A Dry Spicy Rye I Should Try

[Thomm]

Manhattans are becoming a weekly staple for me. I grew up watching Mom and Pop entertain with brandy Manhattans (and being allowed a sip once in a while).  I will frequently mix up a Manhattan with bourbon. Only recently, however, I discovered that although recipes may fluctuate according to specific tastes, the proper Manhattan is made with rye whiskey as its base. 

Building on this knowledge, I made my next Manhattan with Wild Turkey 101 Rye. Fabulous!  Something about the dry back end and spice of the rye perfectly complemented the bitters and sweet vermouth. 

My next tweak was to sample a different vermouth. I bought a bottle of Carpano Antica Formula and tasted it SBS with the Noily Prat which I had been using. Night and day. Neither was better, but they were both so absolutely different in nosing and flavor, I couldn't believe they were the same type of wine. Next step was to add the Carpano to a WT 101 Rye Manhattan. Good, but unexpectedly not as good as the lower-priced Noily Prat/WT101 Rye version. Oddly enough, I had thought that overall sweetness was what attracted me to this cocktail. Quite the contrary, I seem to have an affinity for the bitter flavors and the way they are balanced by just the right amount of sweet. 

There is a question at the end of all this rambling. What rye would you recommend for a Manhattan?  I'm talking about bitter, ginger snap, pumpernickel rye here. I have no other rye experience than the aforementioned WT 101, so I thought I would skip all the b.s. and go straight to the experts. 

 

 

[PhantomLamb]

22 minutes ago, Thomm said:

Manhattans are becoming a weekly staple for me. I grew up watching Mom and Pop entertain with brandy Manhattans (and being allowed a sip once in a while).  I will frequently mix up a Manhattan with bourbon. Only recently, however, I discovered that although recipes may fluctuate according to specific tastes, the proper Manhattan is made with rye whiskey as its base. 

Building on this knowledge, I made my next Manhattan with Wild Turkey 101 Rye. Fabulous!  Something about the dry back end and spice of the rye perfectly complemented the bitters and sweet vermouth. 

My next tweak was to sample a different vermouth. I bought a bottle of Carpano Antica Formula and tasted it SBS with the Noily Prat which I had been using. Night and day. Neither was better, but they were both so absolutely different in nosing and flavor, I couldn't believe they were the same type of wine. Next step was to add the Carpano to a WT 101 Rye Manhattan. Good, but unexpectedly not as good as the lower-priced Noily Prat/WT101 Rye version. Oddly enough, I had thought that overall sweetness was what attracted me to this cocktail. Quite the contrary, I seem to have an affinity for the bitter flavors and the way they are balanced by just the right amount of sweet. 

There is a question at the end of all this rambling. What rye would you recommend for a Manhattan?  I'm talking about bitter, ginger snap, pumpernickel rye here. I have no other rye experience than the aforementioned WT 101, so I thought I would skip all the b.s. and go straight to the experts. 

 

 

Pikesville for sure or Rittenhouse. KC rye is also really nice in these. If you can’t find any rye, Old Grandad’s high rye mashbill scratches the itch pretty nicely too IMO.

[Kepler]

Maybe give Whistlepig a try and let us know how it goes

[Mattk]

So if I were to pick a rye based off the tasting notes above. Particularly dry, spicy, and bitter, but in a good way I would pick these.

[PaulO]

The WT Rye is hard to beat.

I also like Pikesville/Rittenhouse.

If you haven't tried it - Old Forester Rye really has that dark rye bread note.

Old Grandad 114 always seemed to me very close to rye whiskey profile. 

You could also play around with different bitters too.

[Thomm]

Thanks for the suggestions. I think this Friday's shopping will include two of these suggestions, pending availability. I know where I can get KC rye, and I'm pretty sure of a place that will have OF rye and Rittenhouse. 

[Thomm]

On 10/30/2022 at 7:29 PM, Mattk said:

So if I were to pick a rye based off the tasting notes above. Particularly dry, spicy, and bitter, but in a good way I would pick these.

I think I can find the Sagamore at Total Wine, but not sure if they have the bonded in stock. Is the lower proof version going to be the same distillate?

[Mattk]

On 11/1/2022 at 11:22 AM, Thomm said:

I think I can find the Sagamore at Total Wine, but not sure if they have the bonded in stock. Is the lower proof version going to be the same distillate?

As of right now the only regular release which is their own distillate is the bib. There is soon to be a 5 year bib release. So no the other bottles from Sagamore very good mpg but taste very little like their own stuff.

[FlounderinDC]

I make my Manhattans (and Old Fashioneds as well) with Rittenhouse. It works wonderfully and is inexpensive. Not a huge fan of Old Overholt, but I need to try the higher proof versions.  I LOVE Old Forester but it disappeared from shelves in Oklahoma right about the time COVID set in...fortunately I brought back a few bottles from Texas recently. Need to try that Sagamore Spirt rye....and I haven't tried the EC rye yet either.  WhistlePig Piggyback was ok. 

[PaulO]

7 hours ago, FlounderinDC said:

I make my Manhattans (and Old Fashioneds as well) with Rittenhouse. It works wonderfully and is inexpensive. Not a huge fan of Old Overholt, but I need to try the higher proof versions.  I LOVE Old Forester but it disappeared from shelves in Oklahoma right about the time COVID set in...fortunately I brought back a few bottles from Texas recently. Need to try that Sagamore Spirt rye....and I haven't tried the EC rye yet either.  WhistlePig Piggyback was ok. 

The Bonded version of Overholt is a huge step up from the lower proof stuff.

[Harry in WashDC]

Our family fave recipe, based on the Manhattan on the rocks recipe an uncle of my wife’s developed while stationed in France post DDay is 2 oz Old Overholt 100 plus 1 oz. Dolins sweet vermouth plus 4 to 6 (or to taste so experiment a lot - it is fun to do) drops of Angostura bitters with maybe a little electric pink maraschino juice mostly for color.

 

Pikesville for us works better than other above-100 ryes if it is reduced to slightly less than 2 oz, otherwise it dominates instead of blends.  WT 101 rye and Ritt are also good.  The Ritt is not as spicy as the WT so, again, play with them all, and pick what you like.  Dolins over M&R for us although we prefer M&R sweet over Dolins in Negronis.  Carpano is great but different, and I use it when I’m not quite in a classic Manhattan mood.

 

A nice alternative to sweet vermouth during the summer is Cynar, particularly on hot days.  For some reason, it makes a Manhattan which we consider a cool weather drink into a good gin and tonic competitor.

[Jazz June]

I make Manhattans with rye and Carpano Antica, but you have to rebalance the two from a less powerful vermouth version. So I would play with your proportions. Also, a higher proof rye will stand up better - Pikesville worked great and I say this as someone that did not love it neat (wasn't bad, but wasn't impressed). A cask strength WhistlePig is also a good rye for this. The suggestions for Rittenhouse and Old Forester rye are good ones for less expensive bottles. You can also play with the bitters you use, I really like Boker's bitters in my Manhattan.

[Anwalt]

I love rye with Carpano Antica for Manhattans.  I have mainly used Rittenhouse.  I'll need to try it with some others.  Awesome suggestions above, just in time too.

[JCwhammie]

WP Piggyback and New Riff BIB Rye are my favorites under $50 (WT101 Rye is right there with them).

If you stumble across a Knob Creek twice barreled rye snag one. It was an inexpensive release from a few years ago.