Old Overholt Rye Whiskey

VA ABC- $22.95

Total Wine - $22.99

Class VI - $20.80

43%

4yr old

Non-Chill Filtered

https://www.overholtrye.com/

From the VA ABC - Deep amber in color, this moderately full-bodied whiskey hints of toffee, dried pear and smoke on the nose. The palate displays a powerful balance of brown spice notes, delicate fruit and campfire embers before an elegant, engaging finish.

From our friends at the Jim Beam Distilling Company:  “Here you have the oldest of all Beam family whiskeys. Established in 1810 by the upright, forward-thinking Abraham Overholt, his namesake whiskey is recognized today as the oldest enduring American Rye in the United States.”

Well, the guy on the label looks like he’s been over-served and can’t handle his liquor.  I’m guessin’ he’s fixin’ to settle his dispute with fisticuffs.  I can attest that I’ve had plenty of his delicious rye and only became more placid and happy with each sip.  

The common descriptor for rye whiskey is ‘spicy’.  Like rye bread, there’s a strong flavor that goes well with many things in life.  I like rye bread grilled cheese with a nice soup - makes a delicious lunch.  And so it is with the whiskey that rye makes.  The legal definition of rye whiskey is similar to bourbon whiskey:  The mashbill (recipe) must be at least 51% rye.  The rest of the grain(s) can be anything else.  There are similar aging requirements to bourbon as well.  

The label tells us that it’s non-chill filtered.  When a distiller ‘chill filters’, they drop the temperature until certain ‘pollutants’ precipitate and float to the top where they then skim the pollutants off.   Being non-chill filtered is considered to be better by the whiskey muckety-mucks. As I mentioned last week, it lends to a different mouth feel.  You really can’t taste what is being filtered out.  Those whiskies that are not filtered can get cloudy when they get cold leading some to think their whiskey has gone bad. It doesn’t hurt the drinkin’ of it none.  If you’re trying to produce a whiskey that’s reliable, having it go cloudy when its cold could be considered a drawback.  So, the many distillers chill filter to have that clear consistency.  Honestly, if they never mentioned it, you’d never know the difference (but now you do).

I didn’t realize until researching this WotW that Old Overholt is owned by Jim Beam which led me to wonder what the difference between Old Overholt Rye and Jim Beam Rye is.  Both are aged for four years.  One would assume that they have different mashbills.  We know that Jim Beam Rye is only 51% rye.  Old Overholt’s mashbill is undisclosed but considering its heavy rye spiciness, I think we can conclude that it’s got considerably more rye in the recipe.  There’s only one way to find out:  Looks like we need to have a tasting with the two!  At twenty-three bucks for each, this one will be easy on the wallet.

I enjoy Old Overholt neat (without ice), but it really shines in any sweet cocktail.  A manhattan has a simple recipe:  Two parts whiskey, one part sweet vermouth.  Rye works best because its spiciness counters the sweetness of the vermouth.  Another sweet whiskey like bourbon would be too sweet and wouldn't be a balanced tincture.  So, if you’re looking for a good manhattan rye, Old Overholt is one of the best you can choose.  Old Overholt is a solid pour.  Ողջույն

The Old Overholt website doesn’t list any cocktail recipes.  We’ll stay with the tried and true:

The Manhattan

Ingredients

2 parts Old Overholt Rye Whiskey

1 part sweet vermouth

1 dash of bitters (I prefer Angostura)  

You can enjoy it on the rocks, but you’ll look like an amateur.  Better to insist that your bartender vigorously stir the ingredients in a container filled with ice so as not to bruise the mixture.  Serve ‘UP’ (no ice) in a martini glass - classy. Only an uncouth troglodyte would shake a manhattan with ice (so gauche!).