Rock & Rye

This month I will be resuming my series of classes on different spirits at the Bayou Oyster Bar.

This month’s class will be January 15th at 6:00pm, and we will be looking at the history of American Whiskey. We will dig into the main types of American Whiskey, enjoy some cocktails, and take part in a tasting of a variety of some bourbon and rye whiskies.

The class will be limited to 10 people, so if you are interested, or know anyone who is, reserve your spot now at the Bayou Oyster Bar, preferably between the hours of 5:00-7:00pm. It should be informative and a lot of fun, and I hope to see you there. Cheers!

This last Friday, Beam Inc, purchased the Cooley Distillery, the last remaining Irish owned distillery, for about $95 million. Cooley owns and produces the Kilbeggan, Connemar, Tyrconnell and Greenore brands, and operates two distilleries, Kilbeggan in County Westmeath and Cooley in County Louth.

Beam said Cooley’s status as one of only three sources for Irish whiskey, and the only independent company, makes the acquisition a compelling chance to get into one of the industry’s highest growth categories. Beam shares rose 35 cents to $50 in morning trading Friday. Its shares are up from a 52-week low of $42.30 in early October.

In the last year, Irish whiskey sales have grown 11.5%. Beam’s acquisition of Cooley will allow them to bring those products to a much wider audience, as well as hopefully to inject some cash in to an Irish economy that has been struggling for the past couple of years. This purchase, coupled with Pernod-Ricard’s €100 Million expansion of the Middleton distillery will hopefully boost Irish Whiskey back into the prominence it deserves.

While it’s sad to think that there are no remaining Irish distillers out there, it takes cash to produce a product, and global spirits companies are able to bring products to a wide variety of people who otherwise would know nothing about them. And hey, you never know, but just maybe we will see a resurgence of smaller craft distillers popping up in Ireland.

Fremont Mischief Distillery is another of Seattle’s newest craft distilleries. At this distillery they are producing four products; John Jacob Rye Whiskey, Fremont Mischief Rye Whiskey, Fremont Mischief Gin, and Fremont Mischief Wheat Vodka. Today we will be taking a look at the Fremont Mischief Whiskey.

This whiskey is an 8 year old, 90 proof, rye whiskey. So how can a distillery licensed for only a year already have a product that claims to be aged eight years? As it turns out, both the John Jacob and Fremont Mischief are distilled following the same family recipe, the former being produced in Seattle from Washington grown grain, the latter being distilled in Canada. Both are bottled at their respective proofs at the Seattle location with artesian water from Mt Rainier. So let’s see how this rye whiskey stands up to the competition.

Upon opening the short squat bottle you are greeted with fantastic caramel and vanilla notes, but not much else. A little bit of peppery spice and alcohol aromas, but those are very muted. On the tongue the whiskey definitely picks it up a notch with lots of spicy notes, more caramel, and some oaky notes. Other than that, this whiskey seems a little thin in flavor, and the finish is long and dry, but a little alcoholic with some slightly bitter undertones. Perhaps not the best whiskey to be sipping neat. What this spirit really seems suited for is cocktails, although it is still not quite bold enough to be a go to whiskey in my Manhattans. Overall I think that the eight years in a barrel is more negative than positive as most of the kick seems to have been stripped from this whiskey. While this particular whiskey was not really my cup of tea, I do look forward to trying some of Fremont Mischief’s other products. Cheers!

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A truly forgotten cocktail, this next drink comes to us courtesy of Mr Brooks Baldwin’s grandmother. Given to her by her mother in law just prior to WWI, this recipe was meant to be bottled and served from a decanter as need arose. This was very much the style for many households in the pre-prohibition era, and a style of great convenience as well. As there are no fruit juices present, this concoction would keep for quite a spell. This cocktail appears to be a variation on the also forgotten Zazerac Cocktail, but with enough difference to warrant its own name. The following recipe has been scaled down to 2 maybe 3 drinks.

The Mother-In-Law Cocktail
1 tsp Peychaud’s Bitters
1 tsp Angostura Bitters
1 tsp Amer Picon
1/2 oz Orange Curacao
1/2 oz Simple Syrup
1/2 oz Maraschino Liqueur
9 oz Bourbon

A couple of years ago, when I was first starting to get into cocktails, one of my observations was that a awful lot of classic drinks called for rye whiskey as a base. Well, here in WA state, the rye selection was abysmal at best. In my particular area the only option was Old Overholt. Not a bad whiskey by any means, but all those bourbon lovers had their selection, why couldn’t the rye lovers have theirs. Well times have changed and we have an ever expanding selection to choose from. I myself have more ryes than any other variety of whiskey, and that is an exciting thing.

On March 1st, Bulleit released their latest product, a 90 proof rye whiskey with a grain bill of 95% rye and 5% malted barley, aged between 4 and 7 years. The product is said to be distilled at Lawrenceburg Distillers, the same distillery that produces Templeton Rye. So how does it stack up? Lets take a look.

Bulleit Rye pours a light amber color indicative of a much younger whiskey. It has aromas of dry spice, some cherry, tobacco, and a kind of yeasty ester that I can’t quite place. The taste is superb. Very crisp taste with a punch of peppery spiciness. The muted smokiness that is present in Bulleit’s bourbon is absent here, which is a little disappointing as it is something that I was expecting. A little caramelized toffee with some vanilla and oak flavors. The finish is long, with no sweetness whatsoever. I felt as if the mouthfeel was a little thin somehow, but all in all, an excellent rye whiskey at $32 here in WA. Cheers!

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