How Do Most Drink Rye?

[vamtnlion]

Wondering how most drink rye whisky - neat, on the rocks, or as a cocktail? Seems like with rye, the cocktail is the favored method. But so far I prefer mine neat or with 1-2 ice cubes.

[bluesbassdad]

It depends upon the rye.

Last night I carefully poured a few drops of Old Rip Van Winkle Old Time Rye 12 y/o (an extinct and truly marvelous bottling) into a Glencairn blender's glass, and then nosed and sipped for nearly two hours before it was finally gone.

Van Winkle Family Reserve Rye 13 y/o gets a similarly respectful treatment, save for the larger serving size -- two ounces or even more.

At the other end of the spectrum I have enjoyed Old Overholt and Jim Beam ryes diluted about 5:1 with Ginger Beer and served over a fistful of ice in a tall glass. I didn't enjoy either of them neat.

In between those extremes there is Wild Turkey rye, which I will drink neat or as a highball, as the mood strikes me.

I keep intending to make a Manhattan with WT rye someday. (I no longer keep OO or JB on hand.) I have the fixins, but I just never seem to get around to it. I wonder why.

Yours truly,
Dave Morefield

[CrispyCritter]

My rye drinking varies - I like both rye-based cocktails and rye served neat.

Some ryes, like Old Overholt and Rittenhouse 80, work best for me in cocktails. Rittenhouse BIB, on the other hand, is equally good served neat as it is in a cocktail; Wild Turkey rye also falls into this category.

Sazerac Jr. is another versatile rye. Saz 18 makes an unbelievably good Sazerac Cocktail, but it's expensive (and rare!!) enough that I prefer it neat. Even so, I make a point of mixing a couple of Sazeracs with each bottle... and I might even try a Saz 18-based Red Hook soon.

Van Winkle Family Reserve Rye (labeled as 13yo) is another one I'd put into the premium class.

I have yet to open a bottle of THH, but I'm really looking forward to it!

[robbyvirus]

I mostly drink rye on the rocks. The Rittenhouse BIB is especially nice this way. The Van Winkle rye is good neat, but I have stomach problems that prevent me from drinking much neat these days. And a Sazerac cocktail is awesome, although I haven't had many.

[cowdery]

I suspect most of us here drink our rye the same way we drink our bourbon, which is neat or with a little bit of room temperature water.

I have, however, developed a personal preference for using rye rather than bourbon when I am in the mood for a manhattan. I also like it with ginger ale.

A lot of the renewed interest in rye is coming from New York, which is really cocktail country, so it may seem as if rye gets mixed more often because of that.

[ThomasH]

I love to drink rye with ginger ale. I doesn't matter what brand, although the more expensive brands I drink neat. WT and Rittenhouse BIB are my favorites to mix!

[Jake_Parrott]

I have, however, developed a personal preference for using rye rather than bourbon when I am in the mood for a manhattan. I also like it with ginger ale.

And both of those are the classical approaches.

I love OO or WT rye with Blenheim Extra Spicy ginger ale. But it is the worst hangover ever. And I drink more than my share of Sazeracs.

[camduncan]

I always start off neat. Then, depending on the taste and how I'm feeling, I might add some room temperature water, or large ice cubes....

[jspero]

I like all of the ryes I've tried neat. Sometimes I'll have WT or Pikesville on the rocks, but mostly in the summer.

Jay

[Ambernecter]

VW or Saz 18 I would always have neat. Rittenhouse 80 I have mixed with ginger ale now and again but as Chuck says I drink it like my Bourbon (straight up) 99% of the time.