Rye is my choice for Fall & Winter Cocktails

Rye

In my humble opinion or rather simply to my taste Rye Whiskey is the hard stuff of choice for cocktails during the winter months.

It is a classic American whiskey although there is also Canadian Rye.

Here are some cocktail recipes and some recommendations on brands of Rye to try. We also share our recipe for Date Infused Rye Whiskey.

My interest in Rye was recently piqued by an Eben Freeman cocktail at Tailor in NY city. It was made of Date Infused Rye and was very delicious.

I soon realized that Rye whiskeys spanned a very broad price range, from as little as 12 bucks to over 100. I started with Rittenhouse which goes for about $22 a fifth. This is a pretty good Rye, but I have found better.

One extraordinary Rye that my friends over at Shopper's Vineyard in Clifton, NJ turned me on to is (ri) 1 Rye Whiskey.

This is a very cool bottling and marketing of a bar classic. They utilize Web 2.0 to the fullest to spread the word on this great booze. Check out there web site. It sells for around 45 bucks, but has the flavor and smoothness of $100 Rye.

It has a deep, rich honey color tinged with gold. A pleasing peppery nose and flavors of dried fruit and cinnamon that push the pepper to the background, sweet and a bit fruity. (ri) 1 tm Web Site

I also really like Sazerac Rye which has deep roots in New Orleans. Another favorite is Michter's US 1.

I have invented three cocktails that I would like to share with you here.

The first uses Date Infused Rye. I make this using my French Coffee Press. Fill the press with about 8 ounces of Rye and drop in a dozen fresh dates. I found the best dates in the bulk fruit, nuts and grains section of Kings in Cedar Grove. They are tastier and moister than packaged dates at Whole Foods or Trader Joe's. I press them lightly to break the skin, dropp them in to the French Press and then let it all sit in the refrigerator for a week. I tried the infusion out of of the fridge and it did not come out well.

This becomes the basis for a cocktail I call "In the Medina." Medina in this context refers to "the ancient quarter of many cities in northern Africa." The blood oranges, mint and dates used used in this cocktail remind me of the Medina in Marrakesh.

This recipe makes 2 cocktails.

Into a Cocktail Shaker:

Pour 3 oz of Date Infused Rye & 1 oz Cointreau Orange Liqueur

Squeeze 2 oz of fresh Blood Orange Juice & 3/4 ox of Lemon Juice

Splash of Blood Orange Bitters, I use Stirrings

Rim cocktail glasses with sugar and finely chopped minted leaves or Mojito drink rimmer.

Add very cold ice and shake very well.

Pour and smile.

This drink goes very well with this inexpensive Mediterranean inspired appetizer. Hummus with olive oil, paprika, and toasted pine nuts.

This goes great with Food Should Taste Good Olive Chips.

The second and third cocktails are very simple.

Rye Bitter Orange

1 1/2 - 2 oz Rye

Big Splash of Cointreau Orange Liqueur

Small Splash of Orange Bitters

In a rock glass stirred well.

Rye Cherry Lemon

1 1/2 to 2 oz Rye

Big Splash of Luxardo maraschino liqueur

Small squeeze of fresh lemon

In a rock glass stirred well.

Both can be garnished with a lemon or orange wedge or a cherry.

I have another great Rye cocktail in my sights:

It is called the James Revenge at James Restaurant in Brooklyn. New Yorker Review

where I hope to run into Joshua M. Bernstein who writes for Time Out NY:

"Picasso had his blue period. Right now, I’m having my brown phase. Whether it’s bourbon or especially rye, I’m exceeding my recommended allotment of warming whiskey. And I plant the blame squarely on James (605 Carlton Ave at St. Marks Ave, Prospect Heights, Brooklyn; 718-942-4255). Since opening last summer, this tin-ceilinged Brooklyn bistro has put me under its spell with its obscenely juicy sweetbreads, jaw-stretching burgers and, quite detrimentally to my sobriety, its signature libation, the James’ Revenge ($9). Every few weeks, as if drawn by a tractor beam, I am lured to a corner seat at the polished mahogany bar to order this pitch-perfect blend of rye, Cointreau, bitters and, depending on seasonal availability, muddled kumquat or blood orange. A barkeep hands it over in a short glass filled with fat ice chunks, completed with an orange slice. Like any true junkie, my lips twitch. Then I give my body what it craves: rye smoothed out by sweet Cointreau, given bewitching depth by bitters before citrus kicks in for a bright finish. Only superhuman restraint prevents me from glugging a James’ a day."

— Joshua M. Bernstein