Anyone remember Rock 'n Rye?

Talk about Tennessee, American and Rye Whiskey here.

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Unread postby tlsmothers » Tue Jun 28, 2005 10:20 pm

Darn camera is torn up, but I'll post pics when I can. We opened the bottles and gave them a preview today. The Hiram Walker was the most rye like. Smells like rye and you can actually taste a rye background to this one. The Jacquin's is the most classic package of wide mouth, square bottle, older style lettering on label. This was sweeter than the Walker and a bit more viscous. The Leroux and the Mr. Boston fell behind. Boston was a bit bland and both seemed like they were prolly a faint resemblance of what they maybe once were. I'm trying to find out if anyone is actually using rock candy in them anymore. Prolly not. Prolly the good folks of ADM supplying high fructose corn syrup. *sigh*

I ran across the rock candy folks Dryden and Palmer who say they are the only rock candy folks left after prohibition. I'm hoping to land a few Victorian trading cards with Tolu Rock and Rye ads on them touting the glories of the beverage for colds and consumption.

Ran across this old song lyric:
"...Farewell to Tom and Jerry
Farewell to Rock and Rye
It's a long way to old Kentucky
For Alabama done gone dry."
--American Negro Folk-Songs, p. 355. (Reported from Auburn, Ala. 1915-1916; to the tune of "Tipperary." White, Newman Ivey. American Negro Folk-Songs. Cambridge: Harvard Univ. Press, 1928.

Couple of my favorite rock n' rye cocktails:
ROCK N RYE COCKTAIL
1 oz Rock and Rye® liqueur
1 oz white port
1 1/2 tsp dry vermouth

Stir over ice in shaker and strain into chilled cocktail glass.

ROCK N RYE COOLER
1 oz rock and rye
1 ½ oz vodka
1 tbspn lime
lemon/lime soda

Pour first three in tall glass filled with ice. Top with soda.
"Drinking just to get drunk is like having sex just to get pregnant." --Robert Hess
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Unread postby gillmang » Wed Jun 29, 2005 5:59 am

Very interesting, I in fact also found the Hiram Walker brand once and it did seem the best, with the most whiskey taste, but one can improve the others simply by adding real rye or other straight whiskeys to them in varying amounts. In the late 1800's, the whiskey used (certainly for many brands of rock and rye) would have been real aged rye whiskey, so adding, say, some Rittenhouse to one of these cordials might approximate to what an 1800's example tasted like. Adding some ORVW 13 year old rye makes a very good drink, too, I have tried this. Or you could use Old Grandad 114 because of its high rye content. But for the summer just adding soda to rock and rye on ice would seem ideal - the combinations are endless.

Gary
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