This entry
started out being about a very fine American whiskey, Rittenhouse Rye, but just
as I was about to do the final edit I found I had something else to add to
it. Now I firmly believe that this whiskey is one of the finer things of
life and fully qualifies as a reason to be cheerful all on its own, but earlier
this week I found myself drinking a glass and having a conversation about it
with my father.There's something special about that, its almost a right of passage all of its own. Sitting with your Dad, drinking a serious, grown-up whiskey is a real pleasure. Especially when its your whiskey, one that you selected and bought.
Now to the drink itself. To be called Rye an American whiskey must be distilled from a mash containing at least 51% Rye grain and must be aged for at least two years in oak casts for to be called 'Straight Rye'. Its sometimes described as being the "Islay" whiskey of America having a spicier nature than Corn based spirits.
Until prohibition, Rye whiskey, which came mainly from the North
Eastern States, was the most popular in America. So popular in fact that
it was the cause of the first major internal challenge to the authority of the
American Federal Government.
In 1791
President Washington introduced a Whiskey Tax as a way of covering the war debt
of several states who had refused to pay up. For farmers in Western
Pennsylvania this had a huge impact. Whiskey was an important part of
their livelihood for a number of reasons. Transport difficulties meant
that it was more practical to turn spare grain (mostly rye) into whiskey than
take the grain itself to market. A shortage of currency meant that
whiskey became an important aspect of trade. Almost becoming an alternative to
the dollar.
For these
people a whiskey tax was akin to an income tax that those in the richer
east coast did not have to pay. So they didn't pay it. Tax
collectors were tarred and feathered and in some states it was impossible to
find anyone to even attempt to enforce the law. The protests
grew, mirroring the events of the American Revolution until there was a minor
insurrection in Western Pennsylvania and an armed attack on the fortified house
of a tax collector.
There were no pitched battles but the issue was serious enough for a federal militia of over 12,000 men to be raised and sent into western Pennsylvania in 1794 at which point the rebellion collapsed. In all 24 people were charged with high treason, two were convicted and sentenced to death but were pardoned by Washington.
The tax remained notoriously difficult to collect but the government's success was the first sign that the American Federal government had the ability to enforce federal law. The rebellion was one of the major factors in the establishment of political parties in America and was a bone of contention until it was repealed in 1800 by Thomas Jefferson's Republican party.
It'll come as no surprise to those of you reading this in Northern Ireland that many of those involved in an armed rebellion over whiskey were Scots-Irish settlers of the Appalachian mountains.
Rye remained the most popular whiskey in America right up until the end of prohibition. The rise, the craze for cocktails, probably used to disguise the poor quality of prohibition liquor, led to a preference for the lighter and sweeter Bourbon that now dominates the market. Rye is now a small, but growing, part of the American whiskey market and may be thought of as little more than a curiosity by many
It was in that light that I bought a bottle of Rittenhouse Rye from the Whiskey Exchange. I went for their exclusive Single Cask bottling but I've also tried the standard "bottled in bond"* version which is almost as good. Both are a robust 100% proof but I see that the Whiskey Exchange website is now selling a more standard 80% proof version as well.
First thing you notice on pouring is the colour. It’s a dark amber, almost copper, colour in the glass. A nose stuck into the glass reveals a real sense of the oak casks along with something sweet, after the alcohol wears off. Reviews make claims for chocolate or molasses but I'm not really able to distinguish anything more than a generic sweetness. There is also a fruitiness and I can't help thinking this would go down very well with some Christmas cake.
On tasting, Rittenhouse is powerful and strong. It delivers all of the flavours the aroma promised along with a nice dose of pepper and much more of that fruity richness. The finish stays with you and there is a comfortable heat from the alcohol on the way down.
There is not a huge difference between this Rye and some of the better Bourbons that I've tried, they are certainly recognisable as being from the same family, but there is a lot more peppery spice and deeper fruit flavours with the rye, and the sweetness is somehow more "grown-up". Demerara rather than white sugar.
I've tried the Rye with ice and with a little water, neither of which were all that successful, but also as a long drink with a good measure of a rather nice ginger beer. Not something I'd normally try with a good whiskey, but this was a very successful experiment.
With the exception of one American whiskey, that is nearly twice the price of the Rittenhouse, this is probably my favourite tipple from across the pond. Indeed I ordered another bottle from Whiskey Exchange as soon as the first one got a little bit too close to being finished. A wee glass of Rittenhouse Rye each night finishes the day of nicely.
In the interests of full disclosure I do have to say that my friend BFB, was not quite so keen on Rittenhouse Rye,
Rittenhouse Rye is available in the UK from the Whiskey Exchange.
