RYE
DAVIN DE KERGOMMEAUX
Rye:
EDDIE RUSSELL The Kentucky Bourbon Trail The whisky aisles at LCBO are changing
as Bourbon and rye creep onto shelves that were once the exclusive domain of Scotch whisky. Rising prices may have started the transition, but enjoyability keeps it going. While equally flavourful, premium bourbons often cost less than half what run-of-the-mill single malts do. But where have all these new whiskies
come from? Did they suddenly materialize or are we learning of something that always existed? To help Bounder readers sort this out, I recently drove the Kentucky Bourbon Trail, visiting the distilleries where several well-loved Bourbons are made. The dormant Stitzel-Weller distillery in
Shively has found new life as the home of Bulleit bourbon. Tom Bulleit was a lawyer until he heard the call of whisky. From his comfortable digs at the distillery, he now oversees international sales of his bourbon along with Bulleit rye. Both have found favour with whisky lovers here in Ontario. In Canada, we call our whisky “rye”
50 BOUNDER MAGAZINE
and it is the best selling whisky style here at home. It sells briskly in the US too, even as American-made rye is becoming the rage south of the border. “In 2005 we made 5,000 cases of rye,” Wild Turkey’s Eddie Russell tells me, “and that was enough to satisfy demand. In 2014 we made 80,000 cases.” One of the reasons Wild Turkey tastes so darn
good, Russell claims, smiling at me, is that they use the best rye grain available and much of it comes from Canada. Maker’s Mark does not yet make rye, but
sales of their bourbon are booming under the watchful eye of master distiller, Greg Davis. In addition to the soft, gentle Maker’s Mark we are all familiar with, a new spiced-up version called Maker’s Mark 46 was added a few years ago, and now a mouth-searing barrel strength bottling is coming on line. “That’s not mouth feel,” master distiller, Bill Samuels chuckles, “that’s taste buds being destroyed.” It’s macho stuff, for sure. Unlike the other distilleries in Kentucky,
with their industrial column stills, Woodford distillery, has three copper pot stills, and is a picture straight out of Scotland. “Everything here is done on purpose,” master distiller, Chris Morris tells me. “The copper pots are like the ones used in Scotland, we use triple distillation like in Ireland. We also employ Cognac making techniques, winemaking techniques. We have had a pivotal role in re- shaping Kentucky bourbon.” The big boy on the Kentucky bourbon trail
is clearly the Jim Beam distillery in Frankfort. Although it’s a massive industrial plant, many things are done by hand. Frankfort sits in the middle of the Kentucky Ham Belt, master distiller, Fred Noe tells me before we sample eight local hams matched with his bourbon.
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Photos By DAVIN DE KERGOMMEAUX
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