Farewell to Bourbon and Rye Week!

We Are Capping off a Week of American Whiskey History, Interviews, Bar Features, Lore, Recipes and Many, Many Reviews With a Giveaway for Paid Subscribers!

Farewell Bourbon and Rye Week. We Hardly Knew Ye!

This week went fast, which is crazy because there was a lot of content. But like its roots in American history, the Bourbon and rye industries run deep and the well of information about the past, present and future of them seemed bottomless.

Robert wrote about the early days of the current Bourbon and rye whiskey revival; Old Overholt’s 19th-century roots in West Overton, PA; and the whiskey destination The Travel Bar in Brooklyn. He interviewed Fawn Weaver, the founder of Uncle Nearest whiskey in Tennessee; and pondered the reason that most modern Whiskey Sours have egg white in them. He even managed to squeeze some hot dog content into Bourbon and Rye week (well, hot dog-less hot dogs, anyway) by making Chili Buns, using the recipe from Weaver’s Pool Hall in Kentucky. It was a good week.

Infinity Bottle Giveaway

To top it all off, we’d like to share the spoils of Bourbon and Rye week with you.

We had such a good time tasting so many of this country’s best Bourbon and ryes this week that we made an Infinity Bottle to commemorate the experience. In fact we made two, one for us and one for one of you. So if you are a paid subscriber and live in the New York City area (so that you can meet MK somewhere to pick it up) you can join in. Mary Kate is thinking of a number between 1 and 200. Shoot her your best guess at marykatemurray@me.com and maybe you’ll win the bottle! (This may be a good time to become a paid subscriber!)

Just to refresh your memory, here are the past week’s Bourbon and Rye Reviews - including the final tastings below. A half-ounce of each went into the infinity bottle:

Old Grandad 16yo Bourbon; Heaven Hill Grain to Glass Rye; Heaven Hill Grain to Glass Bourbon; Russell’s Reserve 10yo Bourbon; Old Fitzgerald Bottled-in-Bond, Fall 2024; Woodford Reserve Straight Rye; Woodford Reserve Straight Bourbon; Dad’s Hat Pennsylvania Straight Rye Whiskey; Dad’s Hat Bottled-in-Bond Pennsylvania Rye Whiskey; Dad’s Hat Syrah Finish Pennsylvania Rye Whiskey; George Dickel/Leopold Brothers Column Still Collaboration Blend; Leopold Brothers Maryland Style Rye Whiskey; Leopold Brothers Straight Bourbon Whiskey Finished in Three-Chamber-Rye-Whiskey Barrels; Fort Hamilton Rye; Shenk’s Kentucky Sour Mash Whiskey; Bomberger’s Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey 2024 Release; 1792 Small Batch Bourbon; Woodinville Straight Bourbon Whiskey; Woodinville Cask Strength Straight Bourbon Whiskey; Woodinville Straight Bourbon Whiskey Finished in Port Casks; Uncle Nearest 1884 Small Batch Whiskey; Uncle Nearest 1856 Premium Whiskey; George Dickel Chill-Filtered Rye Whiskey; George Dickel Bourbon Whiskey; Pollinator Spirits Rye Whiskey; Pollinator Spirits Bourbo; Jackson McCrea Rye Whiskey; Michter’s Straight Bourbon; Michter’s Toasted Barrel Finish Bourbon; Midsummer Night’s Dram, Act 12; Russell’s Reserve Single Rickhouse Straight Bourbon; Dry Fly Straight Bourbon 101; Smokey Hill Barrel Proof; Elijah Craig Single Barrel; Weller Special Reserve; Buffalo Trace Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey; Eagle Rare 10yo Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey; Sazerac Straight Rye Whiskey; Ancient Age Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey; Benchmark Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey; Bomberger’s PFG Straight Bourbon Whiskey; Chocorua Straight Rye Whiskey; Brothers Bond American Blended Rye Whiskey; Darts Arts Straight Bourbon Whiskey Cask Strength; Dark Arts Straight Rye Whiskey; Dark Arts Straight Bourbon Whiskey; and Johnny Drum Kentucky Bourbon.

Now is a good time to become a paid subscriber! Subscribe below and get one year of The Mix for $40. That’s $3.33 a month.

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Bourbon and Rye, and Other American Things

Lately there have been a flurry of articles about the future of Bourbon and Rye. There has also been a lot of talk about whether consuming alcohol is good for you. I’m not going to address any of that here. Although my father was a lawyer and a municipal judge and my mom was a nurse, alcohol has always been a part of my family’s history, so it would be difficult to imagine getting where we are without it.

Both of my mother’s parents had roots in the booze business. Her father’s mother’s family money came from owning a brewery in Philadelphia in the 19th century. Her mother’s father was a “purveyor of alcohol” in Atlantic City, New Jersey, until Prohibition, when it was said he ran a small speakeasy in a rooming house or was a stock broker depending upon who you believe. Her parents met when her father was delivering beer to her grandfather.

My father’s parents owned taverns in Manville and Neshanic, New Jersey. My dad always told me stories about hearing the attack on Pearl Harbor on the radio while sweeping out the bar when he was eleven years old and delivering beer to the dwellers of the Sourland Mountains via horse cart in the summers. I still laugh thinking of my sister Betsy winning her eighth grade science fair; for her project she made a working still. The nun’s at the Immaculate Conception School may not have shown it, but I’m sure they were impressed.

These family stories stay with a person. When Robert was inducted into the Order of the Writ (a private Bourbon society) this past October, I was lucky to be seated next to Andrea Wilson, the Master of Maturation and Chief Operating Officer of Michter’s. We spoke about her career, which is incredibly impressive. But what will strike you most when speaking with Andrea is how ingrained (no pun intended) the Bourbon business is in her history. Her first exposure was from her grandfather, a former bootlegger during Prohibition. He talked with her about distilling from an early age and took her to distilleries to see it first hand. By adulthood, her love of distilling was baked in. Andrea worked her way up through a business that did not initially hire women to do this kind of work. Her grandfather had everything to do with this.

How did Robert make his career choice? His family was not in the booze business. (However, he did grow up in Wisconsin, which I’m told is the booziest state in the United States). The funny thing about Robert is how much of his journalism is centered on American things. From musical theater and cocktails, to hot dogs and regional food, and now on to Bourbon and rye, he chronicles our country’s most fascinating and enduring creations. He loves writing about them.

Our country has its hands full with many problems at present, but I know it is these ancestral stories that remind us who we are and keep us going. We are a country of immigrants; some of my mother’s family arrived in 1603. They helped to found Hartford, CT. They fought in the American Revolution and the Civil War. My father’s family arrived in the early twentieth century from Hungary. They were bamboozled into coal mining in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, and had to find their way from there. Robert’s family is German on his mother’s side and Norwegian on his father’s side. His great-grandparents were all humble laborers, bakers and farmers and the like. They all came over to the United States in the late 1800s and early 1900s, settling in various parts of Wisconson. We are all Americans.

My son’s father is Dominican, his parents coming here to make a new life. Robert’s son’s mother is Jewish, her father and two uncles having escaped the Holocaust, while other relatives were not as fortunate. All of these family histories make up who our two sons are as Americans. No one ever succeeded in America by keeping people out. No one can take our stories away; we have to keep telling them.

Thanks so much for joining us this week. We had fun. We hope you did, too. Now we are off to London. Although you may miss our daily emails (lolz), we’re off to find new things to bring to you at The Mix. This spring, we’ll be going to Kentucky, Chicago, Milwaukee, San Francisco, Philadelphia, Texas and many more places, so please stay tuned and support this independent journalism brought to you by a veteran journalist, who writes about things because he feels they are worth reading about.

—Mary Kate and Robert

And before we dive into this last chapter of Bourbon and Rye Week—here’s a reminder that this is the last day for our SALE offer! We won’t be offering a sale on annual subscriptions like this a long time, so THIS is the time to ACT!

Click HERE for 20% off an annual subscription to The Mix

Bourbon and Rye Reviews, Final Round

Brothers Bond American Blended Rye Whiskey, Indiana/Ohio, 47.5%

This well-advertised brand, founded in 2021 by actors Ian Somerhalder and Paul Wesley, is a four-grain rye (including 77% rye) aged a minimum of 4 years. The whiskey is sourced from MGP in Indiana and bottled in Ohio. It has a promising nose of spice cake and fruit and vanilla. On the palate, the flavor profile is a bit disjointed and a bit hot, with notes of vanilla, orange, spice, and burnt rye toast.

Dark Arts Straight Bourbon Whiskey, Indiana/Kentucky, 56.8% abv

The Dark Arts Whiskey House, founded in Lexington by Macaulay Minton in 2023, says it is “inspired by the alchemists of old, our Master Blenders wield underutilized maturation and blending techniques.” That shows in its various bottlings, which toy around with unusual woods. This cask-strength Bourbon is the firm’s most traditional offering. The whiskey, originally distilled in Indiana and blended in Lexington, has a mash bill of 51% Corn, 39% Rye, and 10% malted rye. The blend is 6-8 years old. There is a muted nose. On the palate, the main notes are oak and smoke, with trace amounts of spice and fruit.

Dark Arts Straight Bourbon Whiskey, Indiana/Kentucky, 54% abv

This 7 1/2-year-old Bourbon is finished with staves from toasted French oak staves from the Jubilees Fleur forest. The mash bill is 60% corn, 36% Rye and 4% Malted Barley. The nose smells somewhat traditional. The high-rye profile comes through on the palate. The whiskey is spicy, with a sweetish finish. It is the best of Dark Arts’ three releases by far.

Dark Arts Straight Rye Whiskey, Indiana/Kentucky, 54% abv

This is the most unusual of Dark Arts’ whiskeys. The 7-year-old rye, from a mash bill of 95% rye and 5% malted barley, is finished with toasted amburama oak staves, a wood typically associated with South America and barrel-aged cachaça. The nose is highly unusual, smelling of incense and almost nothing like rye. The taste is herbal, floral, with notes of potpourri, lipstick and clove cigarettes. Looking for something completely different? Here you go!

Johnny Drum Kentucky Bourbon, Kentucky, 50.5% abv

This undersung Bourbon from Willet, developed by Thompson Willett in the 1960s, is a fan favorite for some bartenders. It’s a blend of two mash bills, one 72% corn, 13% tye and 15% malted barley; the other 52% corn, 38% rye, and 10% malted barley. The former accounts for 65% of the blend, the latter 35%. It has a classic bourbon nose with notes of caramel, chocolate, and raspberries. The palate tastes rather young, with notes of light vanilla, caramel, and a little orange. This is more for mixing, less for sipping. Which may be why bartenders like it. That, and the high alcohol content.

Old Hamer Straight Bourbon Whiskey Cask Strength, Indiana, 59.1% abv

Old Hamer is an old whiskey brand originally established in 1825 at the Spring Mill Village in Lawrence County, Indiana. The current resurrection is made by West Fork Distilling. The 3-year-old juice is distilled from a super-high-corn mash bill of 99% Corn, 1% Malted Barley. The nose is full and hot, with lots of flavor jumping off it, including spice, fruit, vanilla and cinnamon. In contrast, the mouth feel is rather thin, giving out mainly citrus, cinnamon and alcohol. Best cooled down in a highball.

Hugh Hamer Straight Bourbon Whiskey Finished in Rum Barrels, Indiana, 51.5% abv

This 4-plus-year-old whiskey doesn’t smell particularly sweet on the nose. You mainly get raisins on the nose. In the palate, however, it is very sweet, like caramel corn, but the syrup quickly giving way to a hot finish. It tastes quite young and the heat lingers.

Hugh Hamer Small Batch Straight Bourbon Whiskey, Double Oaked, Indiana, 51.5% abv

When they say “double-oaked,” they mean it. You can smell the wood on the muted nose. On the palate, there is some clove, cinnamon, all spice, and fruit in the background, but it’s mainly the oak you taste. Best for a highball, or sipping if oak bombs are your thing.

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Bourbon and Rye Week Infinity Bottle Giveaway for Paid Subscribers

Do you live in the Brooklyn area and are willing to pick up the Bourbon and Rye Week Infinity bottle? —Don’t forget to email Mary Kate your guess. Just pick a number between 1 and 200 and email it to her at marykatemurray@me.com. Good Luck! We’ll let you know the winner in our next post.

This is the LAST DAY to become a paid subscriber and get the 20% off an annual subscription. Subscribe below and get one year of The Mix for $40. That’s $3.33 a month.

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