a catcher of some rye

i decided to indulge a recent interest of mine last night, and branch out from my normal libation of irish whiskey, and sample something a little closer to home; rye whiskey.

i headed off to the local "liquor world" [not the real name, but it might as well be], but not without taking La Taureau's order of one airline bottle each of disoronno and baileys. she's hesitant about drinking too much because she's nursing La Cognilia and doesn't want the liquor to "pass through". of course, i think it might do some good at around 3am when La Cognilia wakes up cranky. i guess that's why the almighty decreed men shouldn't give birth. but i digress...

i arrive at the liquor megastore and am surprised to see the rye section is nearly picked clean! i always thought rye was something of an extreme niche beverage that only old people drank, which is why you never see it in the grocery store. so either there are a lot of soused old people, or rye is making a comeback. and to be honest, i would be somewhat upset if it was because that would mean 1) the prices will go up, and 2) i once again missed the groundfloor of a new fad.

in making my selection, i notice there are two types available; 80 proof and 100 proof. being a rye whiskey novice, i decide to start in the kid's section and go with the 80 proof. i was interested to see jim beam makes a rye whiskey, as does wild turkey. i was even more interested to see that all of the rye whiskeys are all made in kentucky, which will make the variety even more interesting when we move to southern ohio.

there are two schools of thought in whiskey drinking; on the rocks and neat. i am proud to say i am of the former. i like my whiskey chilled and a little watered down, which a couple ice cubes left for a minute or two will do nicely. now, before you accuse me of diluting the taste, i suggest you make a trip to the united kingdom and ask the barkeep of the nearest pub what the pitcher of water on the bar is for. besides, drinking whiskey neat is for doing shots. i steadfastly refuse to cheapen a glass of the irish by taking a shot, and i carry that tradition to all members of the whiskey family.

rye whiskey, i find, is a bit more bourbon-y than i expected, but then again, i didn't even know it was made in kentucky. but not too bourbon-y, which is good because i am not a fan of bourbon. several years ago, on a trip to northern ireland, i had the opportunity to visit the bushmills distillery. they explained that bourbon, scotch, and irish whiskey is really all the same, the difference is how it's distilled. bourbon, the american whiskey, is distilled once, and by law, must be aged in brand-new oak casks. scotch whisky is distilled twice, and irish whiskey is distilled three times. moreover, the distillers in ireland will purchase the seasoned aging casks from the american bourbon distillers, which gives irish whiskey that much more of a mellow flavor, as opposed to the punch in the mouth of bourbon, caused in part by the brand-new oak casks.

but it's safe to say i like rye. i don't like it as much as irish whiskey, but i like it more than bourbon. i'm sure there are some better brands out there than the one i purchased, just are there some better brands of bourbons. my little indulgence in getting rye was good enough to intrigue me to explore some more. and living in the kentucky area next year will allow for some great expeditions!