Issue link: http://digital.copcomm.com/i/61075
NORTH AMERICAN WHISK(E)Y Get out of Dodge and Join the Posse S THE TASTING PANEL—AND SOME HIGH PROFILE ACCOUNTS— ARE BETTING ON MASTERSON'S CANADIAN RYE by Deborah Parker Wong / photos by Rebecca Wilkowski an Francisco has been on the forefront of the cocktail scene since Gold Rush days, so it's no surprise that the City by the Bay was quick to saddle up with the rye posse and to adopt one of its newest brands: Masterson's. We recently swaggered into two cutting-edge saloons to find out why rye is riding high. 83Proof Ups the Ante 83Proof co-owner and manager Marc Goldfine and bartender Veronica Nye work with one of the most comprehensive collections of gins in San Francisco and can claim in excess of 70 single malt scotches. But, when it comes to making classic cocktails like the Manhattan and a drier Old Fashioned, there is simply no substitute for rye whisky. "Masterson's is among a handful of 100 percent rye whiskies bottled at 90 proof," says Goldfine. A 10-Year-Old Straight Rye, Masterson's is distilled in Calgary, Alberta, and named after the Canadian-born gunfighter William Barclay "Bat" Masterson. In his early years, Masterson was a deputy to Wyatt Earp, and after an adventurous career as a gambler, prize fight promoter and frontier lawman, he became a celebrated sports- writer and columnist for the New York Daily Telegraph. Career bartenders like Nye, a transplant from Young Guns: San Francisco's 83Proof co-owner and manager Marc Goldfine and bartender Veronica Nye. New York City, and Goldfine, a member of the local USBG chapter, love a good story, and Masterson's Rye fits the bill. "This is a high-proof whiskey that's approachable," said Nye. "The grain-dominant, woodsy flavors and warm notes of vanilla and orange work well in lighter, refresh- ing whisky cocktails." 83Proof's signature Masterson's cocktail, the Long Branch, is named after a saloon in Dodge City that was riddled with bullets during one of many shootouts attributed to the storied gunslinger. 68 / the tasting panel / april 2012