Rye 101

Rye 101

• Made with at least 51% rye in the mash bill.
• Aged in charred new oak barrels.
• Distilled to a maximum of 160 proof (80% ABV)
• Barreled at a maximum of 125 proof (62.5% ABV)
• Bottled at a minimum of 80 proof (40% ABV) and a maximum of 150 proof (75% ABV)

Rye was the prominent whiskey of the americas at its founding.  George washington had 5 stills and could produce 11K Gallons of Rye per year.

Pennsylvania scots irish began distilling rye because of how well it grew in the area, and they wanted a dark spirit like their irish whisky at home.  Though it doesnt taste the same, it has the whiskey feel that made it work for them.

In 1810, KY produced 2.2 million gallons, PA proceed almost 7 million gallons.  One county in PA in early 1800’s could give a barrel a whiskey to every other person in the US at the time.

Rye is not an easy spirit to make, so when prohibition came there was a sharp decline, since the bootleggers made corn whiskey due to its ease. 

The stills were three chamber stills, this is a big reason it was hard for bootleggers, not as mobile and big.  Leopold Bros from denver has a three chamber bottled in bond.  He also uses an heirloom grain style called Abruzzi.  This has a lower starch content, meaning they need to use more rye than modern strains, making it more flavorful.

Empire Rye

• 75% new york grown rye (Any type or combination of types
• Distilled no higher than 160 proof
• Max barreling of 115 proof
• Min 2 years aging in chared new american oak
• 100% produced in a single New York state distillery
  • You can have multiple empire ryes blended together to make blended empire rye

Heirloom ryes tend to be lower in starches and harder to grow with lower yields (We have the yields we have today because of breeding tactics to increase yields and flavors

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