Well now! I haven’t been updating the site lately and I’ve got a backlog of posts to get out there, so you’ll probably be seeing a lot of back-to-back posts for the next few weeks. But surely that can’t be such a bad thing! Now you’ll have plenty to read while you’re hiding inside in the AC, what with summer coming hot and early this year, and all. I’ve got a lot to put out there for you guys, but I’ll start with my thoughts on a little bottle of rye whisky that’s been in my rotation for a few months now.
The Dram: Balcones Texas Rye 100 Proof
The Mash: 100% Rye – 80% elbon rye from north & northwest Texas + crystal, chocolate, and roasted ryes
The Spirit: Aged a minimum of 15 months (gotta love that Texas weather roulette) in new, charred American oak
This fella is the result of Balcones Distilling’s first adventure into the great Land of Rye Whisk(e)y, and I must say, it holds up. With a spice-to-sweet progression, this dram seems dominated by dark chocolate and malt, but with enough nuance to catch my attention. The tobacco notes on the entry and the oak-y, cedar-y finish, with a touch of that molasses/brown sugar something in the afterthought, keep this chocolate-malt-ball balanced. I’m not sure it tops my list of ryes, but it’s up there, and I’d be lying if I said that I don’t like to have it around. It’s good on its own, but great in a cocktail. Here’s the Louisiana-Texas recipe that earned a spot in my journal when this bottle dropped back in March:
the state line sazerac:
the formula:
1 sugar cube
2 ounces Texas Rye 100
3 dashes Peychaud’s Bitters
1/4 ounce Absinthe
the procedure:
1) fill one old fashioned glass with ice
2) in a second old fashioned glass, muddle sugar cube & bitters
3) add whisky to sugar & bitters
4) remove ice from chilled glass and swirl with absinthe, then drain
5) pour whisky, sugar, and bitters mixture into absinthe-rinsed, chilled glass
6) twist a bit of lemon rind over glass & discard, or be a rebel like me and drop the twist into the glass
7) party like you’re in New Orleans (or Beaumont or Houston or Alexandria, or wherever you’d like to pretend you are partying)