Welcome to the rye-volution
Popularity among millennials drives burgeoning market
Fans of brown spirits in the U.S. are taking a rye approach to imbibing.
Hot on the heels of the bourbon boom, more ryes are appearing on American shelves as consumers explore whisky’s spicier, fruitier side. “People are rediscovering rye whisky and its unique flavour,” says Dan Tullio, master ambassador for Canadian whisky for Beam Suntory, which just launched its Alberta Rye Dark Batch Whisky.
Dark Batch actually capitalizes on two trends: At the same time American drinkers are developing a taste for rye, they also have become increasingly interested in Canadian whisky (which Canadians — like Scots — spell without the “e”). Alberta Rye Dark Batch, made at Alberta Distillers, the largest producer of 100 per cent rye whisky in North America, is a blend of 91 per cent rye, 8 per cent bourbon and 1 per cent sherry for smoothness.
Alittle bit lighter and spicier tasting than bourbon, rye whisky is made, obviously, from rye, a grass related to wheat. Where bourbon has to be made from at least 51 per cent corn, rye must be at least 51 per cent rye. Both rye and bourbon must be aged in charred new American oak barrels, and a rye that’s been aged at least two years can be labelled as “straight rye” whisky. Rye whisky typically also contains some corn and malted barley.
And consumers are drinking it up. Rye sales were up 40 per cent by volume, to 520,000 cases, in 2014, according to the U.S. Distilled Spirits Council.
The taste for rye has tracked the growth in the bourbon market, particularly as consumers gravitate toward bourbons with a higher rye content, such as Four Roses and Bulleit (both brands also offer true rye whiskys). In fact, the growing interest in rye has triggered a flood of new bottles coming to market, including the cultishly popular Jefferson’s Rye and Angel’s Envy, as well as more common Jim Beam Green Label and Knob Creek.
At BevMo, a California-based chain specializing in wine and spirits, ryes clearly are on an upswing, says Ted Carmon, BevMo category manager for spirits.He traces the trend to the interest in re-creating pre-Prohibition era cocktails, many of which are rye-based. “Quite honestly, the quality of rye has improved a lot over the years, so it’s a lot of fun for the mixology world to play with quality whisky,” he says.
And who’s drinking all this rye (and all those cocktails)? A lot of the demand is coming from brown-spirits loving millennials, who have come to rye by way of their interest in classic cocktails, says Brian Bowden, vicepresident of spirits, beer tobacco and beverages for BevMo “With the growing interest in high-quality spirits and a surge in contemporary cocktail culture, bartenders and curious drinkers alike are now looking for those bigger, fuller flavours in rye whisky,” says Adam Harris, Knob Creek bourbon ambassador.
“Rye stands out,” says Mark Bylok, author of the recently released The Whisky Cabinet. “People started tasting rye and enjoying it, they wanted that character and spiciness.”
The next big thing is going to be long-aged ryes, he says. “You’re going to see the 15- to 25-year-old ryes coming out and they’re going to be absolutely fantastic.”