Catcher of the Rye
Rye's Rebirth Tops Surprising Whiskey Trends

Before Prohibition, the most popular straight whiskey style in the United States was not bourbon and certainly not scotch (imports of all kinds were rare). Rather, it was straight rye whiskey.
    In the 73 years since Repeal, rye has been in steady decline and looked like it might disappear altogether. Now, suddenly, rye is back, both as the whiskey of choice for classic cocktails such as the Manhattan and Sazerac and as a straight pour.

The Rye Deal 
Although most bourbons contain rye, they are mostly corn. In a straight rye whiskey, rye is the dominant grain. It is a very flavorful drink, with a sharp, spicy and sometimes floral or perfumed taste and aroma. Rejection by drinkers of that very pungent flavor led to rye’s decline and bourbon’s rise, but after the reign of tasteless vodkas and rums, flavorful drinks are back.
    At straight rye’s high end, Heaven Hill’s new Rittenhouse Very Rare 21-Year-Old Single Barrel Straight Rye Whiskey joins the Classic Cask 21-year-old, Hirsch 21-year-old and Sazerac 18-year-old. All are flavor monsters, not for the faint of heart, and should be served neat or with room temperature water.
These products are all examples of two recent and surprising trends in American whiskey, the rebirth of straight rye and the interest in long aging. Rye, even more so than bourbon, stands up well to wood and provides an excellent balance of flavors in these most ancient expressions.
    All the ones above are terrific pours, but pricey, and you need to know your customers very well before you make that kind of investment.
Also pricey, not for its age but for its small batch production, is Old Potrero, the only whiskey made from 100 percent malted rye. Though technically a rye, this whiskey has a very distinctive flavor and really is in a class by itself.
Slightly more affordable but still top shelf are the new Thomas H. Handy Uncut and Unfiltered Rye from Buffalo Trace, and the Michter’s 10-year-old.
For everyday pours and cocktails, good choices are the Sazerac 8-year-old (with its very eye-catching bottle), the standard Michter’s rye and the Rittenhouse bottled-in-bond. Rounding out the list are stalwarts Old Overholt, Jim Beam Rye and Wild Turkey Rye.
        And, while we are on the subject, there are three bourbons that contain twice as much rye as the standard recipe. They are Bulleit, Old Grand-Dad and Basil Hayden. A standard bourbon is about 15 percent rye; Bulleit, Grand-Dad and Hayden are all about 30 percent; and the straight ryes are right at the legal minimum of 51 percent. Patrons who favor these high rye bourbons may be good candidates for straight rye.
Many people still confuse American straight rye whiskey with Canadian whisky. The Canadian producers also are trying to cash in on the recent interest in rare and super-premium spirits. Crown Royal’s latest bid is its new XR expression, which contains the last whisky made at the Waterloo Distillery in Ontario. Established in 1857, Waterloo was where the Seagram’s empire began.

Playful & Profitable 
    Among the whiskies of Scotland, where long aging has long been the norm, some of the most interesting products are youngish –– in the 10- to 12-year-old range –– and something equally rare; they are being made and marketed with a spirit of fun.
    Compass Box started the trend, with expressions like “Peat Monster,” a vatted malt (which means it is all malt whiskey, but from multiple distilleries) stuffed full of smoke, and “Hedonism,” an unusual vatting of Scottish grain whiskies. Another example is Smokehead, an Islay malt with a lot of, well, everything, but especially peaty smoke.
The fact that these products show a willingness by scotch producers to kick up their kilts a bit is at least as important as the whiskies themselves. Rejoining this party are two perennial favorites in the funny name category, Sheep Dip and Pig’s Nose, which have long been absent from the U.S. market. Sheep Dip is a vatted malt while Pig’s Nose is a blend (a mixture of malt and grain whiskies).
    Some traditional names also are offering non-traditional expressions, typically as vattings. One example is Isle of Jura Superstition, which mellows a very peaty, Islay-style malt with another that is much softer. Among the youngish single malts with marquee names, the 10-year-old Ardbeg and Balvenie 12-year-old double wood are both superior.
    Whiskey producers of every ilk like to promote their rarest and oldest expressions, because those are the most expensive and profitable bottles. That is fine if you have that kind of customer, but most operators don’t have many patrons looking to pay $40 or $50 per drink. The nice thing about almost all American whiskeys, as well as some of these young Scottish singles and "fun" vatted malts, is their affordability. Pig’s Nose may not have the prestige of a 30-year-old Laphroaig, but it will turn over a lot faster.
    Another benefit of some of the more playful products is that they are easy to recommend in a busy club where your bartender can’t have a long discussion with the customer. A whisky called “Sheep Dip” or “Hedonism” is easy to recommend and pretty hard to resist.                      NCB

Charles K. Cowdery is the author of "Bourbon, Straight: The Uncut and Unfiltered Story of American Whiskey," as well as an expert in the field of whisky and whiskey. For more information, e-mail him at