

Posted by villain <iframe src='https://members.boardhost.com/onedeuce/info/user=villain' width='330' height='300' border=0 style='border:none;'> on April 8, 2024, 12:43:51, in reply to "Does everyone here enjoy whiskey?"
Stupidhead

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probably just another real jerk in life

I prefer Irish whiskeys because I find most of them smoother and lighter.

Posted by Lexillini <iframe src='https://members.boardhost.com/onedeuce/info/user=Lexillini' width='330' height='300' border=0 style='border:none;'> on April 5, 2024, 11:09:29, in reply to "Does everyone here enjoy whiskey?"
weiner sleeve

And I am not ashamed that I prefer my bourbon with soda of some sort.

The welfare of humanity is always the alibi of tyrants.

Socialism is the gospel of envy.

have you tried any flavored liquors - like Bailey's or JD's Honey?*

Posted by Potomac <iframe src='https://members.boardhost.com/onedeuce/info/user=Potomac' width='330' height='300' border=0 style='border:none;'> on April 5, 2024, 10:18:03, in reply to "Does everyone here enjoy whiskey?"

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Woooof....rum...even when I was a heavy drinker I'd always pass on rum...

Posted by haighter <iframe src='https://members.boardhost.com/onedeuce/info/user=haighter' width='330' height='300' border=0 style='border:none;'> on April 5, 2024, 10:15:37, in reply to "Does everyone here enjoy whiskey?"
Boo Haighter

...rum and rum cocktails give me heartburn.

My "do-never" list of spirits would be rum, vodka, and probably mescal.

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I have never been a fan of rum either.*

Posted by Lexillini <iframe src='https://members.boardhost.com/onedeuce/info/user=Lexillini' width='330' height='300' border=0 style='border:none;'> on April 5, 2024, 11:10:08, in reply to "Woooof....rum...even when I was a heavy drinker I'd always pass on rum..."

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...rum and rum cocktails give me heartburn.

My "do-never" list of spirits would be rum, vodka, and probably mescal.

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The welfare of humanity is always the alibi of tyrants.

Socialism is the gospel of envy.

I've never been a big fan of rye whiskeys and bourbons, with one exception.

Posted by Lexillini <iframe src='https://members.boardhost.com/onedeuce/info/user=Lexillini' width='330' height='300' border=0 style='border:none;'> on April 5, 2024, 9:50:52, in reply to "The rise of rye whiskey in last 15-ish years"
weiner sleeve

Four Roses has (I believe) a higher rye count than do most "non-rye" bourbons and I like all of the Four Roses products I have tried over the years. But when a whiskey or bourbon holds itself out as being a "rye" version, I generally do not like it. Too "spicy", for lack of a better term.

I also do not like most flavored whiskeys and bourbons. Whiskey and bourbon already have deep flavors. No need to add junk on top of that.

The welfare of humanity is always the alibi of tyrants.

Socialism is the gospel of envy.

reminds me of what a Scotsman said on the tour yesterday

Posted by Potomac <iframe src='https://members.boardhost.com/onedeuce/info/user=Potomac' width='330' height='300' border=0 style='border:none;'> on April 5, 2024, 10:00:28, in reply to "I've never been a big fan of rye whiskeys and bourbons, with one exception."

Nice chap, chatting about various things. He shook his head at the flavored stuff, quoting his father along the lines of, "the only good scotch that goes into the mouth of a good Scot is a straight one." Neat, no water, ice. Nothing. Dad felt that the distiller had prepared the desired mix, so why mess with it?

There was a couple on the tour from Japan, and I said to the Scot that I didn't think I had ever seen Japanese whiskey, and he claimed there is some high end from Japan that is good stuff. I see on the internet that you can spend good money for some.

Haigher helped me pick out a really good Japanese whiskey about 5-7 years ago.

Posted by Lexillini <iframe src='https://members.boardhost.com/onedeuce/info/user=Lexillini' width='330' height='300' border=0 style='border:none;'> on April 5, 2024, 11:07:54, in reply to "reminds me of what a Scotsman said on the tour yesterday"
weiner sleeve

It's sitting on my office shelf right now, unopened. I think I paid about $60-$70 for the bottle. Last time I looked, it sells for almost 10x that on the secondary market.

The welfare of humanity is always the alibi of tyrants.

Socialism is the gospel of envy.

Hibiki? Nikka? *

Posted by kokomojo <iframe src='https://members.boardhost.com/onedeuce/info/user=kokomojo' width='330' height='300' border=0 style='border:none;'> on April 6, 2024, 6:22:52, in reply to "Haigher helped me pick out a really good Japanese whiskey about 5-7 years ago."

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It's sitting on my office shelf right now, unopened. I think I paid about $60-$70 for the bottle. Last time I looked, it sells for almost 10x that on the secondary market.

Suntory Hibiki 12 year. Still have the receipt. $70 in 2015.*

Posted by Lexillini <iframe src='https://members.boardhost.com/onedeuce/info/user=Lexillini' width='330' height='300' border=0 style='border:none;'> on April 8, 2024, 10:05:21, in reply to "Hibiki? Nikka? *"
weiner sleeve

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It's sitting on my office shelf right now, unopened. I think I paid about $60-$70 for the bottle. Last time I looked, it sells for almost 10x that on the secondary market.

The welfare of humanity is always the alibi of tyrants.

Socialism is the gospel of envy.

Hibiki, I believe. I will update when I am back at my office.*

Posted by Lexillini <iframe src='https://members.boardhost.com/onedeuce/info/user=Lexillini' width='330' height='300' border=0 style='border:none;'> on April 6, 2024, 17:17:23, in reply to "Hibiki? Nikka? *"
weiner sleeve

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It's sitting on my office shelf right now, unopened. I think I paid about $60-$70 for the bottle. Last time I looked, it sells for almost 10x that on the secondary market.

The welfare of humanity is always the alibi of tyrants.

Socialism is the gospel of envy.

We import Nikka. I can't remember what Lex bought. *

Posted by haighter <iframe src='https://members.boardhost.com/onedeuce/info/user=haighter' width='330' height='300' border=0 style='border:none;'> on April 6, 2024, 14:48:18, in reply to "Hibiki? Nikka? *"
Boo Haighter

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It's sitting on my office shelf right now, unopened. I think I paid about $60-$70 for the bottle. Last time I looked, it sells for almost 10x that on the secondary market.

The secret about a lot of japanese whiskey is that it's actually scotch sent in bulk to japan...

Posted by haighter <iframe src='https://members.boardhost.com/onedeuce/info/user=haighter' width='330' height='300' border=0 style='border:none;'> on April 5, 2024, 10:08:25, in reply to "reminds me of what a Scotsman said on the tour yesterday"
Boo Haighter

...to age and be bottled. It was such a big deal that a few years ago they created standards of identity or various japanese whiskies.

And I appreciate the thought from your Scotsman...the only thing I'd take exception to is that sometimes, during the barrel maturation process the ABV of the whiskey will rise dramatically. Straight from the barrel a 140 proof whiskey is going to burn your palate and you're not going to taste any subtleties of the mashbill or distillation process.

Our master distiller prefers, even single barrel whiskies to be diluted down to the 110 range as he thinks that's the sweet spot for "neat" whiskey. You pick up more subtle notes and the whiskey may open up dramatically with just a few drops of water.

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This is one I feel pretty proud of. Old Potrero Rye Whiskey...

Posted by haighter <iframe src='https://members.boardhost.com/onedeuce/info/user=haighter' width='330' height='300' border=0 style='border:none;'> on April 5, 2024, 9:47:39, in reply to "The rise of rye whiskey in last 15-ish years"
Boo Haighter

...the brand we make, was the first craft rye product available in the US. When we started producing rye in 1993, the only rye on the market were from mostly Canadian big batch crap distillers.

Ours is a single malt, 100% rye, distilled in a copper pot distillation method, which is still somewhat of a unicorn by distillation methods.

Fritz Maytag and our Master Distiller (who is still on staff and sits next to me) wanted to explore rye from a historical perspective as truly America's original spirit. They went to the library of congress and found that colonists were making rye whiskey. George Washington had a Rye Whiskey distillery at Mt Vernon. Etc etc.

Rye is a cold weather grain and would have been more prominently grown in the early colonies than corn. While bourbon is most closely associated with American Whiskey, Rye is the OG.

And we're the OG of ryes currently available.

Where can I find that in Chicago area?

Posted by kokomojo <iframe src='https://members.boardhost.com/onedeuce/info/user=kokomojo' width='330' height='300' border=0 style='border:none;'> on April 6, 2024, 11:40:20, in reply to "This is one I feel pretty proud of. Old Potrero Rye Whiskey..."

Hook a brother up!
Can you smuggle a bottle out of the warehouse?

Binnys *

Posted by haighter <iframe src='https://members.boardhost.com/onedeuce/info/user=haighter' width='330' height='300' border=0 style='border:none;'> on April 6, 2024, 13:46:11, in reply to "Where can I find that in Chicago area?"
Boo Haighter

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Hook a brother up!
Can you smuggle a bottle out of the warehouse?

I should try a bottle. Not sold in Maryland and VA? *

Posted by Potomac <iframe src='https://members.boardhost.com/onedeuce/info/user=Potomac' width='330' height='300' border=0 style='border:none;'> on April 5, 2024, 13:32:22, in reply to "This is one I feel pretty proud of. Old Potrero Rye Whiskey..."

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LAX in Beltsville might. They’re a pretty good account of ours. *

Posted by haighter <iframe src='https://members.boardhost.com/onedeuce/info/user=haighter' width='330' height='300' border=0 style='border:none;'> on April 5, 2024, 14:07:14, in reply to "I should try a bottle. Not sold in Maryland and VA? *"
Boo Haighter

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Balderdash. There was bathtub Templeton Rye all over Iowa 40+ years ago. Milk jug, duct tape seal,

Posted by fratstud <iframe src='https://members.boardhost.com/onedeuce/info/user=fratstud' width='330' height='300' border=0 style='border:none;'> on April 5, 2024, 12:32:52, in reply to "This is one I feel pretty proud of. Old Potrero Rye Whiskey..."
Go Zags!

with "TR" written on the jug. In fact, I'd be shocked if Fritz Maytag ain't a man with legacy Iowan roots because I'm very well-traveled and the only people I've ever heard of with that surname are from near Newton where they used to make Maytag appliances before the globalists took control of our government and caused everything to shift to Mexico and China.

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"Iowa women were better than Illini men" - Potomac

Sorry…first commercially available small batch rye. *

Posted by haighter <iframe src='https://members.boardhost.com/onedeuce/info/user=haighter' width='330' height='300' border=0 style='border:none;'> on April 5, 2024, 13:53:18, in reply to "Balderdash. There was bathtub Templeton Rye all over Iowa 40+ years ago. Milk jug, duct tape seal, "
Boo Haighter

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you might like this essay to skim (link)

Posted by Potomac <iframe src='https://members.boardhost.com/onedeuce/info/user=Potomac' width='330' height='300' border=0 style='border:none;'> on April 5, 2024, 9:54:03, in reply to "This is one I feel pretty proud of. Old Potrero Rye Whiskey..."

It talks about George Washington as a rye distiller, as you said. The closing paragraph:

Rye whiskey has a rich and full heritage in the United States from the very foundations of the country to the modern era. Our first president was a rye distiller and our brave soldiers from the colonial era to the end of the Civil War fought with the support of whiskey rations. Rye whiskey pre-dates bourbon as a truly American spirit by almost 200 years. It suffered at the hands of the Nobel Experiment and World War II and took a back seat to its cousin bourbon. However, like the fighting spirit that characterizes the American culture, the spirit of rye whiskey never gave up and is mounting a historic comeback, outpacing the growth of the remainder of the American whiskey category. Rye Whiskey deserves to be America’s historic spirit.

https://www.distilledspirits.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/The-Rise-and-Fall-of-Craft-Whiskey.pdf

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