Fleischman's Rye Info...

[MikeK]

As some of you may know, this Barton product is only sold in Wisconsin. My Dad is headed out there tomorow for a couple weeks for the Oshkosh Fly-in. I'm going to give him a mission to bring me back a bottle or two.

Question, is there just a single product, or are there multiple proof expressions? I'm also curious if the delightful bubble gum taste is from the Rye, or some polymers leaching out of the plastic 1.75 handle I had some from.

Thanks!

[Gillman]

Mike, the spearmint gum taste is characteristic of some rye whiskeys. Don't worry about the plastic, it is not affecting the taste!. To my knowledge, this product is 80 proof only. If you check out Barton Brands web site, you will find photos of the current packaging used for the brand. Not all these may still be offered since the market is small, but probably they would still offer the regular-size bottle and maybe the 1.75 litre. It is a good product and really a survival, with the others we know, of a style of whiskey at one time very popular in the parts of the country.

Gary

[MikeK]

Hi Gary,

Thanks for the info. I thought I had found the Bartons website unhelpful in the past, but I was wrong, the info is right there. I do detect a minty taste in many Bourbons and Ryes, but the Fleischmann's Rye I had at the Sampler had a "bubble gum" taste, like the old bazooka bubble gum. LeNell let my buddy Art fill a 375ml from the 1.75L she had brought along. It is an interesting an enjoyable product, so I'm going to see if I can get some more. I recall us giving Greg Davis some good natured grief about the unavailability of this product. He shrugged and blamed it on marketing.

Thanks,

[Gillman]

I had some too on the same trip, it is a very authentic taste. It doesn't have the finesse or length of older ryes but is very good as a four year old rye. You are tasting some of the esters and other congeners typical of rye whiskey. In checking www.bartonbrands.com, I note that its Mr. Boston line includes a rock and rye, which I am sure is available in Wisconsin. You may want to try this rock and rye (or any rock and rye, but this one gains authenticity because made by Barton) with the straight rye, say 50/50 or any other combination you like. (Rock and rye can be quite sweet and 3:1 rye to the cordial is usually plenty sweet).

Gary

[chasking]

Please let me know where exactly in Wisconsin you find it. I'm taking a trip up there in a few months and I want to get some too.

[MikeK]

Please let me know where exactly in Wisconsin you find it. I'm taking a trip up there in a few months and I want to get some too.

Sure enough, I'll let you know how it goes. I'm asking my Dad to take a look while he is at Oshkosh, so I'm hoping it is pretty common.

Gary, I got LeNell's Rock & Rye recipe and made up a batch myself using Rittenhouse BIB. I enjoyed it a lot, but have to make small batches since no one else I know cared for it. It is too strong for the non-whiskey drinkers and too sweet for the whiskey drinkers. That's OK, more for me.

[Gillman]

LeNell's rock and rye was absolutely great, the best I ever had. Even 4:1 whiskey to rock and rye it makes a sensational drink (really an Old-Fashioned). I suspect the Mr. Boston brand is pretty good, too. The label states by the way it is made (blended, I would think) in Owensboro.

Gary

[Hedmans Brorsa]

I might have missed something obvious here, but why is this whiskey only available in Wisconsin?

Is WI a traditional rye stronghold?

[tgriff]

i was wondering the same thing Hedmans Brorsa asked.

[cowdery]

I might have missed something obvious here, but why is this whiskey only available in Wisconsin?

Is WI a traditional rye stronghold?

Not really. If there is a "rye stronghold," it tends to be the northeast.

The answer is simply that, for whatever reason, it sells enough there to keep selling it. The three-tier system can often mean that producers don't really know why a wholesaler is buying something, but if the volume is sufficient they keep selling it. Undoubtedly Fleischmann's rye once had a wider distribution, of which this is a vestige.

Wisconsin, I know, is a big market for things like peppermint schnapps that don't sell particularly well in other places. A significant portion of the spirits market there is what people buy to 'keep warm' when they are out hunting and fishing. That is about all of the insight I can provide.

I, too, have an interest in this product as I have never tasted it.