1968 bottle of crown royal 1922

Steve Wertz

Jack only makes Tennessee Whiskey, in various grades.

I think you're thinking of Jim Beam Rye in a bright, yellow label. (Beam of course makes a hell of a lot more Bourbon.)

I used to use that as my Election-night drug. Half-shots every ten to thirty minutes numbed losses and toasted wins for a decade. Harsh, testosterone-infused whiskey in the original American style. Then I graduated to Wild Turkey 101 Rye. And I did that right after I'd bought a new bottle of the Beam, which then sat for 3 or so years, unloved. Until last night, when I took someone-here's suggestion and tried it in a Manhattan. I've been on a Manhattan jag the past few weeks, using various things in my overstocked liquor cabinet. Maker's Mark, mostly, but also Tullamore Dew and both the Rye and Bourbon versions of the 101. They go like this:

Ice (just a few cubes) in a DOF (10-oz whiskey glbutt) 3 squirts Angostura bitters 1/4 oz Noilly Prat French (sweet) vermouth 1/4 oz Noilly Prat Italian (dry) vermouth 1-1/2 oz Whisk(e)y garnish with brandied cherry* (I like it with two, some like to pour the juice in too)

Turns out, the Manhattans made with the Jim Beam Rye were the smoothest. Not quite as flavorful as the others, but quite a bit better balanced. It does something to knock the cloying edge off the vermouth, while the vermouth rounds the edges of the rye. The 101, being much stronger, seems to keep more character, while also letting the vermouth stay clear. Which is a good thing if I'm having one. But if I want two or three, I think the Beam is the choice. They're too easy to drink.

Rye is making a comeback, sort of. Ryes used to be the great majority of whiskeys in North America. Prohibition killed them; then they became "Canadian"**. Then the slow shift of Canadian production to other grains all but killed them again. Beam is the only yellow one I can think of. Most of the others have non-yellow labels.

--Blair

* - if you can't find these, or don't want to blow $7 on a bottle of them, get some decent Maraschinos, lose about a third of the liquid, and replace with Napoleon brandy or whatever cognac you have to spare -- or even Maraschino liqueur, if you're willing. I'm thinking of canning my own brandied cherries once Cherry season hits.

** - Several things caused this. First, bootlegging of Canadian product, which also had historically been mostly rye. Second, bootlegging of American corn liquor from the mountain regions, which brought the taste of Bourbon to the East Coast. Then, when Prohibition was lifted, Canadian inventories flooded the market while legitimate American production took the requisite time to harvest, ferment, distill, age, bottle, build distribution channels, etc. The Bourbons were ahead in domestic production, and the Canadians were available to fill demand for the taste of rye. So there was little need to make American rye, especially as everyone who wanted rye had learned to ask for "Canadian," which no doubt didn't feed back to the American distilleries' planning process very well.