Rye whiskey
Rye whiskey or rye whiskey is a whiskey that is distilled from a mash containing rye . This is mainly produced in North America . In the United States of America , a rye content of 51% is required by law in the underlying grain mixture to designate a whiskey as rye whiskey. For historical reasons, every Canadian whiskey can be called rye whiskey - regardless of whether rye played a role in its production.
Rye whiskey was the predominant whiskey in North America until the time of Prohibition . The distilleries in northern states like Maryland and Pennsylvania did not survive prohibition, however. In Canada, rye was increasingly replaced by corn and wheat in production in the 20th century. Only in the last few decades with the emergence of single malts and greater diversification of the whiskey market is rye whiskey celebrating a comeback. Compared to Bourbon Whiskey , Rye Whiskey tastes spicier, drier and more bitter.
United States
Legal basis
In the USA, rye whiskey must be made from at least 51% rye. It has to be stored in new, charred oak barrels for two years and may not have an alcohol content of more than 80% by volume during production . While there is a market for pure rye whiskey again today, most of the production continues to be blended with neutral alcohol and / or other whiskeys to make blended whiskeys.
Until the 20th century
In the early days of the United States, rye whiskey was the predominant whiskey. Rye grew particularly well in the cooler states of the northeast and was already familiar to European immigrants from home. The first major whiskey distilleries in the United States originated in Pennsylvania and produced rye whiskey. The whiskey rebellion of 1794, the first time the new US government used troops against its own people, sparked off a newly introduced alcohol tax against which Pennsylvanian rye whiskey producers rebelled.
During the Prohibition era, consumers switched to less strong spirits such as gin, rum and blended whiskey, which were first smuggled and then secretly produced. The taste changed in such a way that the large rye whiskey distilleries could no longer find any buyers even after the prohibition and had to cease operations. The folk song Rye Whiskey , written by Tex Ritter in 1936, is prototypical for the time after Prohibition . It describes the life of a hapless rye whiskey drinker from a first-person perspective.
Since the 2000s
Rye whiskey has experienced a renaissance in the United States since the 2000s when it attracted new groups of buyers. Between 2009 and 2014 alone, production increased six-fold from 88,000 cases (nine liters each) to 561,000 cases. The New York Times described the phenomenon in 2015 "Rye whiskey, once the drink of old people, is now the drink of young people."
By the turn of the millennium there were fewer producers, Jim Beam Rye, Old Overholt and Wild Turkey Rye dominated the small market, while in 2015 there were several dozen producers with a wide distribution in the US. The trend was started by small and micro distilleries like Anchor Distilling , while Kentucky's large whiskey distilleries only entered the market around 2008. From around 2012 there were more and more offers from various established distilleries on the market. While Wild Turkey produced rye about two days a year until the 2000s and bourbon the rest of the time, in 2015 it was about 2 days a month. Today US rye whiskey is mainly produced by the large bourbon distilleries in the southern states of Kentucky and Tennessee and the MGP Distillery in Indiana. These have embraced the trend towards more expensive and specialized whiskeys and often produce the rye whiskey under historical labels and brand names from Pennsylvania or Maryland.
Rye whiskeys popular today include Rittenhouse Rye 100 Proof, Pikesville (both Heaven Hill Destillery), Sazerac 18 Year Old, Van Winkle Family Reserve 13 Year Old (both Buffalo Trace Destillery), Red Hook Rye 23 Year Old, Michter's 10 Year Old Straight Rye Whiskey (both Kentucky Bourbon Distillers ), Old Overholt Four Year Old ( Jim Beam ), Russel's Reserve ( Wild Turkey ). For example, Bulleit Rye comes from Indiana . In addition, they also produce under their own brand names such as Jim Beam Rye, Wild Turkey Straight Rye Whiskey and Jack Daniels Rye. In the last few years, however, other distilleries have sprung up in other parts of the USA. Rye whiskey gained popularity as an ingredient for cocktails , where mixers appreciate its more intense and drier aroma than bourbon. In the meantime, however, there are also expensive premium products that are primarily intended for pure drinking.
A specialty is the Old Potrero Rye Whiskey from Anchor Distilling in San Francisco , whose mash consists only of rye. This is sold in the US once as a one-year and once as a three-year straight rye.
Use in cocktails
Many classic whiskey cocktails such as the Old Fashioned , the Manhattan (cocktail) or the Sazerac originally included rye as a whiskey ingredient. It was only with the gradual disappearance of the rye that it was often replaced by bourbon in recipes. Followers of Ryes point out its more intense and less sweet taste, which complements the other ingredients better.
Canada
In Canada for a long time all whiskeys were made with a high proportion of rye, so that for a time Canadian whiskey and rye whiskey were almost synonymous. In the last few decades, however, with a few exceptions, rye has increasingly been replaced by corn and wheat. Canadian whiskeys are allowed to carry the Rye Whiskey label, but in most cases they are made with little or no rye. The legal requirements for Canadian whiskey and Canadian rye whiskey are identical and make no reference to the raw materials from which the drink is made.
Remarks
- ↑ a b c d e Alan J. Buglass: Handbook of Alcoholic Beverages: Technical, Analytical and Nutritional Aspects John Wiley & Sons, 2011 ISBN 0470976659 p. 527
- ↑ Daniel Yaffe: Drink More Whiskey: Everything You Need to Know About Your New Favorite Drink! Chronicle Books, 2013 ISBN 1452126348 pp. 53-54
- ↑ a b Heather Greene: Whiskey Distilled: A Populist Guide to the Water of Life Penguin, 2014 ISBN 0698169859
- ^ A b c Robert Simonson: Rye Adds an Authentic Touch to the Holidays , New York Times December 1, 2015
- ↑ Abraham Overholt distilled Rye Whiskey Overholt in County Westmoreland as early as 1810 . See Gilbert Delos: Les Whiskeys du Monde. Translation from French: Karin-Jutta Hofmann: Whiskey from all over the world. Karl Müller, Erlangen 1998, ISBN 3-86070-442-7 , p. 141 f.
- ↑ CK Cowdery: Bourbon, Straight - The Uncut and Unfiltered Story of American Whiskey. Made and Bottled in Kentucky, Chicago, Illinois 2004, ISBN 0-9758703-0-0 . P. 72
- ^ Alan J. Buglass: Handbook of Alcoholic Beverages: Technical, Analytical and Nutritional Aspects John Wiley & Sons, 2011 ISBN 0470976659 p. 528