Rye I Oughta Trivia Quiz

Answer: Monongahela River

As strongly as bourbon is tied to Kentucky, rye can be associated with western Pennsylvania. In fact, in 1810, Pennsylvania produced three times as much rye as Kentucky did bourbon. The Monongahela River runs through West Virginia up to Pittsburgh (the "City of Rivers") to meet with the Allegheny, the confluence of the Ohio River. Monongahela rye tends to taste oily, vegetal, or "peppery" (compare pumpernickel bread vs. wheat). Bourbon, which must use 51% corn in its mash bill, is usually described with sweet, vanilla-rich, or baking-spice flavors. Of course, many bourbons are made with some amount of rye, and many ryes are made with some amount of corn, so the flavor profiles have experienced somewhat of a confluence of their own. After practically disappearing after Prohibition, rye came back in force during the 21st century cocktail revival, in part due to its inclusion in Sazeracs and Manhattans.

The Whiskey Rebellion (pictured) took place not in Bourbon County, but in western Pennsylvania, near Pittsburgh. The Rebellion involved farmers resisting taxation on their homemade whiskey distilling, and was sternly but sympathetically quashed by George Washington (the only time a sitting U.S. president has entered "battle"). Washington probably understood where the farmers were coming from, since he himself owned a rye whiskey distillery!

Answer: Straw yellow, like corn

Other corn whiskeys are available in those other shades, but Mellow Corn does seem to define a characteristic style in a way other corn whiskeys do not. Bartenders appreciate Mellow Corn's ability to stand up to strong flavors in a cocktail, something that can't be said for the comparatively stronger-flavored bourbon (which tends to vanish against, say, ginger beer).

The manufacturer describes Mellow Corn's finish as being similar to rum.

Answer: Bernheim

Unlike rye, which enjoyed a resurgence in popularity with the 2000s craft spirits boom, wheat whiskey remains obscure. Corn has the benefit of being an easier grain to work with, and rye has the benefit of a standout flavor profile (both in standalone whiskeys and as a co-star in bourbons). Where wheat is used, in so-called "wheated" bourbons like Maker's Mark and Larceny, it tends to contribute a milder body and floral complexity.

This florality is what stands out in "straight wheat" whiskeys, those which use 51% or more wheat.

While the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB) does recognize wheat whiskey as a protected category, it is unusual among protected categories in that there is no legal requirement for wheat whiskey to be made in the United States. Given the rarity of the style, though, it's still essentially an American product.

Answer: Crown Royal

A point of clarification: both "whisky" and "whiskey" are valid spellings, but different countries have chosen to spell it either the "Irish" way ("whiskey") or the "Scottish" way ("whisky") to show the heritage they feel kin with. Broadly, only the United States and Ireland call it "whiskey." Legally, the terms are usually specified as interchangeable.

The proliferation of bottom-shelf, similar-tasting whiskey blends from Canada has given the style a bad reputation among many American whiskey fans. In spite of this (or maybe because of it - "bottom-shelf" means "cheap"!), many Canadian whiskies regularly dominate lists of the top-selling whiskeys in the States, including Crown Royal, Black Velvet, Canadian Mist and Canadian Club. The advantage of producing a blended whiskey is that its flavor will be more consistent, but the downside is that you will mask unusual or distinguishing flavors. Furthermore, the profile pursued by many Canadian brands is rather neutral - for this reason, in Canada, "rye whiskey" (or "whisky") is not the protected class it is in America, and can be used by any whiskey using any amount of rye in any of its blends. However, Canadian whiskies are just beginning to distinguish themselves. In 2020, a rye from Alberta was declared the annual favorite of Jim Murray, author of the annual "Whiskey Bible."

Answer: Nixtamalization

Nixtamalization (which has Nahuatl root words - "nextli" for lime and "tamalli," tamale) involves washing corn in limewater, which is highly basic and changes the chemical properties of the corn. For one thing, it removes fungal toxins from the corn. It also allows cornmeal to come together into the dough for tortillas and tamales, and puffs the kernels up into hominy kernels. Most importantly, nixtamalized corn tastes better! This is apparently the reason Abasolo chooses to nixtamalize the corn used in Abasolo.

The nixtamalized meal is supplemented with malted corn, before it is aged in oak barrels. Compared to Mellow Corn, Abasolo has a dark color and a more herbaceous character. Surprisingly, some reviewers compare it to the smokey peat whiskies of Scotland's Islay region.

Answer: Barley

American malt whiskeys sounds, to the enthusiast's ear, sort of oxymoronic, as malt (that is, sprouted) barley has been the characteristic province of scotch whisky since before there'd been an America making whiskey. Yet even in the days of the Revolution, America has used barley the same as any other surplus grain to produce homemade whiskey. In fact, I am discovering myself that the exact legal definitions have changed since I last looked at them: while "American malt whiskey" only needs to use 51% or more malted barley (same as the analogous bourbon, rye, and wheat whiskeys), this created confusion when producers began exporting those American malts to countries where "malt" meant 100% barley. Thus the TTB designated a more stringent category, the "American single malt whiskey," in 2024.

What does American single malt whiskey taste like? According to Bon Appetit, "no one yet has a clear expectation of what they're 'supposed' to taste like. With more time resting in the wood, some might taste like a fine scotch; a few already do." On the other hand, that variety is itself characteristic of American malts. Therefore, the American single malt category does not include several of the requirements that standardize scotch and similar styles, such as still type and minimum aging requirements. There are even peated American whiskeys!

Answer: Charcoal

Where the North Atlantic Treaty Agreement is concerned, bourbon does NOT need to be made in Kentucky, contrary to popular misconception (though many have their own opinions of what counts as "true" bourbon). In any case, Tennessee whiskey has opted to distinguish itself chiefly by way of the "Lincoln County process," named for the original site of Jack Daniel's. Running whiskey over charcoal, or steeping it in charcoal chips, removes impurities from the whiskey - similar to the trick of passing vodka through a Brita filter to improve its taste.

There is one exception: Benjamin Prichard's Tennessee Whiskey has been specially granted the right to consider itself Tennessee Whiskey, due to its importance to Lincoln County. In an interview with the Chicago Tribune, a heated Phil Prichard explained why he fought for the exemption "Anyone can charcoal-filter whiskey; it won't make a bad whiskey taste good." (Ironically, this means that the only distillery left in Lincoln County is the only Tennessee whiskey not to use the Lincoln County process.)

Answer: Texas

Although many Texas whiskeys are also bourbons, aged and proofed as such, they share with Mexican whiskey a love for unusual varieties of corn - those which have a greater range of flavors than literally run-of-the-mill, genetically modified maize. Balcones, for example, promotes a whiskey distilled from Hopi blue corn (pictured).

As a segment, Texas distilleries can be characterized by their creativity, variety, and passion. I don't think they would be offended by my characterizing them as highly enthusiastic whiskey nerds. Around half of the state's seventy-ish distilleries belong to the Texas Whiskey Association, which among other duties, bestows the title of "Certified Texas Whiskey," manages a total of four Texas Whiskey Trails in different parts of the state, and promotes the annual Texas Whiskey Festival. Garrison Brothers, based in Hye, claim to be the first distillery, post-Prohibition, to make a bourbon outside of Kentucky or Tennessee.

Answer: Millet

Koval don't just use millet - they make a whiskey with a 100% millet mash bill! The distillery also offers a "milleted" bourbon, i.e. a bourbon whose secondary grain is millet. Reviews describe the whiskey similarly to bourbons, providing a typical vanilla-forward palate, ending with rye-like grass flavors.

Koval was the first distillery to open in Chicago since Prohibition. The company is Jewish-owned ("Koval" is Yiddish for "blacksmith") and keeps its products kosher. Now, while bourbon is usually presumed to be kosher, certain additives, including glycerin (derived from pigs), can be added to spirits without being disclosed, and so various rabbinical councils have advised Jews to seek certified kosher bottlings like Koval's.

Answer: 80

The minimum requirement for something to call itself just "whiskey" or "whisky," without modifiers, is 40% ABV, or 80 proof. (Japan, Canada, the EU and Scotland have the same minimum proof requirement.) Fireball's flagship Cinnamon Whisky is a 66-proof spicy liqueur that uses Canadian "whisky" as its base spirit. Not to be confused with this is "Fireball," a 33 proof product, which is neither the brand's flagship product nor a substance containing any whiskey at all. According to the manufacturer, Sazerac, Fireball that does not have the label "Whisky" contains either malt liquor or wine as its base spirit. If you're still confused, the law agrees with you. Several ongoing lawsuits have attacked the similar packaging - even adding caramel colorant to the cheaper product to make it look like the more expensive stuff.

Southern Comfort, Sazerac's other predominant whiskey-style liqueur, has similarly skirted legality. While launched and branded as an "improved whiskey" or a "whiskey liqueur," Southern Comfort changed the formula to use much cheaper grain neutral spirit in World War II, maintaining the change as a trade secret, and continued to refer to itself as "whiskey liqueur." To my surprise, the company's owners were not sued by the time Sazerac bought Southern Comfort in 2016. They quickly issued a press release revealing the whiskey's contents and promising to return to a whiskey base. However, Sazerac has been sued for its malt liquor-based mini bottles, which contain no whiskey.