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What's the Most Typical Rye You Can Think of?


risenc
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Washington's original mashbill varies a bit depending on the source but all of them seem to be in close range, 60-65% rye, 30-35% corn and 5-10% barley malt. What I do find exciting though is micros today can replicate some of these traditional rye styles and so cater to a market too small to interest the majors.
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Washington's original mashbill varies a bit depending on the source but all of them seem to be in close range, 60-65% rye, 30-35% corn and 5-10% barley malt. What I do find exciting though is micros today can replicate some of these traditional rye styles and so cater to a market too small to interest the majors.

I stand corrected. The mashbill Wondrich notes for George's stills in the article was roughly 60% rye, 35% corn and 5% malt as Squire indicated.

It was those huge, dark chewy ryes that he made sounds so attractive that were reported to have a different mashbill made of mostly rye, some of which was malted, and barley malt. Corn was rarely used. But it was the way that they were made that likely made them so distinctive. Sweet mash process, distillation in the long forgotten and often wooden three chamber still and often aged in heated or insulated warehouses in Pennsylvania and Maryland.

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The high rye (95%) used by MGP today was developed in the 1950s as a blending, not a drinking whisky.
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  • 3 weeks later...

Hard for me to define a "typical" rye (much like it is hard to define a typical bourbon) with so much variation available in the mash bill from 51% to 100% rye and/or rye malt and little limit on the accompanying grain (typically corn but could be wheat, barley or most any other grain). Not to mention different stills and aging locations.

It doesn't get much talk now because it is no longer readily available but the original 16yo Barton 80% rye that High West found and bottled was a real beauty! Would love to have more of that on hand.

That said I was surprised how much I liked the newer 16yo release which was a blend (proportions unknown) of that same Barton 80% rye with a 17yo MGP rye when we tried them side by side last summer. Of course as far as I know that was only available at the distillery in Utah and may well be sold out by now making it a fairly uncommon bottle as well.

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When I think of what would be my idea of the archetypal rye, the spirity and peppery (spicy) Wild Turkey Rye jumps out.  But, like Bruce mentions, there are different types and profiles within the family.  Spicy, herbal, earthy, minty/dilly, etc.  So, what is typical depends on the individual, I guess.  I would say that at this time in the continuum, MGP's minty/dilly rye is defining the category due to its abundance.  A whole new generation of whiskey drinkers is setting out on their journey with the idea that ryes should taste like pickles!  :lol:

 

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To my taste buds, traditional "barely legal" rye (Ritt, Baby Saz, WT, OO, etc.) and MGP 95% rye (Dickel, Bulleitt, Templeton, SAOS) are not really the same category of spirit, and I think it's too bad that they both get referred to as "straight rye" whiskey---I realize they may both fit the legal definition, but I think it can be misleading.  So, given the popularity of MGP ryes nowadays, I don't think it's possible to identify a "typical" rye.  Anything you pick will exclude a significant chunk of what rye whiskey currently means.  The closest you could come would be to pick an archetypal example of each version, i.e., Bulleitt and Baby Saz or whatever.

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