Old Overholt Rye & The Thirty Second Staredown

Old Overholt is arguably the most enduring staple of the American whiskey landscape.  The next time you find yourself near a bottle, do me a favor.  Grab that dusty bottle of rye and look Mr. Overholt right in the eyes.  Now, you have to do this for at least a good thirty seconds, for this to work, so don’t give in to his penetrating gaze.  If you don’t crumble like some seventeen year-old kid who managed to sneak into the strip club only to be stared down by a half nude mid-thirties stripper named Candy who knows the jig is up, Ole’ Holty might take it easy on you.  If not, those yellow label manhattans, in classic Candy fashion, are likely to get the best of you in a dusty hallway closet that smells strangely of moth balls and StarKist tuna.  Read more

Jim Beam New (ri)1 Rye Review

After spending most of the last decade of my life surrounded by shelves of liquor, I have come to the definitive conclusion that different spirits have distinctive personalities. And, up until today, I was pretty sure who rye was. Now, I’m not so sure. There was a day when I knew everyone in the bar, and I then this whole new Jim Beam (ri) thing happened. Now I’m wondering what the heck is going on and re-evaluating everyone trying to figure out who is who. Read more

Air Infusions: Smoked Rye

I’ve got two obsessive hobbies: cocktails and large South American tropical fish. The .0005% of the world’s people who appreciate the cocktails don’t understand the fish, and the .0005% of the world’s people who appreciate the fish don’t understand the cocktails. I might be the only link between these two strange groups of hobbyists. Generally, my two hobbies have nothing to do with one another - the fish don’t like to drink I guess - but, I finally found a way to use my fish and cocktail knowledge together. The result was a delicious bottle of house-smoked Sazerac rye whisky.

This idea was hatched a few months ago when I was exploring the concept of smoked cocktails. While I have refined the idea of incorporating smoke into cocktails quite well since those writings, I still wanted to try my original idea of smoking a bottle of liquor itself. The problem with most other methods for incorporating smoke into a cocktail is that the smoke must piggy-back on some other medium, like a syrup, fruit, herb, etc. This introduces an additional flavor to a drink, that while tasty at times, limits the element of smoke to cocktails that use these types of ingredients. Unleashing the full potential of smoke in cocktails requires the introduction of smoke into a spirit without altering the spirit in any other way.

Enter the fish tank aerator. This device is usually used to force air into a fish tank in order to provide fish with air. The aerator simply collects the surrounding air and forces it into an airline which is connected to an airstone or airbar placed inside of a fish tank. This aerator is generally surrounded by clean, oxygen friendly air, which makes happy, healthy fish. A deadly error made by fish keepers, however, is spraying Lysol or other aerosols around fish tanks or aerators. The Lysol is taken in by the aerator forced into the tank, and the owner’s precious fish die, because Lysol kills germs…and fish. They should put this whole sequence on a commercial and point out that if the fish don’t have a chance, neither do the germs.

Now take these same principles and place that aerator on a smoke stack. And, instead of running the airline into a fish tank, place the end of the line in a bottle of Sazerac rye. The aerator takes in the smoke and forces it into the rye. The smoke, which is alcohol and water soluble, takes hold of the spirit and slowly changes it over time into a tasty beverage even Samuel L. Jackson would be proud of. The only thing to watch for here is the potential for the aerator to overheat. Make sure that your stack is not too hot and use a smoker that has a large distance between the fire and chimney opening. Taste your rye or whatever you desire every 30 minutes or so and pull the line out when you’ve reached your desired smokiness.

Some have suggested using liquid smoke instead of smoking a spirit as a method for accomplishing the same result. However, liquid smoke is far more intense and difficult to control. Air infusing a spirit takes time and allows for one to stop the introduction of smoke at any point, creating more control over the final result, and eventual cocktails. Moreover, smoking a spirit yourself allows for you to use any type of wood to obtain a more specific smoke profile. Our rye was smoked with the smoker at the bar for example, and we used the same wood we smoke all of our meats with, maple and red oak. Any wood would work so, the potential for using all sorts of different wood, like mesquite or some other crazy foreign wood I haven’t heard of, could create some extremely complex spirits with as much subtlety or boldness as one would desire.

I love smoke elements in cocktails, and I think that smoke properties are an overlooked trait in mixology. Between the air infusion presented here and my other posts on smoked cocktails, I think the methodology for adding smoke to cocktails has been presented somewhat extensively. I would love to hear what others are doing with smoke and find out if anyone has heard of any new smokey cocktails since my last posts on the subject. Also, please try this out and tell me how your air infusion works. I’m pretty sure this idea is a first, but I wouldn’t be surprised if there where other fish/cocktails fans out there.

 

Carpano Punt E Mes

I consider one of my purposes in life to introduce Campari to as many people as possible. I just think you should try and make a difference in the world before you go. But, helping people to appreciate Campari is kind of like teaching a child to play catch. You know you’re going to hit them in the face, but this is something they need to learn so they can enjoy future experiences. Similarly, it can be difficult to lead someone down the pathway towards Campari as bitterness is often a powerful and distinct flavor. So, I start with a softer ball of bitterness, Punt E Mes.

Punt E Mes is a type of Italian vermouth that has a bitter component similar to Campari. Punt E Mes, which literally translates to “point and a half”, was named after a stock market jump which was commemorated through the Italian aperitif. The bitter qualities of this delicious libation basically add another dimension to a traditional, bold sweet vermouth. This can, when used correctly, form a more complex structure in cocktails as well.

If you like trying different types of vermouth instead of settling for everyday staples, I would strongly recommend picking up a bottle of Punt E Mes to play with in your favorite cocktails calling for sweet vermouth. This approach helps to demonstrate the unique qualities of Punt E Mes because there is an established standard for comparison between the newly created cocktail and the standard recipe. If you want to try a cocktail that calls for Punt E Mes; check this one out (from Sammy Ross of Milk and Honey I think):

Red Hook

2 oz Rye
1/2 Punt E Mes
1/2 Maraschino Liqueur (Luxardo)

Stir and strain into a cocktail glass. Garnish with an orange twist.

The Red Hook (not to be confused with a brewery that was once making good beers before being bought by the beer leviathan, A.B.) is one of those outstanding cocktails that carefully utilizes each ingredient in a manner that is extremely well-balanced, despite its varied spectrum of flavors. The bitterness in the Punt E Mes is held in check by the sweetness in the maraschino; essentially, you get an awesome cocktail similar to the Manhattan with a wider spectrum of flavors. I like to also add 2 dashes of Regan’s Orange Bitters and 1 dash of Angostura to my Red Hooks. I find that like Campari, small amounts of orange flavors compliment the bitterness in Punt E Mes extremely well.

Punt E Mes is one of those ingredients that is overlooked far too often by cocktail enthusiasts. It adds an entirely different dimension when used in cocktails, that otherwise would lack a bitter component. My ongoing efforts to share the beauty of Campari with the world may not appear to be the most noble of pursuits, but man, it is soooo good. You’ve just got to want to share it with people if you have a humanitarian bone in you.

Unfortunately, my approach of using Punt E Mes as a gateway aperitif is a bit unfair to the vermouth. Punt E Mes shouldn’t just be a Campari sidekick. Actually, they are very distinct, and, aside from their bitter elements, don’t really have all that much in common. Punt E Mes is independently a wonderful ingredient that needs to be used for its precise makeup. Perhaps, it is ignored because of people like me opting for Campari too often. This is a grave mistake that is destroying the possibility for countless great cocktails with less focus on bitterness. Ok, new mission, share the Punt E Mes with the world.

A Rye Tasting of Sorts

This past weekend I held an informal rye tasting at my house with a few friends. The rye was kind of a side note to the companionship and food, but it took place anyway. And, I am here to report the results. The intoxicated panelists included myself, two other bartenders, and two chefs, so I think we had some type of credentials for rating rye, though our exercise may have lacked the attention to detail required for a more accurate assessment of the rye whiskeys before us. If you’d like a to look at a precisely educated rye tasting with a larger number of ryes, I would suggest heading over to The Cocktail Chronicles and checking out Paul’s series on rye, as it is definitely the most educational read on rye out there. But, if you want to hear what five intoxicated companions felt about rye on their day off, well this is your place!

To begin, we each had been consuming food, wine, and beer for some time before getting into the rye, so take this ranking with whatever grain of salt you will assess to our circumstances. Additionally, some of the participants had never had rye…never. So, this was by no means a committee of focused experts. However, the guy who had never knowingly had rye definitely had the most experienced palate and ranked the ryes most accurately when compared to the rest of the group. Additionally, should you choose to host a tasting of any sort, one thing to consider is glassware. I have been to many tastings, but I guess I just underestimated the setup for conducting my own. We were tasting ryes out of everything from champagne flutes to pint glass, from wine glasses to shot glasses. Anything that held liquid was fair game. Glassware can definitely impact one’s perceptions of the elixir before them, so again, the rankings may have been influenced a bit. So, there, now you know where we coming from, let’s move on to what we were drinking.

We scrapped together as many ryes as we could get on our hands on in a twenty-four hour period without spending too much money and came up with the following collection for review, listed by price here:

Rittenhouse Bonded - $11
Old Overholt - $13
Wild Turkey - $18
Russell’s Reserve - $22
Sazerac - $25
Sazerac’s Thomas Handy - $52
Sazerac’s 18 Year - $54

I list these by prices because, as with many of spirits, it is interesting to note the disparity between prices and assessment when people are unaware of the labels. Our combined rankings firmly demonstrated this phenomenon. Moreover, I was surprised, considering the circumstances, at how well our rankings reflected the consensus of critics that I have read other places, like The Cocktail Chronicles, eGullet, and others. While there were some obvious differences, overall the similarities were apparent. Most surprising was the difference between the lower ranking bottles and the best. We combined each participant’s rank for each brand to find a rough score, which we ranked to identify our group’s preferences. Here’s a run-down of the rankings in reverse order with notes that the panel managed to jot down between ongoing consumption:

7. Russell’s Reserve Rye - Combined Score: 27 (7,7,6,5,&2)
Only one person liked this rye, and we made sure to criticize him rather relentlessly for his preference. We even convinced him to buy the bottle and take it home for market value! He thought the whiskey had an outstanding rye quality and “got so much out of it”. The rest of us didn’t think so. We thought this rye was bland and offered very little other than an unpleasant alcohol burn. There was some spiciness to the rye, but generally, we felt the rye had little diversity and minimal rye characteristics compared to the others. Even with the high rank of 2 from one member, the Russell’s Reserve was by far the poorest performer, ranking 16 points behind the first place rye. This occurred despite its fourth highest price tag.

6. Old Overholt Rye - Combined Score: 25 (7,6,4,4,&4)
Bland, bland, bland. We all agreed that this rye had nothing to offer at all. A few people mentioned that this rye might work well in some cocktails where a more mellow whiskey was desired, but these statements were really just made to try and find something positive to say about Old Overholt. The rye’s inability to make an impression may result from its low proof, a consequence of cutting the rye too much at the distillery. As some at eGullet have suggested, perhaps this rye would have performed better had it been allowed to appear in its more natural state.

5. Sazerac’s 18 Year Rye - Combined Score: 24 (7,5,5,5,&2)
This one was kind of the shocker. The most expensive rye in the group got a nod of disapproval from the panel. People felt that the caramel nose was so overpowering that it almost seemed artificial. Additionally, the rye, according to the panel, lacked the spiciness of the other ryes upon tasting. This may suggest that ryes benefit from lesser aging than traditional whiskeys. However, one participant felt the rye was outstanding and expressed how the effects of the barrel found in the best whiskeys carefully aged for extended periods of time were exhibited so well in this bottling. He understood the arguments of the others, but still felt that the bottle, fundamentally, as a whiskey, was amazing, though it might have not been the typical rye. This difference had not occurred to me until the tasting, and I thought about it for some time after everyone had left. By the way, I was the rebel…

4. Sazerac Rye - Combined Score: 23 (7,7,4,3,&2)
Before this tasting, I considered the Sazerac to be one of my favorites, but this rye was determined by the group to be rather tasteless as well. While it had a definite rye flavor, the whiskey offered very little diversity and did not hide its burn very well. Compared to the Sazerac 18, however, it seemed to be a more typical rye and met the expectations of this genre of whiskey better than the older brother. Perhaps, a middle ground between the two would reveal a more ideal rye, but more on that later…

3. Rittenhouse Bonded Rye - Score: 20 (6,6,4,2,&2)
This rye was the most controversial, and for the most part, people either loved or hated it. Those that liked the Rittenhouse thought that it had a very diverse profile, including characteristics of earth, sweetness, and spice. The traditional rye spice was prototypical to 3 of the members. The two members who ranked it sixth, if I remember correctly, felt the presence of the alcohol and the spiciness covered up too much of the rye’s other attributes. Despite their thoughts, it is easy to see why this rye is a favored brand for mixing as it rye qualities will definitely stand out in a cocktail and make a dramatic and pleasing difference.

2. Sazerac’s Thomas Handy Rye - Score: 12 (6,3,1,1,&1)
Had it not been for one member, no, not the same guy who liked the Russell’s Reserve, the Thomas Handy would have nearly cleared the boards. Three number one’s, more than any other rye made this one a favorite. Perhaps, a different scoring method should have been used. Some competitions use a “majority of one’s” method for ranking, but retrospectively thinking about methods for analysis seems rather pointless for such an unofficial exercise. Maybe I am just trying to push the Handy into first because it is so good. The difference in points between third and second place is enormous, a full eight points, more than the difference between seventh and third. The was such a separation between third and second that it showed our group really felt there was a dramatic separation in quality between the lower ranking group (seventh-third) and the higher ranking group (second and first). The Thomas Handy seemed to be the ideal Sazerac rye I spoke of earlier, having definite rye elements (like the younger Sazerac) with the improved impacts of higher proof and aging (like the Sazerac 18). If you find a bottle of this in your local store, do not hesitate to pick it up, it is worth its price and more.

And the winner is…

1. Wild Turkey Rye - Combined Score: 11 (3,3,3,1, &1)
For most, it was this or the Thomas Handy. The Turkey surprised us all. We felt that it had a very unique taste and, while the rye shone through, offered a very diverse profile. Everyone agreed that it would work well in cocktails and stand magnificently alone, a multi-purpose label that was not given to any other rye. Also, everyone liked this rye, which could not be said for any other, as they each had at least one person who was not a fan. I have never been a huge fan of the Turkey myself, seeking out other brands instead, but even I liked the rye in a blind tasting. With a price tag of eighteen dollars, it is hard to find anything better, even when compared to the Handy. I will absolutely be treating this rye with more respect in the future. Everyone talks about the Rittenhouse Bonded being such an exceptional rye for mixing and budgeted, which it is, but for eight dollars more the Turkey is making a similar case. Most exciting, the Turkey is one of the most accessible ryes produced today, available in nearly every American market. So, if you have been struggling to find some of the rarer ryes, you might want to just relax and realize that there is something wonderful sitting on the shelf that might be dismissed because of its common appearance and the bad collegiate memories the brand conjures. Nevertheless, the Turkey can now list this committee’s ranking with other awards it has won. I might even need to send them an award - First Place: The Unofficial Inebriated Houston Rye Tasting Dayoffers Council.

Well, there you have it a rundown of our activities and an all around great time. We had so much fun we are going to try and do more tastings in the future and will report back with our intoxicated champagne flute results for your unreliable shopping needs. Rye is definitely the new hit spirit because of its wonderful character and tremendous use in cocktails. Few people realize that cocktail staples, such as the Old-Fashioned and the Manhattan were traditionally conceived with rye and just don’t taste the same without it. It was the whiskey of the Whiskey Rebellion and carries more history with it than any other American spirit. Its reappearance in markets today is a testimony to the improving palate of imbibers everywhere and should encourage more people to try new products, especially those that come from a past time or method. It is an affordable and outstanding spirit, so go to your store right now if don’t have one and pick up some. Maybe even get seven bottles, a few friends, and figure out which ones you like best. The rye and the event will not disappoint.

Kentucky Distillery Tours Continued - Buffalo Trace

I wanted to get back to discussing the tours that I went on before I left the Midwest as being here feels like a more appropriate place to write about them. The Buffalo Trace Distillery Tour was a little different than all of the rest for one simple reason: I was the only one on the tour.

I arrived at the Buffalo Trace Distillery early in the morning because it was closest to my hotel, opened sooner than the others, and would help me get to the other tours on time. This may be why I am the only one who showed up for the tour; people generally don’t engage in tasting this early, but hey, they were ready for those of us who do! This individual attention allowed me to ask several questions, and I probably had more inquiries while on this tour than the others because of the wide range of products that are made at the site. Here’s a list of some of the products that are made at the Buffalo Trace Distillery:

 

 

Whiskeys -

Ancient Age – 5 & 10 Year Old; 80, 86, 90 and 100 Proof
Benchmark – “Rye Recipe”; 80 Proof
Blanton’s – Single Barrel; “Rye Recipe”; 93 Proof
Buffalo Trace – 9 Year Old
Eagle Rare – Single Barrel; 10 Year Old; 90 Proof
Eagle Rare – 17 Year Old
Elmer T. Lee – Single Barrel; 10 Year Old; 90 Proof
George T. Stagg – 15 Year Old
Hancock’s Reserve – Single Barrel; 8 Year Old; 88.9 Proof
Old Charter – 8, 10, 12, & 13 Year Old; 80, 86, & 90 Proof
Rock Hill Farms – “Rye Recipe”; 100 Proof
Sazerac– Rye Whiskey; 6 & 9 Year Old
Thomas H. Handy – Rye Whiskey
Van Winkle – 10, 12, 15, 20, & 23 Year Old
W. L. Weller – “Wheated Bourbon”; 7, 10, & 12 Year Old; 90, 100, & 107 Proof

Others –

Rain Vodka – Organic
Regan’s Orange Bitters

I think I got all of that information right; I used a pamphlet that I received at the tour to make sure I got everything and didn’t include any in formation that wasn’t on the packet because I wanted to make sure I was accurate. The distillery also makes some other products I think, but I can’t remember which they were. Nevertheless, the most impressive thing about this incomplete list is the amount of creativity and diversity that is produced at the Buffalo Trace Distillery. It is truly a site of innovation.

While the distillery is certainly a place of varied production, this makes touring the multiple processes of productions more difficult. Instead of being permitted to tour the actual distillation equipment and facilities, I was shown a video that didn’t really detail the distillation process and would have fit as a generic introduction at any distillery. While this was a bit disappointing, such an approach might be beneficial for some people as a first tour because this video was simple and would be helpful for those who are unfamiliar with whiskey production.

The Warehouse

The highlight of the tour was clearly the warehouse, which Buffalo Trace really uses to impact the taste of their whiskeys. I was told that the middle of three floors at Buffalo Trace’s main warehouse is where the most important whiskeys are stored. The middle floor experiences the most flux in temperature and humidity which increases the potential for the whiskey to move in and out of the wood. The warehouse was also extremely old and had endured several floods from the nearby Kentucky River as evidenced by the waterlines which were about 15 feet up the walls.

The warehouse additionally held testing barrels which were being used to test different varieties of developmental whiskeys. Seeing those barrels just makes you wonder what could be in store for us next! New ryes? Another wheated bourbon? Who knows? The warehouse also, despite being one of the oldest in Kentucky, was the best kept out of those that I toured. The barrels showed the greatest integrity and were stored in clean warehouse which you could tell was attended to with the greatest detail.

The Bottling Plant

Buffalo Trace has several different bottling plants, but I was allowed access into one of the bottling plants where they were hand bottling Blanton’s and Eagle Rare 17 Year Old. More than anything that I learned at the bottling plant, I remember the people the most. They were the nicest group of people by far that I interacted with at any of the tours. There were about 30 people in the plant, and every single one of them said hello to me as I passed. Yes, this was probably a result of me being at the tour by myself, but that type of hospitality really made my experience so much more enjoyable. The bottling plant tour also allowed me to see the proof regulation of the whiskies which was done before bottling. Several of the bourbons were held in tanks at different temperature and my guide really emphasized the difference in the aroma of the whiskies which were at different temperatures, which one can really notice when drinking whiskey on the rocks or straight.

The Tasting Room

I had hoped that I would get to taste some Thomas Handy or something in the tasting room, but obviously that was expecting way too much. Instead, I got to taste Buffalo Trace Bourbon and Eagle Rare Single Barrel. I had previously had each of these whiskies before so I really wasn’t that interested in the tasting, but I was so much more conscious of the aroma when tasting the bourbons after being around the smell of bourbon which just engrosses you in the warehouse and bottling plant. Plus, who turns down free whiskey? The gift shop also had almost every bottle as far as I could tell that they produced on the site, including some Rain and Regan’s orange bitters, which I picked up. I wanted to get some other stuff (and now regret that I didn’t take the opportunity), but I was trying to make this a budget trip, so I didn’t want to get carried away that early in the day.

The tour was one of my favorites because of the people at the distillery. My tour guide and the people working at the distillery really made my experience memorable, and I would highly recommend going on the tour. The grounds of the property are beautiful and surrounded by history, and the Buffalo Trace Distillery truly represents the best of Kentucky values which is reflected in the products they create. It made the whole trip worthwhile, but after leaving Buffalo Trace I headed directly (well not “directly” – I got lost) for some Woodford Reserve. Be sure to check back soon for my review of this tour and some information on Woodford Reserve.