Laid low by Prohibition, rye rebounds
Rye seems to be having a moment.
Since 2009, rye whiskey sales have jumped 536 percent by volume, according to the Distilled Spirits Council of the United States.
But dig a little, and you’ll find stories going back at least five years about its return. So maybe it’s less a moment than it is momentum, a climb out of the dustbin that might take decades to fully assess.
Rye was distilled by President George Washington at Mount Vernon. Rye was largely behind the tax resentments that touched off the Whiskey Rebellion in 1791. And rye was a spirit that godfather-of-bartending Jerry Thomas used in many of his drinks in the 1800s, that never quite rebounded after Prohibition and that, for decades, was seen as a dusty antique. But early in the first decade of the new century, it started to be made again at various distilleries.
Brooklyn
1 serving
Per cocktail historian David Wondrich, over the decades a number of cocktails have been called a Brooklyn; this ryeforward one seems to have survived best.
Try a variation: You can replace Punt e Mes, the bitter component called for here, with a few dashes of Angostura or orange bitters, or go with one of the many amari now available; Ramazzotti and CioCaro produced tasty results in testing.
The recipe also calls for maraschino liqueur, which is not the same thing as the liquid from jarred maraschino cherries.
Ice
2 ounces rye whiskey
1 ounce dry vermouth
1/4 ounce maraschino liqueur (see headnote)
1/2 ounce Punt e Mes or 1/4 ounce amaro (may substitute 2 dashes Angostura or orange bitters; see note)
Fill a mixing glass with ice. Add the rye whiskey, dry vermouth, maraschino liqueur and Punt e Mes or amaro. Stir for 30 seconds, then strain into a chilled cocktail (martini) glass.
Nutrition per serving: 200 calories, 0 g protein, 5 g carbohydrates, 0 g fat, 0 g saturated fat, 0 mg cholesterol, 0 mg sodium, 0 g dietary fiber, 3 g sugar
This story was originally published December 1, 2015 at 3:25 PM with the headline "Laid low by Prohibition, rye rebounds."