Monterey Rye - Age Your Own Rye

[NorCalBoozer]

Lear,

Don't know if you come through here often, but anytime you are by the area you're welcome to stop by for a pour.

If you're looking for a barrel....I have a toasted barrel (I believe it's 2 gallon) that I am not using.

I bought two barrels a while back and used 1 for WT Rye and never used the other. The WT Rye result was really good. It's all gone now though.

I'm gonna have to go get at least a bottle of this Rye and see what it's all about.

Greg

Thanks Greg. I'd love to come by, but I'll be away for a birthday celebration. You'll hear from me if it's in the cards.

As for this barrel kit, I'm suddenly less interested.

I emailed the makers of the rye to ask about proofs and mash bills. Here's what he said:

"Our rye spirit is made from a moonshiner’s recipe that includes replicated Kentucky water. Our rye spirit is made of 100% rye and cane sugar. Our exit proof is 105 to 109 and is bottled at 80 proof."

I'd probably be o.k. with the rye and cane sugar, it's the 80 proof that makes me very hesitant.

[cowdery]

When we first started to talk about re-barrel experiments, years ago, I assumed it was desirable to get as close as possible to the entry proof the professionals use. Now I'm not so sure, as I've heard about some experiments with very high entry proofs where the aging was minimal. As Mike Veach pointed out to me, it's water, not alcohol, that is called the universal solvent, so I'm not so sure 80 proof isn't perfect. In warm climates, barrel proof does tend to rise.

I think this is a great idea.

[jinenjo]

While I didn't measure the proof of my (mostly) Beam Rye (80 proof) rebarrel whiskey, I don't think it rose more than 5% ABV after three months of heat exposure--3% if not at all. That said, I was quite pleased with the results.

Perhaps it might be worth looking into then. I'd still like to taste this Rye spirit first. Given that it's 100% rye, I'd imagine it'd taste more like Old Potrero than a straight spirit. More that that, I now live in a place with a shed in the back yard, which would be ideal for barrel aging.

[robbyvirus]

I saw this rye at BevMo in San Francisco yesterday. Interestingly, what I saw was different from the website. At BevMo they were selling single bottles of the rye, and each came with a "barrel stick", which was a charred piece of wood wrapped in plastic. The instructions on the bottle said to open the bottle, dump the stick in, and let it sit on your shelf until aged to your satisfaction. Anyone have any idea of this would really work? Unfortunately I can't rememeber the price, but it wasn't too expensive.

[jinenjo]

If I go through with this, I was thinking of combining their rye with the corn spirit (about 2:1) to achieve more of a straight rye profile. I'd rather it be more like a straight rye than Old Potrero.

What do you think?

[Gillman]

Excellent idea and an example of blending at birth, which (if it needed validation) is practiced by Canadian Club and other distillers. In your case, arguably the project is even more authentic in that both products are whisky (spirit distilled out at low proof) to begin with.

Gary

[ILLfarmboy]

If I go through with this, I was thinking of combining their rye with the corn spirit (about 2:1) to achieve more of a straight rye profile. I'd rather it be more like a straight rye than Old Potrero.

What do you think?

Excellent idea and an example of blending at birth, which (if it needed validation) is practiced by Canadian Club and other distillers. In your case, arguably the project is even more authentic in that both products are whisky (spirit distilled out at low proof) to begin with.

Gary

I was thinking along the same lines. I recently sampled some Virginia Lightning and after reading this thread immediately thought of blending the two to approximate a 'high rye' bourbon white dog to be aged in one of their small barrels

[Sweetmeats]

Good luck getting this. I've been on a waiting list for months with no word. And after seeing the "barrel stick" at BevMo, I think that may be all there is.

[ILLfarmboy]

Some years ago the roof of my parents' barn caught on fire. It doesn't take much to catch those old wood shakes on fire. Anyhow, we replaced the burned and weakened rafters and in place of shakes or shingles we used tin sheets, the kind used for wall sheets on Buttler buildings to be exact.

In the summer it gets hotter than hell up near the roof but cools down by morning. The hay mow would be a perfect place for a home aging experiment.

[jinenjo]

Well, I picked up one bottle of each, the rye and corn. I'm now debating on whether or not get a second bottle of corn spirit. My thinking is, rather than half-and-half, I might want to come closer to a straight bourbon recipe (i.e. 66% corn, 33% rye). The trouble is, a second bottle is not easy to acquire now that I passed it up on the shelf in Salinas. BevMo says there's one in San Francisco.

Then again, a 1:1 ratio might produce something unique.

I'd like to go for a more well aged (approximating a 12-15 y.o.) style whiskey once I start.