The Tasting Panel magazine

November2010

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BENT ON MIXOLOGY “Rye Whiskey, Rye Whiskey . . .” SWS MIXOLOGIST ALLEN KATZ PLAYS ON OUR PATRIOTIC PASSION FOR THIS BROWN SPIRIT It’s a whiskey, rye whiskey, rye whiskey I cry; If I don’t get rye whiskey, well I think I will die.” —traditional American song Congressional power next January, we have a President who enjoys a tasty tipple. Hallelujah! And in that presidential vein there is no better time to hail rye whiskey, America’s true native spirit, the source of pleasure and profi t of our very fi rst Commander in Chief, George Washington. For all of Washington’s accolades in the military and political arenas, he spent his fi nal years at Mount Vernon adept in a multi- tude of businesses, among them the distilling of rye whiskey. So successful was Washington, in fact, that from 1797 to 1799 (when he passed away) he sold in excess of 11,000 gallons of rye each year—an extraordinary quantity. After the Revolutionary War, rye whiskey was the likely beverage of choice, as it was both plentiful and cheap, rye being the principle grain of the mid-Atlantic states, specifi cally Maryland and Pennsylvania, where the distillation of rye was most prevalent. W It is true that since the repeal of Prohibition, bourbon has largely been America’s most popular native spirit. But American rye, in its recent comeback, has been recognized for its connection to the colonial era as well as to the golden age of cocktails. Think of a great Manhattan or Old- Fashioned, and the spicy-sweet fl avors of rye whiskey provide an ideal foil for the sweeter ith the midterm election fi nally over, there is one thing we can all truly celebrate: No matter who moves into 90 / the tasting panel / november 2010

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