Whiskey and Rye

The South is a stronghold of US whiskey and so I’m giving it a go to see if American Whiskey can begin to compete with my love of Scotch. I’m a fan of rye and bourbon in cocktails but have never cottoned to just sipping on them.

So it’s been a kick to ask bartenders what Bourbon or Rye I might try that are excellent and would be unlikely to find on the shelves of a West Coast liquor establishment. Good bartenders love being able to pick their favorites to offer you and I enjoy throwing myself on the mercy of the house. Here are some favorites from the trip …

In Franklin Tennessee, the bartender offered this bottle of Uncle Nearest Tennessee Whiskey. The whiskey was excellent but the story was even better. Nearest Green was a slave who was known as the best distiller in Lincoln County, Kentucky in the period before the Civil War. He was an expert  in “sugar maple charcoal filtering”, now called the Lincoln County process. It is believed to have been introduced by slaves, who were already using charcoal to filter their water and purify their foods in West Africa.

A young man moved to the plantation where Nearest was doing his thing, proceeded to learn about the whiskey, and then began to sell this fine product for profit. That young man was Jack Daniel. After the War, Jack Daniel hired Uncle Nearest as his first distiller and an international brand was born.

This Uncle Nearest distillery is founded partly by descendants of Nearest Green and uses his process. They are in financial difficulties right now and I wish them the best.

The bartender in Greenville offered up this Oaklore Rye from near Charlotte, North Carolina.  Gotta say, this is a first rate whiskey.

Interestingly, North Carolina actually rivaled Kentucky for Bourbon central before abolitionists killed the industry in 1909, 11 years before Prohibition became the law of the land and drove producers into making moonshine in the Appalachians, hiding from authorities. Oaklore claims that the “constant large swing in daily temperature year-round forces the barrels to breathe deeper and more often, allowing the whiskey to penetrate the grooves at a higher rate”. Who am I to argue, because this is a complex and nice dram to sip on.

This Barrell Rye is produced in Louisville, KY and caught my eye on a whiskey list at Public Fish and Oyster, where Dinah and I had most excellent oysters and crab cakes. The bartender was genuinely excited for me to have this.

Barrell doesn’t distill. They are a master blender, buying barrels from producers around the US and Canada, and then aging them in their own facility, before finishing them in their own casks. This one is finished in casks that had been used to make Martinique Rhum and Apricot Brandy. In a bit over a decade, Barrell has established a heck of a reputation and based on this bottle, I can see why.

Last up is this bottle of Bourbon provided by Jared who is the husband of Dinah’s niece Lauren, living in rural Virginia. Jared is an American whiskey enthusiast and, with friends, bought an entire cask from the New Riff distillery in Kentucky, after tasting through multiple barrels. Really smooth stuff .. maybe my friends and I need a barrel!?

At any rate, I do find myself enjoying southern ryes much more than I ever have and I think Dinah agrees. Come over to our place after we return to Seattle for a sip of these bottles (we may have procured a couple) and see for yourself.