Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/970887
s p r i n g 2 0 1 8 | 4 9 Until recently, rye whiskey was like that brash and boisterous friend who never seemed to score an invite to the more, shall we say, refined dinner parties. But thanks to the efforts of bartenders crafting culinary-minded cocktails and servers recommending pours of spirits delivered tableside, the days of automatically reaching for the wine list at a restaurant are over. When it comes to matching cuisine with beverages, diners are finally thinking outside of the stemware box. Take whiskey, which, like most aged spirits, derives its color and most of its flavor from the barrel. With rye whiskey specifically, that can translate to notes of caramel, vanilla, citrus, chocolate, pepper, and cinnamon: complex aromas and flavors that emulate a generous dash or two from the spice rack. "There is a big difference from three to five years ago in terms of being able to pair spir- its with food," says Rachel Fontana, Brand Director for Baltimore rye whiskey producer Sagamore Spirit Distillery. "It can be savored over a meal—it's not something you have to shoot quickly." Sagamore Spirit entered the whiskey market in May 2016 with its American Straight Rye Whiskey (it's distilled to 83 proof as a nod to the 22-mile journey the water used for distilling and blending makes from Sagamore Farm to the distillery in Port Covington on Interstate 83). The whiskey touts aromas of warm cinnamon, vanilla, honey, and nutmeg, with a smooth palate that starts with caramel and molasses before evolving to a zesty, peppery finish. Sagamore Spirit–inspired dishes can be found in spades at Rye Street Tavern, fittingly located adjacent to the distillery. Fontana recommends order- ing Chef Andrew Carmellini's Sagamore ribs with the brand's signature rye whiskey, as the sticky, sweet sauce and spicy slaw accompaniment mirror the notes in the spirit. Another member of the Sagamore portfolio, the Cask Strength Rye, pairs especially well with the restaurant's wood-fired seafood bake. Inspired by the Chesapeake Bay, its crabs, prawns, mussels, and clams are steamed with local- ly-brewed National Bohemian beer (a cult brand known affectionately in these parts as "Natty Boh"), smoky Benton's bacon, and Old Bay potatoes. If rye neat or on the rocks is a bit too ambitious for all that spicy shellfish, Rye Street Tavern's Maryland Mule tempers it just a tad with Q Ginger Beer and lime. Meanwhile, Baltimore-based Blue Pit BBQ features both the Sagamore Rye and the Cask Strength Rye—which shows bitter chocolate notes along with baking spices—on its ambitious whiskey list. "Our menu is small and is built around working with whiskey," says Cara Bruce, who owns the laid-back smoked meat den with her chef husband David Newman. "The smokiness in our food plays well with the wood and sweetness that comes from barrel aging." At Blue Pit, Bruce says she and Newman have noticed guests are increas- ingly tempted to pair whiskey rather than wine with their meals—especially with intensely-flavorful barbecue dishes like their 18-hour pit-cooked pulled pork. "Whiskey is a powerful drink, so it's hard to match with delicate things," Bruce points out. "That's why bold flavors work so well!" On the cocktail side, Blue Pit's most popular tipple is the Old Fashioned with either Sagamore Rye or Cask Strength Rye, turbinado simple syrup, Angos- tura Bitters, and orange bitters garnished with an expressed orange peel and Luxardo cherry. A well-made Manhattan is always in style as well, especially with steak or chicken, Fontana says; swap the ratios of whiskey and sweet ver- mouth, and a Reverse Manhattan instead elevates dishes like oysters, squash soup, and lamb. The first entry in Sagamore Spirit's portfolio was its 83-proof American Straight Rye Whiskey. Its third expression, the Double Oak Rye Whiskey, ages for four years in two types of oak barrels. PHOTO: TASHA DOOLEY