Everything You Need To Know About Your Favorite Spicy Sipper
Sorry, Scotland. Our apologies, Ireland. Gomen’nasai,Japan. When it comes to whiskey, we’re as American as apple pie.
Bourbon or Tennessee, blended or wheated, moonshine or ryewe love it all. But there’s one type of whiskey gaining a serious following, and it might just be the next big thing: rye.
According to a 2016 Reuters report, demand for rye whiskey grew a whopping 33 percent between 2015 and 2016, leading U.S. farmers to plant 1.76 million acres in preparation for the 2016/17 harvest. That acreage, the largest since 1989, represents a 12 percent increase over the previous year. And it’s all thanks to whiskey.
Here’s everything you need to know about this feisty American original.
Guide To Pairing Whiskey And Food At Home
While even the most casual wine drinker will be accustomed to pairing wine with food, most whiskey drinkers dont commonly pursue the endeavor. There are several false notions fueling this, namely that whiskey simply wont pair with food. And if it does, perhaps such a pairing is too difficult to properly and consistently execute. With the right insight though, youll see its incredibly easy to begin dabbling. Weve assembled a few tips for pairing whiskey and food right in your own home. Soon enough youll wonder why you werent always putting your whiskey to use in this fashion.
Buffalo Mozzarella With Sherry Cask Single Malt Bourbon
To start your meal off right, pair a Buffalo Mozzarella appetizer with a Sherry Cask single malt bourbon. The cheese is salty and the bourbon is sweet, so they make the perfect pair. For your entree, a smoked salmon will play nicely with a sticky toffee pudding for dessert.
These flavors are the perfect combination of sweet, salty, and smokey while remaining light and playful. Nothing is too heavy, so youll have plenty of room for more.
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Oreos And Single Malt Scotch
Top pick: BenRiach 21 year oldOreos present an interesting dilemmacrispy, chocolatey, slightly salty exterior with a cloyingly sweet creamy middle, Kirchner says. A good middle ground would be a single malt with an interesting cask maturation or finish. An awesome dram matured in four types of casksbourbon, virgin oak, Pedro Ximénez sherry, and red wineBenRiach 21 year old has flavors of milk chocolate, nuts, and cocoa powder that would complement an Oreo beautifully.
What Can You Mix With Rye Whiskey
Average Price:$75
The Whiskey:
This 2021 release from WhistlePig has a pretty cool story and a wild mix of finishing barrels. The Vermont whiskey maker had. special 18-wheeler semi-truck and trailer made to transport barrels of Canadian rye from Vermont to Paso Robles, CA, and back and yes, they had a blocker car. Before the 6,000-mile roundtrip journey started, some of the whiskey was barreled into red wine casks from Jordan Winery which held a Bordeaux blend. Once the barrels reached California, the remaining whiskey not in the wine casks was barreled in barrels from Firestone Walker Brewery which previously held their Imperial Stout, Imperial Blonde Ale, and Experimental Ale. All the barrels were then driven back to Vermont for proofing and bottling, making this the first road finished rye on the market.
Tasting Notes:
This opens with a burst of berry brambles hanging heavy with blackberries, blueberries, and savory gooseberries next to a wisp of green stems and seeds that leads towards a woody maple syrup and a hint of orange zest. The orange zest drives the spiciness of the palate as stewed peaches and pears combine the fruit, sweetness, and spice while cedar sneaks in late. The finish leans towards a spicy-yet-fruity tobacco leaf with a touch more of that cedar and a cinnamon cookie with a hint of brown butter and sugar.
Bottom Line:
Made by aging fermented and distilled grains in wooden barrels, whiskey has been the drink of choice for centuries.
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The Best Whiskey Mixers
Whiskey is known for its complex depth of flavor, and can always be enjoyed neat. But when paired with other ingredients, its versatility really comes out. Whiskey can be sweet, spicy, savory, or smoky and often a good mixer can help it shine.
Granted, some mixers may suit the personalities of one kind of whiskey more than another what pairs great with a sweeter bourbon may clash with a peppery rye so feel free to check out our guides to get a sense of a particular whiskey styles character. As always, some experimentation may be in order to find what suits your taste best.
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As for what mixers to choose, we polled the VinePair team for a rundown of the best, from old favorites to bolder choices. This is by no means an exhaustive list, but think of it as a foolproof guide when youre looking for easy cocktail inspiration.
Here are six of the best mixers for whiskey.
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What Does Whiskey And Eggnog Taste Like
Eggnog is a simple drink made from milk or cream, eggs, vanilla, sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg. It is a very sweet drink that is made even more delicious by the addition of mild spices.
Whiskey works surprisingly well with eggnog. When the two are mixed together, it creates a beautiful bitter sweet symphony , which remain nice and creamy. The oak, citrus, honey, and other flavours commonly found in whiskey cut through nicely and create a truly special little drink.
Different types of whiskey will change the eggnog in different ways:
- Bourbon whiskey will add even more vanilla to your eggnog. It also provides some caramel, oak, and malt to compliment the nogs flavours. It can be a very sweet combination, so best for drinkers with a sweet tooth.
- Rye whiskey will make your eggnog very spicy and give it a savoury flavour. The strong rye taste cuts through the sweetness nicely and gives the drink quite a kick. You certainly wont forget you have whiskey in your egg nog.
- Irish whiskey will have a cleaner taste compared to rye or bourbon. It will cut through the sweetness of the egg nog more than bourbon and can add some interesting fruit/oak flavours
- Scotch whisky will give your drink a lot of kick. The hardy bite and strong smokey flavours of a good Scotch will push through the sweetness of the egg nog and give it plenty of body. A great combination if you want your whisky to be the dominant partner.
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Best Way To Mix Whisky And Coke
Mixing one part of Whisky to three oz of coke is the best you can drinksome like intense whisky, and some like it to drink it in its standard ratio. To adjust the flavor of these two drinks, try using a mixer in the form of lemonade, ginger ale, lemon, sugar cubes, and more.
However, the two combinations in their pure form are the most popular drinks available anywhere. When cherries are available, the best way to mix Whisky and coke is by making cherry coke whisky mash. Try making it with Crown Royal.
- Take 4 ounces of Crown royal.
- 1.5 cup pitted cherries.
- 3 tsp of sugar.
- Twelve ounces of coke, you can use diet coke if you want to lessen the sugar content.
- ½ a lemon and mint leave for garnishing.
Recipe
- Take a shaker, add sugar and pitted cherries. Muddle it together and squeeze half a lemon.
- Add crown royal and shake everything well.
- In a glass, add ice cubes and strain the above mix into the glass.
- Garnish with fresh mint leaves.
You can also try this cocktail with Rye bourbon or any bourbon of your choice. It is a perfect cocktail for any occasion, and mostly it is a females drink. Women will love it.
Prepare it for womens day or mothers day. Surprise your wife, mother, or sister with this fantastic cocktail. The sweet taste of cherries and the smoky taste of Whisky will make them fall in love with the drink.
Best Under $: Ragtime
From Brooklyns New York Distilling Company, this bottling is made exclusively with New York state rye grain. Ragtime Rye is a craft spirit with a ton of character: its robust, warming, and filled with holiday spice. Marissa Mazzotta, bar director at The Shanty, the distillerys attached bar, recommends stretching it out with bubbly soda water in a Whiskey Highball, though it would also work in a strong, stirred drink like an aptly named Brooklyn. She also advises not to pass on the distillerys limited edition Applejack Barrel Finished Ragtime Rye. Its very versatile, with a slight hint of apple on the finish that perfectly compliments the big rye flavor, she says.
Average Price:$230
The Whiskey:
This release is in the same selection process as the ten-year bourbon above. However, because the point of Michthers was to bring rye back to mainstream prominence, this bottle holds a very special place in whiskey drinkers hearts. This is the bottle of rye that distillers are still chasing to this day.
Tasting Notes:
Butter-rich toffee meets marzipan cut with rose water next to black peppery spice, apple-cider-soaked cinnamon sticks, and earthy cedar bark. Bespoke Red Hots mingle with orange oils, more cedar, vanilla pods, and a rush of fresh spicy/sweet chili peppers. The almond edge loses some of its marzipan sweetness and dries out as the cedar marries spicy tobacco, soft vanilla cream, and orange oils linger on your senses.
Bottom Line:
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Rule : Match Your Food With The Elements And Features Of Your Whiskey
You must know which features of your whiskey can go well with your food pairing. The roast chicken is good to pair with roasted peatiness and with the sweetness of scotch. Oven-roasted half chicken and garlic stuffed chicken can also pair nicely with the scotch. The acidity of lemon would bring the contrasting sweetness of scotch.
Whistlepig Roadstock Rye Whiskey
Average Price:$75
The Whiskey:
This 2021 release from WhistlePig has a pretty cool story and a wild mix of finishing barrels. The Vermont whiskey maker had. special 18-wheeler semi-truck and trailer made to transport barrels of Canadian rye from Vermont to Paso Robles, CA, and back and yes, they had a blocker car. Before the 6,000-mile roundtrip journey started, some of the whiskey was barreled into red wine casks from Jordan Winery which held a Bordeaux blend. Once the barrels reached California, the remaining whiskey not in the wine casks was barreled in barrels from Firestone Walker Brewery which previously held their Imperial Stout, Imperial Blonde Ale, and Experimental Ale. All the barrels were then driven back to Vermont for proofing and bottling, making this the first road finished rye on the market.
Tasting Notes:
This opens with a burst of berry brambles hanging heavy with blackberries, blueberries, and savory gooseberries next to a wisp of green stems and seeds that leads towards a woody maple syrup and a hint of orange zest. The orange zest drives the spiciness of the palate as stewed peaches and pears combine the fruit, sweetness, and spice while cedar sneaks in late. The finish leans towards a spicy-yet-fruity tobacco leaf with a touch more of that cedar and a cinnamon cookie with a hint of brown butter and sugar.
Bottom Line:
Made by aging fermented and distilled grains in wooden barrels, whiskey has been the drink of choice for centuries.
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Woodford Reserve Rye Whiskey
Average Price:$40
The Whiskey:
This whiskey was a long time coming. Master Distiller Chris Morris tinkered with this recipe for nine years before it was just right. The juice has a fairly low-rye mash bill, for a rye anyway. The bill only calls for 53 percent of the spicy grain. The rest is made up of local corn and malted barley. The whiskey then spends up to seven years maturing at their climate-controlled Versailles, Kentucky facility before its blended, proofed with soft limestone water, and bottled.
Tasting Notes:
Grassy rye comes through with a nice note of sharp black pepper next to mellow pear and marzipan with a hint of cedar bark. The palate really delivers on the pear with a honeyed sweetness while the rye pepperiness ebbs and flows without overpowering the subtler notes of malt, clove, and even fresh mint. The finish drives home the woodier aspects of the spice but leaves you with a dried straw feel.
Bottom Line:
This is another whiskey you should have on your bar cart for mixing up cocktails. It feels like classic rye that has a little more depth than, say, an average MGP one.
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How Strong Is The Sazerac
Sazerac rye whiskey is a 90-proof liquor. Even if you dilute it slightly by stirring it with ice, the Sazerac cocktail is really no different than drinking the whiskey straightits merely enhanced. This means the Sazerac is in the 45 percent ABV range and is one of the strongest mixed drinks you can make.
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Drams & Snacks: A Bite In Between
During a multi-course menu, a cheese plate is often served before dessert. With strong cheese, such as spicy blue cheese, a strong Whisky like the Lagavulin 16 harmonizes wonderfully. The powerful sweetness, the notes of sea, salt and smoke perfectly round off the spicy and soft cheese.
Hearty ham is a wonderfully savoury midnight snack. Juicy and salty cooked ham makes the full-bodied Woodford Reserve Bourbon with its caramel, apricot and cocoa notes even more delicious. The spicy and slightly tangy rye aroma balances the voluminous ham.
Who says that a snack should not be sweet? Tenderly melting orange chocolate and a fruity Speysider like the ten-year-old Benromach are a well-balanced duo for food lovers. The sherried and fruity-nutty Benromach brings out the orange in the chocolate with its notes of spice, citrus and chocolate.
How To Drink Rye
One of the coolest things about all whiskeys is their innate versatility. Unlike more delicate spirits like gin or vodka, rye’s hearty grain base and lengthy aging time makes it substantial enough to drink as is. You don’t even need ice to enjoy itin fact, most pros will tell you that if you really want to taste your tipple, lose the cubes.
More of a cocktail connoisseur? Rye plays a leading role in a boatload of classics, including old-fashioneds, Manhattans, Sazeracs, Boulevardiers and Vieux Carrés. It can also easily be subbed for bourbon to give that mint julep, whiskey sour or bourbon smash a sharper edge. And if you’re in the mood for something creative, hit up your favorite cocktail bar or try your hand at this richly herbal Mirto’s Revenge.
During In Good Spirits month, we’re going behind the bar to find out what separates aperitifs from digestifs, which It cocktails the world’s top bartenders crave and how to turn your home into the hottest speakeasy in town.
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Dads Hat Pennsylvania Rye
Made in one of the more historical rye styles of the U.S. Old Monongahela Rye Dads Hat is, perhaps surprisingly to most, aged only six months. What helps this though is that the aging occurs in 50-liter casks . What comes out is a bright rye whiskey that is full of fruit and spice notes and a good look at what used to be consumed.
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How Do You Make This Cocktail Recipe
A few lemons, honey and rye whiskey. Thats all youre going to need.
Some recipes call for making a simple syrup which is basically just boiling down sugar and water until the sugar is completely dissolved. Let it cool and then use it for your cocktails. OR if the recipe allows for the flavor, a touch of honey will do the trick.
Juice a fresh lemon and get it in a cocktail shaker with ice. Add a couple of teaspoons of honey and the rye. Shake really well so that the honey is really mixed in and the pour into a glass with ice.
Garnish with a lemon twist and drink.
And cheers to an easy cocktail hour with these Sweet and Sour Rye Cocktails!
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What Food Goes Well With Whiskey
Last Updated on June 12, 2022 by Lydia Martin
Most experts will advise you to drink whiskey straight. It is the most suitable way to enjoy whiskeys with a touch of sweetness or those with earthy and smoky notes. However, there are also foods that you can take with whiskey that will complement its flavors.
So, what food goes with whiskey? Read on to find out our teams top favorite food and whiskey pairings.
The Right Snacks To Pair With Whiskey
Whiskey may be considered the water of life but what is life without a little bit of good food to go along with it? Pairing snacks with whiskey may be a controversial move because whiskey does not go well with just anything. Its important to be strategic in what you pair with it. For your next boys night in or house party, well help you plan a menu that goes beyond just the drinks. Here are the best snacks to complement the tasty flavor of your whiskey drink or cocktail.
Cheese
The reason cheese is a go-to snack to pair with whiskey is because they are both available in a variety of flavors and both are aged. Some cheeses are sharp, others are mild and a few are stinky. As such, not all cheeses pair well with every type of whiskey. If youre drinking more of a smoky whiskey, pair it with a sharp, aged cheddar. Does your whiskey have a slight sweetness to it? Softer goat cheese or brie pair well with lighter, sweeter whiskey. You can add an apple or pear spread to serve along with the softer cheeses as fruity flavors are a nice complement to whiskey.
Nuts or snack mixes
Sweets
Aside from chocolate, another dessert that brings out the best flavors in bourbon is either apple pie or apple crumb. Bourbon with a high rye content works well because of its natural caramel flavor.
Meats
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