Tag Archives: rye whiskey

Jack Daniel’s Rested Rye

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jack daniel's rested rye

Jack Daniel’s is working quickly to get into the increasingly important rye whiskey game. Months back, they released an unaged limited-edition taste of their rye to retail, and now, it’s time for a rested version, 2 years in a barrel, still limited-edition, and still not a finished product. It’s an interesting way to ramp up a product which must age for several years before it’s finished, and it’s certainly a unique approach to marketing an aged spirit.

At $50 a bottle, Rested Rye is mostly a collector’s purchase, since it won’t be available long-term. I’m under the impression that 4 years is the goal for the final Jack Daniel’s Rye product, so this whiskey is young and brash, and everybody knows it. Other than the brashness, the flavor starts with a sweetness that’s particularly unique to Jack: like pancakes with maple syrup. The flavor ends up with a charred wood flavor that’s a touch bitter.

The rough edges of Rested Rye will be sorted out as the product ages, and I will say something I recall thinking when I tried the unaged version: this is a unique rye whiskey, particularly in the sweetness of the flavor. There’s no shortage of great ryes on the shelf, but having Jack in the game is still a very welcome addition.

Pow Wow Botanical Rye

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pow wow botanica rye cocktail

The more I began to think about the liquid in my bottle of Pow Wow Botanical Rye, the more I was intrigued. Pow Wow is distilled from rye (as you’d expect from whiskey), it’s infused with botanicals during distillation (as you’d expect from gin). Then it’s aged in charred barrels (as you’d expect from whiskey). Did you catch that glitch-out in the middle? This is a rye that has some gin-like characteristics, and if you know anything about me, you know that this bottle of booze has the potential to be the most exciting thing I’ve ever tasted.

If you’re new here, I love gin and I love rye whiskey. Other liquor is good too, but those two are my faves. Pow Wow, which’ll run you about $40 a bottle, is one of the premium whiskeys managed by Georgetown Trading Co., whose catalog includes other whiskey brands too. Pow Wow really does have some gin characteristics, particularly in the scent of it, and if you’re a whiskey or gin lover, it’s totally worth trying.

pow wow botanica rye cocktail

Here’s a classic cocktail to try with Pow Wow:

Gall Bracer

  • 1 1/2 oz rye
  • 2 dashes of bitters
  • 1 dash of grenadine
  • pour ingredients slowly over ice in an old fashioned glass
  • garnish with a cherry

Hudson Manhattan Rye

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hudson manhattan rye

Hudson Manhattan Rye whiskey from New York is one of a very healthy catalog of spirits from Tuthilltown Spirits. Their whiskeys are packaged in uniquely short, stout, wax-coated bottles, most of them half-sized at 375 ml. These are hand-bottled, hand-numbered, small batch whiskies.

I found Hudson Manhattan Rye to have a pretty complex set of flavors. Rye is the spicy grain in the whiskey world, and this is certainly spicy, but I also discovered a tobacco flavor to Manhattan Rye that is rare in a whiskey of any variety. Imagine the sweet woodiness of a vanilla or cherry pipe tobacco, imagine that in a rye, and you’ll realize this whiskey is one of the more unique flavors in the liquor cabinet.

Whiskey lovers should add this to their wish list. Rye lovers will should enjoy it, too, because the variety of flavors you experience in one sip is significant. Hudson Manhattan Rye will run you about $45 for a bottle.

 

Old Fashioned

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This is simple in it’s ingredients, a little fancy in it’s preparation. Oh and it’s the best cocktail ever.

Rye Old Fashioned

Old Fashioned

  • Add 1 sugar cube (or spoon of sugar) to an old fashioned glass
  • Douse with 3 dashes of Angostura bitters
  • Add a splash of club soda and stir well
  • Fill glass with ice, add 2 oz of rye whiskey, stir until cold
  • Take a piece of orange peel, squeeze over the glass and rub it around the rim
  • Top with another splash of club soda
  • Garnish with the orange peel and a cherry (I wrap the cherry in the peel)

Gin Old Fashioned

Gin Old Fashioned

  • Add 1 sugar cube (or spoon of sugar) to an old fashioned glass
  • Douse with 2 dashes of Angostura bitters
  • Douse with 2 dashes of orange bitters.
  • Add a splash of club soda and stir well
  • Fill glass with ice, add 2 oz of gin, stir until cold
  • Take a piece of orange peel, squeeze over the glass and rub it around the rim
  • Top with another splash of club soda
  • Garnish with the orange peel and a cherry (I wrap the cherry in the peel)

Rye Whiskey

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taos lightning, knob creek, bulleit ryes

Whiskey, like most distilled liquors, is made from grain.  Depending on the type of grain that’s used, the whiskey will take on those particular characteristics. Corn whiskies, like Tennessee whiskey or bourbon, may have a sweetness and sometimes sour flavor. Barley whiskies, like Scotch, may taste peaty or grassy. Rye whiskies are spicy, like cinnamon, and that flavor gives them their own unique place in the library of whiskies. It’s the primary ingredient in the New Orleans cocktail, the Sazerac. While rye whiskey has been hard to find over the past several decades, it’s making a comeback in the U.S. and many distillers have released brand new ryes this summer.

Though I have famously described myself as a “gin guy” and occasionally a “whiskey hater,” rye’s unique flavor has really won me over, and I’ve enjoyed all the ryes I’ve tasted so far. Some friends and I got together to taste 3 of the top American Straight Rye Whiskies this year, according to the San Francisco World Spirits Competition. We tried:

  • Knob Creek Rye, the “Best Rye Double Gold Medal” winner
  • Bulleit Rye, a “Gold Medal” winner
  • Taos Lightning Rye by KGB Spirits, a “Bronze Medal” winner (we tried both the 5- and 15-year varieties)

The spiciness and flavor of these three rye whiskies is outstanding. I would say the rye taste corrects the flavor objections I normally have when I drink whiskey. It doesn’t have that sweet finish of bourbon or the sourness of Tennessee corn whiskies, but leaves a nice tingle on the tongue. Knob Creek was the smoothest of the 3 brands, though I assume that’s because it contains less rye (Bulleit and Taos Lightning both contain 95% rye, Knob Creek is unspecified). If you normally enjoy whiskey, these three ryes will give you a unique flavor profile that you may grow to appreciate, too. If you’re not normally a whiskey fan, try a sip of rye and see if the difference is significant enough to sway you. These particular ryes are 90-100 proof, so a splash of cool spring water or a bit of ice helps the flavor to blossom before you drink it.

Bulleit, Knob Creek, and Taos Lightning 5-year are all similar in age to one another, and will run you about $30, $40, and $55 respectively. All three are certainly worth their price tags.  The first two have national distribution and you can likely get them at your local liquor store. Taos Lightning can be purchased at these retailers in northern New Mexico. From the perspective of age though, the 15-year-old Taos Lightning is particularly unique, as 15 years is a very rare age for a rye whiskey (5 years is more common). The age does make a difference in this case as the older Taos Lightning is quite smooth. The more mature Taos Lightning retails for $85.