Alchemy Distillery Boldt Rye Whiskey Cocktails

It seems like new distilleries are popping up all over the place.  Partly due to the resurgence of craft cocktails, whiskey/bourbon and the loosening of prohibitive post-prohibition laws locally.  My (smaller geographically) area has seen a surge of new distilleries making everything including vodka, gin, moonshine, rum, whiskey and liqueurs.

Alchemy Distillery is a local husband a wife team who, while interested in spirits, just said one day "why not us?"  They did their research and come up with a plan.  The initial funding was done almost three years ago via a Kickstarter campaign.  They raised the money needed, but didn't jump right into the production of a distilling facility or rush to produce just anything.  They took a distillery tour of the United States towing their Airstream behind them, took distilling classes with the masters and refined their distillery vision (using local grains, buying American made equipment). 

Their first product hit shelves just before St Patrick's day this year.  They crafted two different clear whiskies made from locally grown soft white wheat and hard red wheat, sourced from Hindley Ranch.  These whiskies were different in a sense because the mash bill was 100 percent wheat.  They weren't a wheated bourbon, or mixed with any rye or barley.

Locally these products were a success and the farmers soon ran out of product for the season.  Next they sourced organic rye from a producer just over the border in Oregon.  The 100 percent rye, clear whiskey (a particularly stubborn and hard to make distillate) is their next product to market and the subject of this post.

I wanted to try using their unaged rye whiskey in cocktails that were common enough, but through slight tweaking would show off the character of their new whiskey.  I had previously made a margarita, screwdriver, Boldt Sunrise and a Boldt Julep with their hard red wheat clear whiskey.  They were nice because you could still taste the fresh, dry, dusty grain character of the whiskey.

The top of the picture is the Boldt Rye Whiskey neat along with a Boldt Sazerac.  I used:

3oz Boldt Clear Rye Whiskey
1/4 oz or a splash of Wild Card Absinthe from Oregon
1/4 oz Agave Syrup
2 dashes Angostura Orange Bitters (the original Sazerac calls for Peychaud's, but I was looking for something less sweet with the clear whiskey)
1/2 oz Perucchi Dry Vermouth
Lemon Zest Garnish

-Add the absinthe to your chilled glass, swirl to coat and discard the remainder.
-Fill a shaker with ice and add the whiskey, simple syrup, bitters and dry vermouth.
-Shake well and strain into your coated glass.
-Use a peeler to pull a thick zest from a fresh lemon. Rub around the rim of the glass and twist over the cocktail before adding.

On the bottom left is a Boldt Manhattan.  Being a clear whiskey, you don't want to overdo it with too much spice or sweetness.  Toning down the vermouth by using both sweet and dry will make for a more balance cocktail.  You will need:

3oz Boldt Clear Rye Whiskey
1/2 oz Carpano Antica Sweet Vermouth
1oz Perucchi Dry Vermouth
2 dashes Angostura Bitters
1/2 t Luxardo Cherry juice/syrup
2 ea Luxardo Cherries
Lemon Zest Garnish

-Combine all ingredients except the cherries and lemon garnish in a shaker with plenty of ice.
-Shake vigorously and then strain into a coupe or martini glass.
-Add the cherries on a skewer and twist the lemon zest over the cocktail before adding it.

The bottom right picture is two different Boldt Rye Mules.  The Moscow Mule is one of my favorite light, bright and refreshing cocktails.  this one uses Fee Brothers Barrel aged bitters to add some structure, spice and tannin to the young whiskey, all things it would pick up with a little time in barrel.  The recipe is for the cocktail on the right.  For the more traditional version, leave out the bitters.

3oz Boldt Rye Whiskey
2 dashes Fee Brothers Barrel Aged Bitters
Juice of half a lime
4-5 oz Bundaberg Ginger Beer

-Mix the Rye Whiskey, Bitters and lime juice in a shaker with ice.
-Strain into a glass filled with ice.
-Top with 4-5 oz of ginger beer and garnish with the zest or a round of lime.

This is the end of my weekend of experimental Boldt Rye Whiskey cocktails, but I'm sure I'll still play around with them.  The Manhattan is my favorite cocktail.  Preferably with a high proof (or barrel proof) bourbon, Carpano Antica, luxardo cherries and Paychaud's bitters.  This doesn't mean that it's the be all end all of my cocktail world. Take a look at your favorite cocktail recipe and change it just a bit.  Try a different liquor or change the proportions of certain ingredients.  You may just find a new favorite.

High West Midwinter Night's Dram Act 2.6

High West is a distillery located in Salt Lake City, Utah.  They have largely gained fame for their whiskey over the years by sourcing some amazing barrels and creating delicious mainstream and limited releases.  They have since set up a distillery and have stocks of various whiskey aging. 

The limited edition Midwinter Night's Dram is released yearly (with Act 3 arriving Fall 2015).  It is their standard Rendezvous Rye Whiskey that has been finished in Port and French Oak barrels.  The whiskey inside is sourced from MGP in Indiana (6-year 95% Rye, 5% Barley) and Barton Distillery (16-year 80% Rye, 10% Corn, 10% Barley), and is then finished for a period in the Port and French Oak Barrels.


The color is a deep reddish mahogany.

There is a sweetness on the nose of brown sugar, butterscotch and caramel, along with straw/hay, dill, nutmeg, clove and raspberry.

The palate is medium weight and drier than on my previous tasting, showing oak, vanilla dusty hay, dried herbs, caramel, brown sugar, raspberry, dried cherry notes and cinnamon.

The finish is long, warm and smooth. There are some hay/grain notes, along with vanilla, oak and caramel syrup.


This bottle has been open over a year and it has changed a bit. I still love it however, and would snap up any of it I can find. I think overall the fruit characteristics have toned down (previously I got fig and plum) and the sweetness has tapered from molasses, toffee and a lactic creaminess. I think the bottle has become drier, picking up more hay, dill and dried herbal notes.  Still a favorite, but is becoming more toned down.

Celebrating the Fourth of July with a Sazerac Cocktail with Twisted Manzanita Rye Whiskey

The Sazerac Cocktail has its roots all the way back in 1850 and may even be the root of the English word cocktail (the measuring cup that Antoine Peychaud used in New Orleans was called a coquetier).  The original Sazerac was made with Cognac (Sazerac de Forge et Fils brand), but the phylloxera epidemic in the 1870's in France made Cognac less available and in 1873, the Sazerac cocktail was altered to include the use of American Rye Whiskey.


You are going to need a few ingredients for a good Sazerac cocktail.

3 oz Rye Whiskey (I used Twisted Manzanita Rebellious Rye from Santee CA)
1/2 t (a rinse) of Absinthe (I used Wild Card Absinthe from Bend OR)
2-3 dashes Peychaud's Bitters
1/2 oz Simple Syrup (traditionally a sugar cube is used and doused with the bitters)
2-3 Luxardo Cherries (not traditional, but they are great cherries)
Meyer Lemon Rind for garnish

-Take a chilled coup or rocks glass and rinse with the absinthe.  Just run it around the inside of the glass and either leave the excess in, or shake it gently off.   My first Sazerac had too much black licorice or fennel character because of how much absinthe I used, so experiment.

-In a shaker with ice, combine the rye whiskey, Peychaud's bitters, simple syrup and shake until chilled.

-Strain into the chilled glass, add a few cherries (if you feel like it) and twist your lemon rind over the cocktail to release the essential oils and create a brighter, more fresh tasting cocktail.


This cocktail is generally more dry than a manhattan, but has a more herbal edge than and old fashioned.  You will find many recipes for the Sazerac Cocktail in books and online.  There will be some subtle, and not so subtle variations.  Give it a try your way and just enjoy a refreshing cocktail with a hint of history.

Pikesville Straight Rye Whiskey

I've always enjoyed using Rittenhouse Rye whiskey from Heaven Hill in cocktails.  So when I saw that they were resurrecting the Pikesville Rye Whiskey brand I was excited to try it.

Rittenhouse is a 100 proof, four-year aged bottled in bond rye whiskey.  Heaven Hill decided to take this already enjoyable rye, age it another two year and up the proof to 110.  The result is incredible, the successful resurrection of an 1890's northeastern US brand of rye whiskey.  Pikesville sells for about double Rittenhouse.

It falls under what a lot of people refer to as "barely legal rye" with a mash bill of 51% Rye, 39% Corn and 10% Malted Barley.  This shows on the palate with a much heavier, more rounded flavor.


A dark brown amber color.

Medium nose of brown sugar, sweetness, spicy character and a bit of alcohol.

The palate was richer than expected (probably due to the high proportion of corn), but still dry with prevailing flavors of spice, grain and dust, with moderate wood and caramel. Not a ton of fruity or floral characteristics.

The heat leaves quickly and you are left with a long finish of caramel, toffee and a light coffee bitterness.


This is a great rye whiskey to have around to sip neat or even mix into a cocktail.  The Rittenhouse seemed like more of an over ice or mixer whiskey.  The mash bill gives it a more rounded palate and while there are spicy notes, they are not as prevalent as you would find in a high rye or 95% rye whiskey.  It should run between $40-50 depending on where you live.

Whistlepig Old World Rye

I first tried the Whistlepig 10 year Rye whiskey a couple years ago at a nearby Italian restaurant.  I fell in love with it then, and spent the entire meal slowly sipping and then smelling my empty glass.  The delicious aromas just wouldn't disappear.

I recently was able to give the newer Whistlepig Old World a try.   It's a 12 year old straight rye whiskey aged in a combination of barrels.  (63% Madeira - 30% Sauternes - 7% Port) It is 86 proof.

A couple of years ago the distiller Dave Pickerell (formerly of Makers Mark and now a craft spirits consultant) began working with the crew at Whistlepig to finish 12 year rye whiskey in various European used barrels.  They noted the effects that these barrels had on the finished whiskey and offered limited edition bottlings of them.  The above blend was settled on and the Whistlepig Old World was added to their lineup along with their regular 12 year rye and their newest release, the 15 year Vermont Oak.

I gave this bottling a taste neat out of a crystal rocks glass and it came across as tight, and a touch too astringent for my taste.  I had this problem before with the 10 year rye.  I recommended it to someone highly.  They bought a bottle, tried it and didn't enjoy the pour.  I opened a fresh bottle and it did come off tighter and less rounded than it did on previous tastings.  The solution was to give it some air, let it breathe and then revisit it.  It made the 12 year (as with the 10 year previously) much better, more complete and more rounded.


The color is a deep mahogany with a reddish tint.

There are aromas of red cherry and plum fruit, baking spice, toffee, honey and menthol.

The palate is dry and high toned, becoming more rich and rounded with air.  There are flavors of vanilla, caramel, molasses, honeycomb, oak, grain, cocoa, baking spice and a hint of orange and lemon citrus.

The finish is medium length with clove, cinnamon, oak, coffee, caramel and a light alcohol burn.


My advice, learned from tasting this and other Whistlepig products is to be patient and give your whiskey a bit of air. You're not going to get all the nuances just popping and pouring.

I've read that  this is a 95% rye and 5% barley mash bill sourced from MGP in Indiana as opposed to their 100% rye sourced from Canada that was used in their initial 10 year offering.