Who invented rye whisky

Pennsylvania, a. It was a blend of malted and unmalted rye, with no corn or barley. The malted rye served the same role that malting provides in making Scotch; malting prodded along the fermentation process by providing the enzymes that open up the grain kernels and convert starches to sugars. By the end of the 19th century, though, Pennsylvania distillers moved from malted rye to malted barley in their mash bills. Still no corn. Some Monongahela-style ryes may have used sweet mash in the fermentation process.

In sweet-mash whiskeymaking, only fresh yeast is used, instead of sour mash from previous fermentations. Sweet mash has a higher pH than sour, which means it ferments differently, creating subtly different flavor profiles in the whiskey.

Nevertheless, by the 20th century, all Pennsylvania rye distillers had switched over to the sour-mash process. The flavor profile would, generally speaking, have been dry and spicy. Since most modern ryes have a larger amount of corn in the recipe than did Monongahela ryes, the Pennsylvania style would have tasted much less sweet than most of today's ryes.

Old Overholt and Rittenhouse were initially Monongahela ryes, but both are produced now in Kentucky, and neither brand maintains the original Monongahela-style recipes and mash bills. Both are excellent ryes, especially at their price points, but don't look to either one if you're hoping to taste history.

The last distillery making Monongahela rye closed in the s. It's aged in small barrels so-called quarter casks for six months.

The company is also reportedly working on a straight rye that will be aged in standard barrels for at least two years. Softer, rounder, brighter, and more floral than Monongahela, Maryland rye died as a style in the s and early '80s.

What I can't seem to find anywhere in my research is what the mash bill of the Maryland style was. I assume from reading about its flavor profile that it was a little lighter on the rye than the Pennsylvania style, and perhaps had some corn in it as well, but still less so than most of today's major rye brands. Today, the Leopold Brothers distillery is attempting to resurrect a Maryland-style rye.

The current Leopold bottling is a young whiskey, but Leopold has set aside a portion of its stocks for longer aging, though, and the older rye should be available in about 3 years. This is by no means a complete list of rye brands, but here's a basic guide to major distillers and a sampling of some of the craft ryes available.

First, though, here's an interesting fact you might not know about the whiskey industry. In Lawrenceburg, Indiana in the southeast corner of the state, near its borders with Ohio and Kentucky , sits a massive distillery, formerly owned by Seagrams.

Until recently, the facility was known as Lawrenceburg Distillers Indiana, or LDI, and you'll find that some whiskey writers still refer to it as such. The previous owners sold the plant recently, however, and it's now known as MGP Ingredients.

MGP stands for Midwest Grain Products, and that gives you an indication of what the company does; it makes food, alcohol both for beverages and for fuels , and bioplastics. Among its outputs are massive quantities of neutral grain spirits that are used in both vodkas and gins.

Two main products come from its whiskey plant, and there's a strong chance you've tasted them, without realizing it.

The first is a high-rye bourbon. This term refers to a bourbon with a large amount of rye grain in the mash bill. The other product is what I'll be talking about here: rye whiskey. Templeton Rye : The Templeton website tells a fun story about Templeton, Iowa; its rye grain crops; and its bootleg-rye recipe that was popular with Al Capone during Prohibition. And if you read the story without paying close attention, you might believe that Templeton Rye is made in Iowa, the way it was during Prohibition.

Now, Templeton Rye Spirits, Inc. But the juice you buy at your liquor store is made in Indiana, not Iowa. Redemption : This company has two products, a rye and a high-rye bourbon. You can guess where they're made. Bulleit Rye : This may be the biggest surprise on the list; it's almost certainly the best-known brand name on the list.

Bulleit's bourbon is a Bluegrass product, but its rye is all Hoosier. Willett : The current Willett brand is owned by a company called Kentucky Bourbon Distillers, which despite its name, doesn't do much distilling at present. KBD buys whiskey from other producers and bottles it under various names. KBD does have a distillation plant of its own, though, which it brought back into small production earlier this year.

But since whiskey is a well-aged product, you shouldn't look for any KBD-distilled whiskey for several years. Not all of High West's products originate in Lawrenceburg, but some do, notably its recent Campfire release, a Frankenweenie blend of MGP's rye and high-rye bourbon, along with a small amount of peaty Scotch, from the Scottish mainland.

I thought Campfire was a fascinating experiment. I generally love High West's stuff, but this one just didn't quite work for me. George Dickel Rye? Sound familiar?

There's no specific word that it's made in Indiana instead of Tennessee, but I wouldn't be surprised. Rye whiskey was a very popular spirit in the northeastern United States throughout the 19 th century. The fact is there were more people living in that part of the United States than there were in the southern or the western States.

Rye production in Pennsylvania and Maryland was the predominate spirit but rye was also made In Kentucky and other Ohio Valley States that had thriving whiskey industries. Pennsylvania rye was mostly a straight rye whiskey. Maryland rye was mostly a rectified rye with flavoring agents such as cherry or prune juice added to give it a sweeter flavor. Both styles were very popular in the 19 th century but the Pure Food and Drug Act of almost killed Maryland Rye as a category. It was forced to be labeled as a blended whiskey at time where straight whiskey was growing in popularity.

With the repeal of Prohibition distilleries in Pennsylvania and Maryland came back but not as many as there were in Kentucky. Maryland rye as a blended whiskey eventually lost sales as aged Bourbon became plentiful and the distilleries started to close. In Pennsylvania, the state came back as a control state and the politicians were not friendly to the distilling industry. Rising taxes and stricter regulations than in Kentucky made it uneconomical to continue to distill in Pennsylvania.

The growing popularity of Bourbon reduced the sales of Pennsylvania rye so companies such as National and Schenley moved rye production to their distilleries in Kentucky. In the late s and s all whiskey sales declined as the generation of young drinkers drank more wine, beer and spirits like vodka and Tequila.

Only a few of the old Pennsylvania brands like Old Overholt and Rittenhouse survived and they were made by Kentucky distilleries. Jimmy Russell states that at its low point a single day of distilling Wild Turkey Rye each year would cover the needs for the brand. Rye whiskey almost disappeared as a style of whiskey in the United States.

It would take the growth of interest in Bourbon in the s to start bringing rye back as a popular style of whiskey. Rye is making a comeback. It is growing in popularity and the larger distilleries are making more rye, but still not nearly as much as Bourbon. During these distant times all ingredients for the pot still would be taken from the immediate surroundings. Spirit distilling was a local craft, with a truly local flavour. It is this approach that inspired our own ethos.

Provenance, traceability, authenticity and creativity are at the heart of everything we do. Ingredients for all our spirits are planted, sown, grown and harvested within arms- length of our distillery. We believe premium spirits can only be created from the highest quality ingredients and we are in the enviable position of being able to oversee impeccable standards every step of the way.

The distillery is owned and run by the Stirling family and led by three brothers, whose childhood was spent on the estate where they gained an intuitive understanding of the land, passed from father to son since You must be of drinking age in your country to use this site. By clicking below you agree that you are of drinking age. By clicking below you also accept our privacy and cookie notice. Absolutely fabulous! Flavourful, delicious, complex Single Grain Scotch Whisky.

The first Scottish Rye for over years. Highland Rye Limited Edition Release 2: Distilled Records show that rye grain was used in Scotch whisky production until the late 19th century. A new launch a new revelation.