Rye for Beverages

Research:

• The Rye Study: Variety Determines Flavor. Far North Spirits. 2021.

  • Investigates the influence variety has on sensory attributes of distilled whiskey.

• Rye Whiskey: The Return of an American Classic. Distilled Spirits Council of the United States. 2021.

  • Analytics of rye whiskey production from 2002 to 2020.

• Bourbon and Rye Whiskeys are Legally Distinct but are not Discriminated by Sensory Descriptive Analysis. Jacob Lahne, et. al.

  • Uses a descriptive analysis sensory panel to investigate whether bourbon and rye whiskeys have distinct flavor characteristics that can be differentiated blindly.

Media & News:

General/National:

• All About Rye: Its Big and Bold, and its Back! Whiskey Advocate, Spring 2019.

  • Full issue dedicated to American and Canadian rye whiskeys, historic and contemporary.

• A History of the United States Seen Through the Eyes of Rye Whiskey: The Rise and Fall and Rise of Rye. David Pickerell. Distilled Spirits Council of the United States. 2018.

  • A brief description of rye whiskey’s place in American history from the colonial era through Prohibition and World War II to its resurgence in modern times.

• The Great Rye Whiskey Revival. Charles Cowdery. Whiskey Advocate. January 2, 2020.

  • Describes the re-emergence of rye whiskey and various distilleries producing rye whiskeys from low percentage inclusions up to one hundred percent rye.

• American Rye Whiskey Styles. Matt Strickland. Distiller. November 18., 2020.

  • Brief introduction to common types of American rye whiskey.

• 6 of the Best Bottom Shelf, Cheap Rye Whiskeys, Blind-Tasted and Ranked. Jim Vorel. Paste Magazine. March 13, 2019.

• Alex Clark Pens a Love Letter to Rye at Fort Hamilton Whiskey in Brooklyn. Michael Longshore. Grape Collective. June 23, 2021.

  • Interview with distiller Alex Clark discussing the re-emergence of rye and bourbon in New York City and the pivotal years of 1985 and 2007.

• Central Illinois Farmer-Distillers 'Take A Shot' At Climate Change. Tory Dahlhoff. WCBU Peoria Public Radio. June 4, 2021.

  • Interview with the owners of Cow Creek Organics and Silver Tree Spirits about how they are bringing the spirit of regenerative agriculture to Illinois consumers.

• Why Do Rye Whiskeys Almost Always Have Green Labels? An Investigation. Robert Simonson. Vinepair. February 16, 2022.

• American Rye Whiskey is Having a Moment. Kara Newman. Wine Enthusiast. May 9, 2023.

• The Return of a Legendary Rye: A fabled whiskey makes a fanfared return. Wayne Curtis. Garden & Gun. January 2023.

  • A story of rye whiskey from Michter’s Distillery in Louisville, KY.

• A Story 100 Years in the Making. Emily Haines Lloyd. Michigan Country Lines. November 2022.

  • The rediscovery and re-introduction of Rosen Rye by Mammoth Distilling in Michigan.

• Woodford Reserve Announces 5-Year Program To Study & Boost Local Rye. D. L. Chandler. Cassius Life. June 27, 2023.

• Welcome to the Ryenaissance. Matt Domino. The Manual. September 24, 2015.

Empire Rye:

• The Grain Reaper: Pedersen Farms. Liza Weisstuch. Whiskey Advocate. February 16, 2021.

  • Highlights the farm in the Finger Lakes region that has been reviving heirloom Horton Rye for New York Distilling Company.

• “Fire, Water & Grain: The Story of Empire Rye” — How a New York Spirit Got Its Own Documentary. David Tao. Drink Hacker. August 6, 2023.

  • Interview with film makers Alec and Ryan Balas about their documentary featuring the development of Empire Rye.

• New York State Distillers Guild Releases 2020 Economic Impact Study. Craft Spirits Magazine. February 1, 2021.

• The New York Craft Distillers Building the Empire Rye Movement. Lukas Southard. Wine Enthusiast. October 20, 2021.

• You’ve Heard of Tennessee Whiskey? Meet New York State Rye. Clay Risen. October 16, 2017.

Pennsylvania Rye:

• The History and Legend of Old Overholt. Aaron Goldfar. Vinepair. September 15, 2021.

  • A history of Old Overholt Distillery, founded in PA around 1810, surviving Prohibition, and currently distilled in KY as a ‘workhorse’ rye whiskey.

• The Historic American Whiskey You've Probably Never Heard Of. Chris Sands. Tasting Table. January 23, 2023.

  • A brief history and comeback story of Old Monongahela rye whiskey, a style from Pennsylvania and Maryland.

• America’s Oldest Rye Whiskey Is Back from Extinction. Wayne Cutris. Punch. April 24, 2017.

Maryland Rye:

• Living Proof: America’s First Whiskey was Born in Maryland. Centuries Later, it Strives for a Historic Comeback in Baltimore. Lydia Woolever. Baltimore Magazine. December 2023.

• Kentucky, New York . . . and Maryland? Distillers revive state's rye whiskey history. Ashley Stevens. Salon. December 14, 2021.

• Maryland Rye Whiskey Has Finally Returned. But What Was It in the First Place? Clay Risen. The New York Times. February 14, 2019.

• Maryland Rye: A Whiskey the Nation Long Fancied-But Now Has Let Vanish. James H. Bready. Maryland Historical Magazine. Winter 1990.

• Carroll Farm Featured on MPT’s Maryland Farm & Harvest Spirits Episode. Jennifer Turiano. The Baltimore Sun. February 4, 2019.

Canadian Rye:

• Alberta Distillers Stamps Its Version Of Canadian Rye On The Whisky Map. Nino Kilgore-Marchetti. The Whiskey Wash. June 15, 2022.

• Canadian Whisky’s Long-Awaited Comeback. Clay Risen. The New York Times. January 11, 2018.

• Meet the Canadian Distillery Behind the World’s Best Rye. Susannah Skiver Barton. June 29, 2022.

• Why The Most Exciting Whisky Right Now Is Coming From Canada. Natalie B. Compton. GQ. September 14, 2018.

International Rye:

• European Rye Whiskey. Daniel Stewart. Distiller. July 25, 2024.

  • A history and highlights of European distillers leaning into the rye revival.

• The Old World Turns to a New World Spirit: Rye. Evan Rail. The New York Times. June 26, 2020.

  • Reports on Scottish and other European distilleries producing rye whiskeys starting from American Rye styles and evolving into their own distinct products.

• Make Way for Australian Rye. Fred Siggins. Punch. May 24, 2022.

  • Features Australian rye distilleries working with distinct varieties, environmental factors, and production methods to produce a distinctly Australian rye whiskey.

• Powers introduces the World’s First 100-percent Irish Rye. Jonah Flicker. Men’s Journal. March 10, 2023.

• How Scotch Distilleries Are Experimenting With Rye. Josh Sims. Inside Hook. January 17, 2024.

Video & Podcast:

• Learn the rich history and raise a glass to Canadian whisky. News reel highlighting the third edition of Davin de Kergommeaux’s authoritative history of Canadian Whisky.

• The Past, Present and Future of Rye Whiskey. The Daily Beast. November 17, 2021.

  • Discussion of the re-emergence and growth of rye whiskey with a panel of top distillers from across the country.

• Fire, Water & Grain: The Story of Empire Rye. Alec Balas and Ryan Balas. 2023.

Books:

• The Spirit of Rye: Over 300 Expressions to Celebrate the Rye Revival. Carlos DeVito. 2021.

  • A history of rye whiskey and its resurgence in the United States featuring bottles from over 300 distilleries across the country and interviews with many of their distillers.

• Distillers Grain Manual. Rolland S. Mather. 1942.

  • Discusses the common grains used for distilling in the early 1940s, production and handling. Noteworthy: nearly a third of all rye production at the time went to livestock feed.