The Spirit World

We’ve covered Whiskey before, but Whiskey is the most complicated of the spirit categories, since within it there are several different types, and often a little bit of confusion ensues. So I’d like to dive into this topic a little deeper, and hopefully shed a little light on it, starting with rye whiskey.

One of the biggest problems I encounter with rye is that far too many people confuse it with Canadian whiskey. To understand this situation, you need to understand the history of rye whiskey in America.

Whiskey, of course, had its start in Ireland and Scotland. Today, there are specific definitions on the books as to exactly what goes into whiskies from those regions; such was not always the case. Back in the “colonial” days, it was all just about distilling spirit. There were rough and general categories, but for the most part, anything goes. Grain was used to make the spirits in Ireland and Scotland mostly because that was what there was enough of to do the job. When emigrants came to America, they brought those skills with them. They didn’t have a specific recipe that they were attempting to duplicate, instead they focused on simply using the grains available, and employing the mechanics of distillation to achieve their end results.

It’s hard to precisely say in those days exactly what the “mash-bill” (the “recipe” of grains used) for whiskies was in those days, but I’m sure it was all over the place. Gradually, however, it became the norm for rye to be one of the more predominate grains to be used. I expect somebody out there who knows more about grain usage through history could detail if this was because there was more rye grown than other grains, or if the other grains were in more demand for other usage. Whatever the reason, the percentage of rye in these whiskies was higher than the other grains.

During this time, the majority of the population of what would become the United States was along the east coast. As countries are want to do, finding creative ways to raise funds to finance the infrastructure was just as popular then as it is today. Taxation has always been a favorite mechanism, and finding ways to apply taxation so that it appears fair and just is always the goal, but often difficult to achieve. Liquor often seems to be the fall guy when it comes to taxation, perhaps because it really isn’t a necessity, but regarded as more of a luxury. So heavy taxes were levied on the manufacture of whiskey back in the late 1700’s, resulting in what is known as the Whiskey Rebellion. During this time, many distillers packed up and headed west so as to hide from the federal tax collectors. Those that stayed continued to make their whiskey, which continued to be distributed amongst the heavily populated eastern seaboard.

Many of these distillers grew their factories to meet the increasing demand. While rum had once been the most commonly consumed spirit in America, whiskey soon took over, with the rye-heavy whiskey in the east being far easier to obtain than the corn-heavy whiskey which was being produced by the tax-evaders who set up shop in and around Kentucky. With inter-state transportation still fairly difficult, even the whiskey that would make its way to the west coast would be the east coast produced rye whiskey.

American’s drank whiskey. And the whiskey American’s drank the most of, was made primarily from rye. It’s spicy and robust flavor seeming to be a natural match to the stereotypical pioneer spirit of the new world. This would remain true clear up until Prohibition. For American distillers, this was obviously a fateful occurrence. Distillation of alcohol was now illegal. This affected not just Americans, but whiskey drinkers the world over. American whiskey would no longer be available, to anybody. Distillers all up and down the eastern seaboard shut down, their former business space soon converted over to other uses. The cocktail, which was born in America, and had made great advancements in the last hundred years, suddenly lost one of its more important ingredients. What would bartenders do in England, when a visiting American might pine for a Manhattan cocktail? With no American rye whiskey available, what could they substitute? Fortunately, our friends to the north, were able to provide a partial solution since they could still legally produce their Canadian whisky, and while it was illegal for them to ship it into America, they were more than happy to ship it around the world to help replace the suddenly defunct American whiskey. This mindset of switching out American rye whiskey for Canadian whisky was so prevalent, that to this day you will still find many cocktail recipe books specifying Canadian whisky as the ingredient to use in cocktails which should actually be made with American whiskey.

Thankfully Prohibition would not last as long as originally intended. Ending in just a little over a decade, American whiskey would soon be able to make its way back to bars around the world. A problem however arose when the heavy curtain of Prohibition was finally pulled aside. The whiskey producers in the east had long since moved on to other things, their manufacturing plants had been repurposed, and their equipment dismantled. Their counterparts in the mid-west however did not suffer the same fate. Populations being far less dense, they had been able to simply lock up their businesses and let them sit it out, or in some cases even go underground and continue operations. So when Prohibition ended, the American whiskey distillers that fired their businesses back up again were mostly in the mid-west, which meant that Bourbon would now be the kingpin of American whiskey. And such as been the situation ever since.

Sure, rye whiskey is still being made, but in such diminished quantities as to almost render it inconsequential. Its character and appeal is considerably different from Bourbon. In describing the difference to people, I like to draw a comparison to that other grain-based product, bread. Imagine the difference between rye bread and corn bread. While not as pronounced, the difference between rye whiskey and bourbon (which is primarily made from corn) is along those same lines. Rye whiskey has a more spicy/savory character, while bourbon has a sweeter profile. Which should clearly illustrate the need for both products. I’m not sure I’d go for a Rueben sandwich made on corn bread.

Today, there are barely a handful of rye whiskies being manufactured, and many of those that are, are either priced at a premium level, or distributed in only limited amounts, or both. Here in Washington State, our state-owned liquor store system has an online database that you can use to check for availability of product. When “Whiskey-Bourbon” is selected, it comes back with a list of 125 products. When “Whiskey-Rye” is selected, a lonely list of 7 is returned: Old Potrero ($101), Rittenhouse 100 Proof ($15), Rittenhouse 80 Proof ($13), Black Maple Hill ($94), Wild Turkey ($21), Jim Beam ($18), and Old Overholt ($16). And just because they are listed, doesn’t mean they are available. Many liquor stores don’t carry any rye whiskey at all, and when they do, it is usually only one brand (either Old Overholt, or Jim Beam).

Gradually, we are seeing more interest in rye whiskey. First amongst cocktail connoisseurs looking to re-discover this classic spirit, and this is slowly getting the attention of various whiskey distillers. Hopefully, we will eventually see availability of American rye whiskey regaining enough of a foothold so that most bars will be able to carry it, and most bartenders will know how to use it.

So the next time you drop into a bar, order a Manhattan, and when they ask you which whiskey you want in it, ask them what ryes they have. Perhaps by illustrating the potential demand for a good American rye whiskey, we can help restore this product to the shelves sooner, rather than later.