Wine & Spirits - Summer 2023 - 38

I
t tooK BourBon 100 years of triaL and error
before it was finally codified into law in 1964. According
to the TTB, Bourbon must be made in the United
States from a minimum of 51 percent corn, aged in new
charred oak barrels for at least two years and it must enter
the barrel at no more than 125 proof. These standards were
virtually universal by the time distillers decided the Bourbon
name was something worth protecting. When Briar
decided to create a 21st century whiskey style, he had to
create the standards with fellow distillers first, then go into
production. He aimed to focus the craft distillers, who had
a tendency to go their own way with a wide range of styles.
Briar's initial idea was to strictly define the category. He
reasoned that if Empire Rye didn't have a higher barrier
of entry than rye whiskey in general, the category wasn't
worth creating. The original proposal he sent to the group
included several rules: The whiskey must be 100 percent
malted rye grown in the state of New York, aged for a minimum
of four years in new oak, made without the use of
exogenous enzymes and bottled-in-bond (meaning that it
was made by one distiller at a single distillery in one season,
then aged in a bonded warehouse).
Not everyone was immediately on board. Colin Spoelman,
owner of Brooklyn's Kings County Distillery, had
some issues with rye after launching his project in 2010.
He found the filmy quality of its mash made it stick to the
still's heating coils, rendering them useless. Sometimes,
that sticky film burned, resulting in too much smoke in
the distillate. Later, when Nicole Austin, his distiller at the
time, attended the Denver Craft Spirits Competition, she
got excited about the category. She convinced Spoelman
that rye whiskey was resurgent in cocktail culture, and it
was important to be part of the Empire Rye project.
Still, Spoelman had concerns. " There was a bit about
seasons that we pushed back against, " he said, " since a bottled-in-bond
whiskey can only be pulled from one distilling
season, one harvest. " At Kings County, he may choose to
blend a five-year rye that's " nice and barrel-forward " with a
three-year that's " a little young, " putting them together to
make something in the middle. So he pushed back against
that restriction. The group agreed that the rule was unnecessarily
limiting and unanimously voted against it. Distillers
were free to make a bottled-in-bond New York Rye
whiskey, but it wasn't required.
" I wanted to
create a jumping-off
point for
a rediscovery of
American Rye
whiskey. "
ALLEN KATZ, NEW YORK
DISTILLING COmPANY
B
rian McKenzie, who founded finger LaKes distillery
in 2007, was an advocate for rye whiskey
entering the barrel at a lower proof than the Federal
maximum of 125. McKenzie puts his whiskey into the
barrel at 100 proof. " Most whiskey was aged at 100 to 110
proof back when New York State ryes would have been
popular [pre-Prohibition], " he said. " As far as what that
does to the whiskey, as you add more water prior to aging,
it adds a different extraction of the flavor from the oak.
Also, when we go to bottle the product, you're not adding
much water at all. " The group agreed to set the standard
at 115.
While 115 proof may not sound that much different
than Bourbon's 125, some of the distillers-like Jason Barrett
from Rochester's Black Button Distillery-had experimented
with Bourbon at proofs of 125, 122, 120, 118 and
115. Barrett claimed that they all taste radically different in
terms of the wood sugars, flavors and thiols that are pulled
out of the barrel. And, although a lot of whiskey in America
today is placed in the barrel at 124.99 proof because it is
cost effective, the group agreed that they preferred whiskey
under a proof of 115. Some of the distilleries even choose to
go down to 100 and they have the stylistic flexibility to do
that. The goal was not to constrain anyone with the rules,
but to hold Empire Rye to a higher standard.
Aging requirements were also part of the debate, with
some arguing for six months or one year of aging rather
than Briar's initial suggestion of four years. Some distillers
hoped to recoup their financial investments sooner while
others argued that shortening the aging requirement could
jeopardize the credibility and quality of the category. The
group compromised on a minimum of two years of aging.
It took three months of re-writing drafts before Empire
Rye whiskey was defined: It must be a minimum of 75 percent
rye grown in the state of New York, aged at least two
years in new oak and it must enter the barrel at no more
than 115 proof. In 2015, Empire Rye became a legally recognized
category within the state of New York.
Barrett, like others, believed the regulations left room
for creativity. " As you can imagine, we're very artistic and
boisterous people, " he told me. " If the standards were so
tight that everyone was just making the same thing, not
only would that be problematic for the distillers, but it
would be bad for the consumer as well. We don't need fifteen
people all making the same thing. "
McKenzie agreed. " The fact that there's variety is interesting;
there's a lot of latitude to make very different styles.
You've got some people that are making one-hundred percent
malted rye and others adding some corn to it. "
DISTILLERY ASSISTANT
mAX RACINE FILLS A
NEW WHITE OAK BARREL
WITH FRESHLY DISTILLED
SPIRIT AT KINGS
COuNTY DISTILLERY.
38
WINE & SPIR IT S
Summ ER 2023
aric schLesseLMan, who founded BrooKLyn's
Van Brunt Distillery in 2012, wasn't part of the
six founding distilleries but had been aware of the
movement. " I'd known all the founders of the category
D
Wine & Spirits - Summer 2023

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Wine & Spirits - Summer 2023
