Speakeasy Spirit of the Month: November 08 - Russell's Reserve Rye Whiskey

[Rughi]

I had an interesting chat with the (re)founder of Templeton Rye several weeks ago. The brand will be moving out of Iowa and into the north-central region in the next several years...

That's interesting. Some of us are always looking for the Next Great Rye (to take the place of Michter's, which is The One That Got Away).

I imagine you were speaking with Scott Bush. Does north-central mean Wisconsin-Minnesota? There might be a constituency for it there of old men who never gave up on the rye.

My cult favorite of bottom-shelf, recently available, ryes is Fleischmann's Straight Rye, which may or may not have finally dried up in a really small distribution area centered on Fond du Lac, Wisconsin. It was a Barton's product that I understand they chose to discontinue distilling a few years ago, right as it became clear we were entering a rye-crazed era. Barton...go figure.

Roger

 

[Scotto]

After scouring every liquor store within 10 miles for this rye, I finally gave up and had the local liquor mega-mart order it for me. Supposedly it arrives this week. After having it in a Manhattan a few weeks ago and loving it, I have been in hot pursuit.

The local liquor stores carry tons of bourbon, but little to no rye. When I asked the store manager why they stock Russell's Reserve bourbon but not the rye, the answer was "nobody drinks rye".

If anyone wants to find it, I am sure they would be happy to ship, since they had to order a whole case to satisfy my need for one bottle. PM me if you want the place's contact info.

Stay tuned when it arrives and I'll post some additional tasting notes.

 

[letterk]

Finally picked this one up today and made my first Manhattan tonight. I'll be making one again very soon!

My wife's impression of the Manhattan: "Um, no. Bring me something with juice in it."

 

[Maplerunner]

I bought a bottle of the Russell Reserve Rye after reading this thread. It tastes great on the rocks. A local store carries it for $25 and almost everything else you could name. This is a very fine rye whiskey IMO.

 

[castlecraver]

My wife's impression of the Manhattan: "Um, no. Bring me something with juice in it."

That just about sums up one of the big reasons the Manhattan is my favorite cocktail. Its an undeniably manly drink, now perhaps manlier than the martini (now that its name has been drug through the mud over the last decade or more).

 

[Scotto]

Well, SWMBO picked up my specially-ordered bottle of this elixir today. I quickly quaffed some and also made a Manhattan. This is a very good whiskey. It is nicely spicy and complex, but not overly so. I think it is very accessible for those who are not sure they like rye whiskey.

The Manhattan was excellent. I made it a tad too sweet with the vermouth, but the rye shined through with some nice bready notes, allspice, and graham cracker. I'll be experimenting more in the next few days, but so far it is a great acquisition.

 

[letterk]

This reminds me. Time to make another Manhattan tonight.