After my second or third Whiskeyfest, the event took on a new dimension.  It actually became a social event – I would see acquaintances that I had not seen or touched base with since the last Whiskeyfest.  After skipping the 2010 Whiskeyfest, the same phenomenon renewed itself this past November – within 10 minutes of entering the floor, I spotted someone who was originally a professional acquaintance but then became a Whiskeyfest acquaintance.  After we exchanged greetings, he urged me to go to the High West table and try the 21 year old rye, which was a VIP Hour only pour.

Rye whiskey is not a very common item.  There just aren’t that many brands of it out there.  There are hundreds of scotches, dozens and dozens of bourbons, but only a few dozen brands of rye.  However, despite the relative scarcity of rye whiskey brands, the distilleries have not failed to notice the hefty price tags that craft and highly-aged spirits command, which means that in rye, perhaps more so than in other grain spirits, you have a huge dichotomy in pricing – you can find straight rye whiskey for as little as $16, and ranging up as high as $350.  I’m sorry, but when a selection of 36 whiskeys (see www.Binnys.com ) has that wide a range in price, I feel that something is odd.

Getting back to the topic at hand, High West Rocky Mountain Rye 21 year old seems to command a price between $115 and $145.  It’s definitely an excellent rye whiskey – there’s no question about that.  In the dry, spicy flavor profile typical of rye, the spicy character is mellowed somewhat – most likely by the aging.  I can definitely see this as a special occasion whiskey, but as I have written in the past, there are too many very good rye whiskeys available for $35 and less to justify buying Rock Mountain Rye 21  on a regular basis.

Time to write about something else I tried at Whiskeyfest NY 2011.

I’ve been a fan of Drambuie for longer than I care to admit.  It’s a sweet, syrupy, Scotch whiskey based liqueur.  The sweetness clearly comes from honey, which is counterbalanced by cloves, saffron and other herbs and spices.  I enjoy this stuff straight, or as a part of the only mixed drink I consume on any regular basis – the Rusty Nail (equal parts Drambuie and the Scotch of your choice).

As I mentioned a few weeks ago, sometimes funny hunches lead to excellent timing.  I didn’t know I was going to Whiskeyfest until 7 hours before the event, but the weekend before, I finished a bottle of Drambuie.  Having finished a modern bottle, I opted to open a year-old housewarming gift – a 25 year old bottle of Drambuie.  Of course, the cork crumbled as I opened it, so I transferred the old stuff into the bottle I had just emptied.  When compared to a brand-new bottle, the older Drambuie was noticeably darker in color.  The taste was drier, more mellow. and I think a bit more complex.  My wife preferred the newer stuff and I preferred the older stuff

So what does all this have to do with Drambuie 15 and Whiskeyfest?  Very simple – 3 days after the taste experiment described above, I went to Whiskeyfest and tried a new release from Drambuie – Drambuie 15, a mix based on slightly older scotches.  It was the perfect time to taste this product – fresh off the comparison between current production and the product from 25 years ago.

Drambuie 15 is more scotch-forward than regular Drambuie, which means that it has less honey and herb presence than the regular Drambuie.  That’s not a bad thing – it’s just a different facet to the product.  On the basis of taste alone, I would definitely recommend it.  I haven’t had a chance to check/compare prices, but it’s definitely worth checking out.

This cider also open with a strong appley aroma, but without the mustiness that pervaded the Traditional Dry.  The flavor profile is fairly sweet – my wife commented that she thinks there is a fair percentage of honey crisp apples in the mix for this cider, and I think she’s right – the taste is definitely similar.  I think that this cider is definitely going to have a broader appeal to the US beer-alternative market, but there is a decent field of competition out there already – maybe the kosher certification will provide a competitive edge.

Okay, maybe that’s a misleading header – I too am of the opinion that Kahlua is an excellent coffee liqueur.  Unfortunately, several years ago Kahlua got placed on the proscribed (prohibited) list, and so I shrugged my shoulders and moved on.  So why am I writing about Kahlua now?  I am writing this post in response to a request that I try to find out if Kahlua in Mexico will soon be kosher again, and so I am left wondering why some people are so fixated on this one liqueur when there are other coffee liqueurs out there.

Regardless of whether I fully understand why people are fixated on Kahlua, this blog is about information on ethanol and informing the public, and so I have done a little internet sleuthing, and here is the bottom line: in the US, the Chicago Rabbinical Council lists kahlua as not recommended, the Star-K doesn’t mention it either way, and the OU doesn’t publish a list.  The company producing Kahlua in Mexico does not seem to have any plans to obtain kosher supervision/certification.  However, the London Beth Din maintains on their website that all Kahlua is kosher EXCEPT when purchased in the US.

Would someone please notify US Customs that a large number of Jews will be making trips into Mexico to buy Kahlua?

I mentioned a while back that the parent company of the Sam Adams brand was launching a new brand of hard cider called Angry Orchard.  At the time I could find nothing on the stuff.  A couple of weeks ago, the same friend who found the Star-K certification letter finally found Angry Orchard Cider at American Beer on Court Street in Brooklyn, and was kind enough to pick some up for me.  There are 3 varieties on the market – Traditional Dry, Apple Crisp, and Apple Ginger.

I’ll start with Traditional Dry.  This opened with an aroma of musty, yeasty apples, which put my wife off because she only likes smelling yeast in bread.  The mustiness may not appeal to everyone.  The flavor is very tart – they aren’t kidding when they call this dry.  You can easily see this being made from crabapples or some other apple variety that is too tart to eat.  Don’t misunderstand me though, this is actually a good example of sparkling dry hard cider.

Strictly speaking, there isn’t that much that one could do to traditional apple cider to make it non-kosher.  However, since there are no major international standards (like the old German beer purity laws) that restrict the use of additives, most rabbinical authorities will take the stance that hard cider needs to be kosher certified.  I’ve never been that concerned with cider myself, but Angry Orchard is kosher certifed.  If Angry Orchard is at all successful, other kosher certified ciders will eventually follow.  I anticipate that there will be many people who appreciate cider as an alternative to beer.

So, while I wait to get my hands on some of the Angry Orchard brews (one six pack is being held for me, and another is on order) I figured let me run out and get some Twisted Tea to try out.  My local 7-11 only had the Half-n-Half, so I bought two bottles to try. 

Twisted Tea Half-n-Half is named that way because it is a mix of iced tea and lemonade with a 5% alcohol by volume content.  I tried it two ways – my wife and I tried it out of glasses on Friday night, and then I drank the other one straight out of the bottle.  Out of a glass, the iced tea/lemonade combination did not work well, and while this might be a viable alternative for non-beer drinkers, I was thoroughly unimpressed.  Out of the bottle, however, the tartness of the lemonade came through better, and it was not half bad.  With regard to pricing, 7-11 is obviously not going to be the place to get decent pricing, so stay tuned for further information.