by gillmang » Mon Aug 15, 2005 3:48 pm
Mike these old terms are interesting, if he explains what Dayton Plan is please let me know. Maybe it's a reference to a process used in Ohio. It might even be a blending concept. Previously I'd heard of the "Maryland process". This was referred to in a cocktails book I've now unfortunately lost track of. It may have been a mingling or blending method. In a booklet I found written in the early 1940's on the history of the Melrose Distillery (a former Baltimore rye distillery and rectification house), it is stated that Melrose Rye Whiskey was made by combining 5 rye whiskeys of different ages and characteristics with a small amount of a blending agent. As expected the book fails to say what that agent was, it probably was a fruit-based extract, maybe a port or other wine, something like that. This may have been the Maryland Process or an example of it. This is where I got the idea (in part) to blend whiskeys. If you took, say, Overholt, Beam rye, Michter's 4 year old, Michter's 10 year old rye and ORVW 13 year old rye and added a little cream sherry I'll bet you'd get close to the Melrose formula. I'm sure Melrose must have bought whiskey in bulk to do this especially in the later years (it closed in the 1950's, Mike knows why, I think Schenley bought it). So no Dr. Ryeinstein jokes guys, mingling and blending have an old honorable pedigree (when practiced at its best - Melrose rye was a top quality product) and maybe the Dayton Process was something similar.
Speaking of blending people here were talking about Grandad 114 - here's a simple mingling: 1 part of that to 2 parts Benchmark Bourbon. This is the post-Seagram Benchmark, made I think at Leestown and not the greatest ever bourbon but the combo really works, the result is far better than each separately IMO, really.
Gary