Rye
While bourbon is considered America’s native spirit, rye was actually the favored whiskey among her earliest colonists and continued to be popular well into the 1800s, especially in northeastern states like Maryland and Pennsylvania. George Washington even famously distilled rye at his Mount Vernon estate in Virginia. By U.S. law, rye whiskey must be made from a mash of at least 51% rye (with corn and malted barley typically rounding out the remainder of the mashbill). Rye must adhere to the same production standards as bourbon: aged in new, charred oak containers, distilled to no more than 160 proof, entered into barrel at no more than 125 proof, and bottled at a minimum of 80 proof. A straight rye whiskey must be aged for at least two years. Rye whiskey production largely ceased in the U.S. after Prohibition, despite its popularity with America’s nascent cocktail culture at the time — although rye has always been popular in Canada, and rye remains a major component in many Canadian whiskeys today. The resurgence of American whiskey in the late 1990s and an explosion in the popularity of craft cocktails around the same time has launched a revival in rye whiskey production — and consumption — in America.
Top Rye Whiskey Posts:
Knob Creek Rye
WhistlePig Straight Rye Whiskey 10 Years Old
Woodford Reserve Rye
Last summer, we introduced you to The Clover, a line of sourced single barrel whiskeys named for famed golfer Bobby Jones and the good luck charm he wore in every tournament. We were impressed with ...
The Doc Swinson’s Collection is a new brand that’s been making serious waves since it hit the scene. This non-distilling producer’s story begins like many, with the discovery of a few barrels of good bourbon ...
A handful of craft distillers across the country commemorated the recent presidential inauguration with a special spirits release. Virginia’s Copper Fox Distillery used the moment as an excuse to release its first ever cask strength ...
Whoops: Graverobber Unholy Rye, from New Hampshire-based Tamworth Distilling, is intended as an annual autumn release, and here it is, February! That’s on us, but all the same here’s a look at this flavored rye ...
It is finally here. After numerous stop-starts, years of restoration, courtroom battles, personnel changes, delicious gins, waiting for the barrels to age with great patience, and lord knows what else to which the public is ...
Did you know: Before 1837 and 1919, Peoria, Illinois was home to 73 distilleries and 24 breweries and was known as the Whiskey Capital of the World. Before Prohibition, Peoria paid more liquor tax than ...
We know Michigan-based Valentine Distilling best for its eponymous vodka, but the company also produces gin and a number of whiskeys, two of which we review here. What’s in these bottles of “Old Ping,” named ...
For its next trick, Evanston, Illinois-based Few Spirits has dropped Few Immortal Rye, a version of its cask-strength Few straight rye whiskey (70% rye, 20% corn, 10% malted barley) that’s proofed to bottling strength “with ...
This 2020 release of Michter’s Toasted Barrel Rye almost slipped through the cracks here at Drinkhacker, but we’re squeezing it in here before the end of the year. This bottling, in line with all the ...
Axe and the Oak Distillery in Colorado Springs, Colorado began as the passion project of five friends with a love of good whiskey. It’s unclear how many of the original crew are still involved in ...
