CRAFT by Under My Host® Issue No. 17 Made in America: Part II | Page 150

W W W. C R A F T BY U M H . C O M
HI-RYE
“WHAT’S THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN BOURBON AND RYE?
STEVE MCQUEEN OF SPIRITS. THINK YOU’D HAVE TROUBL
THESE SIX BOTTLES FLY THEIR RYE FLAG HIGH, WELL ABO
ITS SWEETER (CORN-Y) SIB
BY CORI PAIGE
OLD WORLD CASK FINISH • $125
WhistlePig
WhistlePig’s homage to Old World
whisky and wine producers begins
with 12-year-old MGP rye (95%) aged
in New American Oak barrels. The
whiskey is divvied up among Port,
French Sauternes, and Madeira casks,
where it will rest for three to six weeks.
Once “finished”—Dave Pickerell
decides when the 86-proof whiskey is
imbued with just enough of the sweet
and fortified wine casks’ essence—
the whiskeys are reunited. Layers of
intense dried fruit, allspice, chocolate,
and caramel are present, but rye’s
tell-tale bite remains, subjugating the
wines’ sugars. If you listen carefully,
you can hear the whip crack.
OYO DARK PUMPERNICKEL RYE WHISKEY • $56
Middle West Spirits
A 100% rye whiskey made from Ohio-grown, single-va-
rietal dark rye and aged for a minimum of three years
in American Oak. Its floral Tellicherry pepper, cinna-
mon, clove, mushroom, and cocoa notes are lovely in
an Old Fashioned.
(Dave Pickerell, WhistlePig Master
Distiller, is also member of CRAFT’s
editorial team.)
SINGLE BARREL WHISKEY RYE • $50
Koval
Chicago’s Koval Distillery sources local organic grain for their Single Barrel
Whiskey Rye from a Midwestern collective. This rye has no age statement,
and I don’t mind. I’m too busy relishing the scent of sweet alyssum and baking
spices and the taste of extra spicy ginger snaps and cinnamon. This all-rye
spirit, aged in new American Oak barrels from Minnesota, ticks all my whiskey
and middle-America boxes from start to finish.
LOW GAP CLEAR RYE • $
American Craft Whiskey
Like Nancy Fraley, Distiller
es to coax something delic
vie than white dog, this el
and proofed with filtered