SCOTCH AND RYE
Our resident aficionado Blair Bowman is weak-kneed at the thought of rye spirit, the most exciting whisky event for decades
Blair Bowman is in a tizzy about the rise of Rye whisky in Scotland
Arbikie’s Highland Rye Spirit is believed to be the first release of a Scottish rye spirit in over 200 years
Rye is currently on everyone’s lips in the Scotch whisky industry. In December 2017 a flurry of rye whisky-related news stories broke, more or less at the same time.
Almost simultaneously, both Bruichladdich on Islay and InchDairnie, a new distillery in Fife, announced that they had both made experimental batches of rye spirit, the two distilleries unveiling their rye spirit in the same week in November. Hot on the heels of this announcement BrewDog’s Lone Wolf distillery also declared that they had been experimenting with rye.
This was incredibly unexpected, as was Arbikie’s announcement that they had already made rye spirit two years earlier and that bottles were shortly to be released. Diageo then chimed in to say that they too had been experimenting at three of their distilleries. So, unbeknownst to one another, it appears that seven Scottish distilleries were experimenting with rye.
If this sounds arcane and/or unimportant, consider that by law there are only two types of Scotch whisky permitted. One is single malt whisky (made at one distillery from 100% malted barley and distilled in copper pot stills), the other is single grain whisky (made at one distillery from malted barley along with whole grains of other malted or unmalted cereals, and distilled in a continuous distillation).
Nowhere is rye mentioned. In an industry whose rules are so strict that they can stifle genuine innovation, these rye spirit experiments are hugely exciting. The Scotch Whisky Association (SWA), the industry’s trade body, appears lukewarm on rye, but with Arbikie, for instance, not a member of the SWA, its leverage is limited as long as they don’t call it Scotch whisky.
The trickle is in danger of becoming a flood. In spring 2017 a special edition Johnnie Walker finished in ex-American rye whiskey casks was released, while in January this year Glenmorangie released a single malt matured in ex-American rye whiskey casks.
Historically, rye was probably distilled in Scotland. InchDairnie MD Ian Palmer discovered reference to its use in the 1908/9 Royal Commission Report on Whisky, giving those making rye spirit a stick with which to beat the SWA. Typically, the SWA are more lenient of ‘unorthodox’ methods if they can be proved to have been traditional ways of whisky making in Scotland.
Rye whisky is not uncommon in the United States and Canada, but it has a reputation as a wild beast to work with. While mashing the rye it is common for it to turn into a thick mixture resembling wallpaper paste, making it nearly impossible to drain off the wash. During fermentation it can often foam and froth uncontrollably, which is why rye whisky is normally combined with other grains or barley to make it easier to work with, this mix is known as the mash bill. To be a rye whisky in America it must be at least 51% rye. The higher the proportion of rye, the harder it is to work with.
InchDairnie have opted for a mash bill of 56% malted Scottish rye and 44% malted barley. Bruichladdich have used 55% unmalted Islay rye and 45% malted barley. Lone Wolf have been experimenting with several combinations, ranging from 30-60% malted rye with the balance of barley.
Arbikie have gone further, making two versions of rye spirit, one with Scottish rye and the other with American rye. The first release is made with 52% malted Scottish rye and 48% malted barley (all the rye and barley is grown on the distillery’s farm) and has been released as a two-year-old spirit. It can’t be called whisky until it reaches three years.
When these rye whiskies are released they will be permitted to be generally referred to as Rye Whisky but will have to be labelled as Single Grain Whisky due to current legislation on labelling.
The two-year-old Highland Rye spirit from Arbikie is believed to be the first release of a Scottish rye spirit in over 200 years – and I can confirm that it is exceptional. Unapologetically a rye, it is spicy, fruity, peppery, earthy, sweet and crisp. This limited first release of only 388 bottles (50cl) is 48% abv and costs £100. Funds raised will go to help the work of a Motor Neurone Disease charity.
This all may sound a bit geeky and nerdy but it is the boldest and most exciting change in the Scottish whisky industry for decades. Rye whisky is clearly set to become a stable mate of blends and single malts.