Rye’s Revival

America has always been a country of innovative drink recipes and wonderful new concoctions to imbibe. But we do love our institutions and traditions as well. This would be a time to visit one of those traditions briefly, our love of straight whiskey. And there is no better place to start than with the most American of whiskeys, rye.
A quick primer on whiskey, rye falls into the American straight whiskey family, which including rye, consists of bourbon and Tennessee Whiskey. The collection of grains that are distilled to make the non aged whiskey can consist of corn, rye, barley, or wheat. The differences are unique and varying per distiller, but the basics are this:
- Bourbon must be aged at least 2 yrs in charred American oak, distilled at 160 proof or less, and consist of at least 51% corn in the mash bill.
- Tennessee Whiskey is bourbon in each step until the last where the distillate is filtered through 12 feet of charred maple to give it the unique flavor of Tennessee Whiskey.
- Finally, we come to rye. Rye is whiskey that has 51 % or more rye in the mash bill, aged for at least 2 years in oak and distilled at 160 proof or less.
Rye was really the first American whiskey, long before bourbon came to rise in Kentucky; newly minted Americans were distilling rye in Pennsylvania and Maryland. These early whiskey makers were often of Scotch Irish descent and thus became known as our American whiskey missionaries.
George Washington even distilled rye. Actually most all of the Founding Fathers probably distilled rye. Which is actually ironic, for it is Washington’s use of federal taxation powers on those very whiskey makers that led to the creation of bourbon.
The rise of rye in cocktails really began from 1870 or so until the late 1950s when vodka and blended spirits began to dominate the American drinking landscape. The original Manhattan calls for rye in the recipe and truthfully most cocktails calling for whiskey during the “golden age of cocktails” were made with rye.
The Sazerac also now calls for rye after starting out as a Cognac based cocktail with French roots in New Orleans. So what happened to rye? Why did we get away from our heritage in whiskey? Well, for starters we are fickle and silly. For several generations, ordering a rye essentially meant being served a Canadian Blended Whiskey simply because Canadian distiller used far more rye in their mash bills than their American counterparts.
Fear not, rye is back, and while we have been seduced by small batch bourbons, aged single malts, and varying degrees of pure vodka in glamorous bottles, it is time for rye to assume a just and rightful place in our palates again.
Contrary to popular belief, rye isn’t rough, unpolished, or too hot. It is spicy. Think caraway seeds or the pumpernickel bread of dark spirits. Vodka is white bread. Bourbon is corn bread. Rye is the bread you pair with big flavored meats and cheeses.
The number of craft and aged straight ryes that have come to market in the last few years alone would lead me to believe that Americans are back on track again and are asking their bartenders to reach for the rye when pouring two fingers of something over ice.
So take a cue from our Founding Fathers and ask your bartender to mix a fine rye Manhattan over ice the next time you have a cocktail. Maybe even grab a bottle of Templeton Rye for the home bar to liven up your whiskey inventory. Either way, enjoy the reemergence of fine rye.