The booze business loves to invent holidays.
Negroni Week, National Cocktail Day, Tequila Day, Whiskey Day, Peat Week, and International Cachaça Day are just a few examples of self-serving “holidays” created to hopefully create a pop in hooch sales. Hell, even Whiskey Sour Day is a thing.
While we always approach these “days” with a skeptical eye, we also love any excuse to drink. So when we discovered May 13th was billed Rye-day the 13th by Maryland’s Sagamore Spirit Company, honoring the launch of their first spirit on Friday, May 13th, 2016, we decided to have some fun with it. So in mock salute of one of our favorite spirits, we raise our glass and indulge in this complex and spicy whiskey by presenting 10 varieties worth sipping right now.
Alberta Premium Rye Whisky
80 proof (40% ABV); $28
Finally available in the United States, Canada’s mega-popular Alberta Premium is made with 100% Canadian “prairie” rye grains nourished with glacier-fed spring water from the Rocky Mountains. We don’t know if the mountainous water source has anything to do with this abundantly approachable whiskey’s brown sugar and cinnamon flavors and smooth vanilla finish, but we don’t care. Let’s have another!
WhistlePig Roadstock Rye
86 proof (43% ABV); $80
WhistlePig took a semi-trailer full of barrels of their rye whiskey transferred to Bordeaux wine barrels from Jordan Winery and sent it on a 6,000-mile journey across the USA. Starting From their home in Vermont, the semi containing this rye wound its way to California, where the whiskey entered beer barrels from Firestone Walker Brewing Company. Once filled, the rye was driven back to Vermont, where it was married with classic WhistlePig aged in virgin oak barrels. The result is a sweet juice with raspberry jam, brown sugar, and toasted cedar.
George Dickel X Leopold Bros Collaboration Blend Rye Whisky
50% ABV, 100 proof; $110
Todd Leopold Colorado’s Leopold Bros Distillery built a virtually extinct three-chamber still, an expensive and less efficient style than the modern column style or old-school pot still that is also known to extract max flavor from the grains. Leopold teamed up with Dickel master distiller Nicole Austin to combine his three-chamber made rye with Dickel’s column-still juice for this limited expression. The result? An incredibly creamy whiskey with big notes of citrus and rye grain combined with a balancing sweetness.
Basil Hayden Dark Rye
80 proof (40% ABV); $40
The folks at Basil Hayden blended their Kentucky straight juice with Alberta Distillery’s Canadian Rye and a bit of California Port to create this dark, intensely warm rye whiskey. Designed as a pr-prohibition-style Maryland style rye, the combination creates a sweet, dark fruit-forward taste, with lots of cherries and black currant on top of a layer of oak and leather.
Dad’s Hat Pennsylvania Rye Whiskey
90 proof 45% ABV); $6
Dad’s Hat represents a true pre-prohibition Pennsylvania-style (including only rye and malted barley), a straight rye whiskey focused on the spicy “Monongahela ” style from days of yore. Laden with peppery aromas, Dad’s Hat coats your mouth with signature rye spices, giving way to hints of bread and chocolate before leaving a slightly lingering and satisfying burn.
King’s County Distillery Empire Rye Whiskey
102 proof, (51% ABV); $78
Made from 80% Danko rye grown in the state of New York (and hence earning the New York-specific “Empire Rye” designation), this Brooklyn-born, unapologetically youthful whiskey reflects the rye style you’d likely find in 19th century East Coast taverns. Aged two years in charred oak barrels, expect notes of nutmeg and chocolate laced with bread and spices.
Old Potrero Single Malt Straight Rye Whiskey
97 proof (48.5% ABV); $78
Fritz Maytag, the man behind Anchor Brewing in San Francisco and oft considered the OG of the micro-brew movement, began making rye whiskey in 1993. This was long before the idea of “craft whiskey” was on anyone’s radar. Since then, Old Potrero has become known for small batches of intensely flavored rye you might have found in any western saloon long ago. This malt rye expression features intense notes of cinnamon and peppercorn, with hints of sugar and vanilla.
Jefferson’s Ocean Raised at Sea Rye
96 proof (48% ABV); $80
Jefferson’s Bourbon founder Trey Zoller sent 26 batches of whiskey around the world to finish on ships since its inaugural voyage in 2015. But here is their first rye, a fully mature double-barrel expression, to hit the open seas. After floating around the ocean in open-air shipping containers for eight months, the result procured distinct undertones of tobacco and leather, spice and cinnamon. But don’t miss the hint of salinity that no doubt developed on the open waters.
Balcones Texas Rye
100 proof (50% ABV); $35
Based in Waco, Balcones master distiller Jared Himstedt blends a selection of four pot stilled rye grains, including Elbon Rye from northwest Texas, to create their signature 100% rye whiskey. Hiimstedt artfully coaxes the finest attributes from each grain, procuring flavors of chocolate, baking spice, and a pepper finish that’s all enveloped in a rich, chewy mouthfeel.
Sagamore Signature Rye
83 proof (41.5% ABV); $45
It’d be a crime to not include the company that not only started Rye-day the 13th but helped spark the resurrection of Maryland-style rye. Sagamore’s Signature Rye is a blend of high and low rye mashbills aged four to six years in heavily charred oak. What’s in the bottle is a bold, complex sip that starts with sweet citrus and dark spices and transitions to peppery wood and walnut before finishing with brown sugar.
Clint Lanier is a professor in the English Department of New Mexico State University. He is also the co-author of Drunken History, Bucket List Bars: Historic Saloons, Pubs, and Dives of America, and Craptails: the World’s Worst, Weirdest, and Most Disturbing Drinks. He has also written about spirits and travel for The Huffington Post, Fodors, Eater, and Liquor.com.
