Another fun cocktail from my list of 7 Delicious Creative Albuquerque Cocktails, the Rye 505 is a Southwestern take on a Manhattan: tart, spicy, and sweet all at the same time!
Rye 505
If you’re not familiar with my general sentiment on the “moonshine” category of liquor, let me refresh your memory: generally, unflavored moonshine is pretty gross and unpleasant to drink. Plus those damn mason jars spill all over you when you’re pouring them!
So, another opportunity to review another moonshine came to my attention and it’s not made from corn. That’s right, Manhattan Moonshine this is a oats-and-rye mash, plus it comes in an ornate art deco bottle (not a jar!).
I thought I might dislike Manhattan Moonshine as much as I had the gasoline-burn from previous jars I’ve tasted, but I didn’t. This is a good whiskey, one that I could sip on the rocks, even. It’s spicy, warm and shockingly flavorful for something that has no barrel time at all. Manhattan Moonshine will cost you twice what white lightnin’ runs, retailing for $45 a bottle.
As a respectable-tasting whiskey, I figured it was a good idea to serve this like other ryes I enjoy: in a Manhattan. It was too good of a cocktail-naming opportunity to pass up:
Manhattan Moonshine Manhattan
I’ll confess that Father’s Day and Christmas give me fun excuses to venture out into pseudo-cocktail dude gift ideas, which I really have fun exploring. As always, I have a handful of fun and creative gift ideas for you to consider for your own father or husband this year.
Alberta Dark Batch Rye. I love rye and at $30, this is a really fun alternative to the usual liquor store bottles of rye. Canadian, and therefore sweeter, yet still spicy in your chest, this is an awesome gift choice. It’s interchangeably usable as a sipper or as a backbone for Dad’s Manhattan or Old Fashioned. Find out more at Alberta Rye’s site.
Jelly Belly Cocktail Classics and Draft Beer. This is a good gift for a beer- and cocktail-loving dad. Depending on the size, for $4-10, these are great for a laugh or if you’ve always wanted to try a beer jelly bean…here’s your chance! Use these Amazon links to get Draft Beer or Cocktail Classics Jelly Belly beans.
The 100 Greatest Console Video Games 1977-1987, by Brett Weiss. Does dad speak fondly of “the good old days” of video games, or hanker for his Colecovision, Atari 2600, or NES? This is an awesomely fun, full-color, hardcover book with the top 100 home video games from the early days of console gaming, A-Z. I checked immediately for my favorite, Yar’s Revenge, and it’s in there! Buy it from Amazon or directly from the publisher.
Usquaebach 15 Year Old Blended Malt Scotch. Pronounced oos-ke-bah, the name of this scotch is based on the Gaelic phrase water of life which ultimately is how we ended up with the word whisky. That’s a good thing. This award-winning scotch is finished in oak and sherry casks, and it’s heavenly. For $80 a bottle, you’ll get a warm, sweet, rich, and filling scotch that’s sure to make dad grin. Explore Usquaebach here.
To my friends and family, I’m a bit of a Trader Joe’s fanatic. We started shopping there regularly a few years ago when I swore off of high fructose corn syrup (and lost 50 lbs in the process).
Trader’s (as we like to call it) has an interesting liquor section if you’ve ever shopped it. Their “2 Buck Chuck” (or 3 Buck Chuck, or 4 Buck Chuck, depending on the part of the country you live in) is the #1 selling wine in the U.S. If you look carefully at their hard liquors,you’ll also note that they have some budget-priced options that you can’t find anywhere else. Check out the $8 Rear Admiral Joseph’s London Dry Gin, their 100% agave tequila for $20, or their own Blended Scotch Whisky, $12 a liter.
I’ve been eyeing the Trader Joe’s Kentucky Bourbon Straight Whiskey ($14.99) for a while, and finally broke down and bought a bottle. This bourbon is distilled at the elusive “Bourbon Square Distilling Company,” which, if Googled, just points you more reviews of this same bourbon. Some web sleuths uncovered that this bourbon is actually distilled at Barton’s 1792 distillery, one of Buffalo Trace’s brands, which is a huge plus in my book.
This is a sweet-and-spicy bourbon, candy and caramel with a sizzle-and-cinnamon finish, It doesn’t have too much heat, even though it clocks in at 45% ABV. Price-wise it doesn’t taste cheap, which usually translates to a alcohol burn and a lack of complexity. No, this is a nicely balanced and perfectly acceptable cocktail and sipping bourbon, especially at $15 a bottle.
We also tasted Trader Joe’s Kentucky Bourbon on the Simple Cocktails Podcast. Listen here.
I believe I’ve made it clear here on the blog that I love rye whiskey. The brash cousin to other American whiskies, rye is famous for it’s spicier bite, and many agree that the classic whiskey cocktails are best with rye.
Today we talk about James E. Pepper 1776 Rye from Georgetown Trading Co. If you recall, I’ve also tried Georgetown Trading’s Pow Wow Botanical Rye here at the blog, a unique whiskey-meets-gin flavor profile.
James E. Pepper is spicy even for a rye – it’s very spicy – with cloves leading the flavor and a faint whisper of honey in the finish. 90% of the mash bill is rye, and this is a 100 proof whiskey – it’s like a punch in the throat when sipped neat.
I liked this rye with lots of ice to tame the fiery flavor, and when I started testing this with cocktails (namely, a Manhattan and Old Fashioned), I discovered Pepper to be a pretty great cocktail ingredient – it made for one of the best Old Fashioneds I’ve ever had.
I’ll be straight with you – a whiskey that breaks above 45% alcohol is tough for me to savor without some ice or club soda to tame it down. James E. Pepper needs that, certainly, but as you mix it with other cocktail ingredients, it balances itself out well. For about $30, if you love the burn of a rye spice, you should certainly put Pepper on your short list.
We tried James E. Pepper on the Simple Cocktails Podcast, too. Click here to listen.
Teeling is a very interesting whiskey in several ways. Firstly, the whiskey is distilled from all (or almost all) corn, making it sweet and pleasing particularly to a bourbon drinker. Next, Teeling is finished in rum casks, adding some fascinating flavor elements to the whiskey (Teeling has said it’s their goal to make an interesting Irish whiskey). If you tend towards American whiskeys, this Irish is likely to be very pleasing for you.
When I first tasted Teeling on Instagram, a few people chimed in saying they really like it, and I can see why. Though only available in the U.S. for a year or so, it’s an absolute darling with it’s fans. A 6 year old whiskey, Teeling will run you about $35-40 for a bottle. I’ve enjoyed sipping on Teeling and though it’s wonderful on its own, it also mixes really well in cocktails like the Paddy:
Paddy Cocktail
Last week, Lisa and I tasted Teeling Irish Whiskey on the podcast.
There have been a handful of cocktails in the last few months that are liquor-and-chocolate combos, like the Commodore or the Floridita. Here’s another one that’s simply whiskey, creme de cacao, and bitters, and has a pretty awesome flavor profile. It’s an easy dessert cocktail without being overwhelmingly sweet.
Fox River
I keep finding some great cocktail recipes in Old Mr. Boston’s Bartenders Guide. This recipe is quite a kicker: whiskey, vermouth, absinthe, and maraschino make for a really vivid flavor profile that’s fun to taste. Here’s how you make it:
Lawhill Cocktail
I know this one has some expensive liquors in the mix (in 1/4 teaspoon measurements none the less), but I’d love to know what you think if you try it!
Catoctin Creek is a relatively new distillery in the United States, founded in 2009 in Virginia and distilling mostly rye whiskey, gin, and brandy. Their portfolio perked up my attention and I got a bottle of their 92-proof Roundstone Rye, the middle product in their rye lineup, and one that will run you just over $50 a bottle.
For a 6-year old distillery, their whiskeys are going to be aged for that amount of time or less. Roundstone spells it out on the bottle: “Aged 5 years or less.” For a whiskey that’s traditionally pretty spicy and dry, a younger rye takes on a surprising candy sweetness in the taste that sets it apart from many other ryes I’ve tasted. In fact, the only other whiskey I can compare Roundstone Rye to is also young, spicy, sweet and brash: Jack Daniel’s Unaged Rye.
In honor of Catoctin’s rye and gin lineup, I chose a cocktail from Old Mr. Boston’s Bartenders Guide – a handy midsized cocktail book with some great recipes. Pairing gin and whiskey into one drink, here’s the Double Standard Sour:
Double Standard Sour
Berentzen is a 200-year-old German liquor company that has recently (2013) begun packaging and distributing their products to the United States. I’ve had the opportunity to try two of their liquors: IceMint Schnapps* and Bushel and Barrel, an apple/whiskey liqueur.
Apple whiskey is probably the next big thing in flavorings, now that the cinnamon and honey whiskeys have been on the market a while. Even big boy Crown Royal has released their Regal Apple flavor in the last few months, too.
On a recent episode of the Simple Cocktails podcast, Lisa and I tried Bushel and Barrel for the first time. It’s certainly sweet, but not sticky or syrupy. It’s flavored and partially sweetened with apple juice, and as I discovered with Midnight Moon, that gives you apple flavor and sweetness without a whole lot of sticky-sugary mess. It’s 30% alcohol, which places it squarely in the middle of straight whiskey and liqueurs, and it’s definitely drinkable straight. In fact, it’s whiskeys like this that are pretty great flask-fillers for camping or game day.
Another important tasting note about Bushel and Barrel is that it’s base is actual Kentucky Bourbon, so there’s quite a bit more wonderful whiskey character to this drink than, say, apple pie moonshines.
This is a pretty flexible cocktail ingredient, and other than a simple Bushel and Barrel and Ginger Ale (or Coke), splash it in your favorite bourbon too (1 part Bushel to 2 parts bourbon maybe) just to change the flavor profile or tame the bite a bit. Overall, this is an enjoyable liqueur at about $20 a bottle, a decent addition to your home bar.
