Rittenhouse, a Pow Wow and the Whistle Pig

[Jenise]

A few months ago, at a very good local bar with friends, I ordered a flight of ryes. Didn't specify what, just said "set me up". Well, last Saturday night we were in the same bar, so I ordered another flight of three different ryes, bartender's choice. Bear with me, as I'm not accustomed to nor good at describing anything but wine, and maybe I'm not even good at that! But here's what I had:

Rittenhouse 100: sweet and bourbony, and very hot. Too hot for me.

Pow Wow: I guess this one's from Wash DC. It's made with botanicals, which I found delightful. Lightest of the three with all kinds of interesting herbaceous qualities that managed to augment, rather than take away from, the fact that it was whiskey. It was the driest of the three.

Whistle Pig: Distilled in Vermont, per my bartender, with rye grown in Canada. Tasted of corn and pecans. The corn thing reminded me of the pleasant roundness of a Dutch corenwijn (Bols), and it also had a mineral flavor that reminded me very much of the Poly Visol vitamins I used to take (and love, like candy) when I was a kid.


Fascinating three-some, and obviously I liked the Rittenhouse least. Of the other two, I honestly liked the Whistle Pig just as much, though for different reasons, as the Pow Wow. Would be hard-pressed to choose.

Whistle Pig: Distilled in Vermont, per my bartender, with rye grown in Canada.

Nope, not quite. The rye is grown in Canada, sure enough. It's also totally distilled in Canada, by Alberta distillery, then shipped to Vermont to become WhistlePig. So WhistlePig is 100% Canadian (and, a definite rarity for rye whisky, also 100% rye.) Also, Dave Pickerell, the---well, we'd have to call him the master blender, I guess, but I prefer the Head Whisky Guy---was for many years the master distiller at Maker's Mark in Kentucky...so you have the interesting situation of a guy who made his mark (see? see what I did there?) making damn good "wheated bourbon" sans rye, who is now making some quite distinctive 100% rye whisky.

This biz can be fun some times.

Interesting notes. As always, YMMV must be invoked, but it's curious (to me) that you found the Rittenhouse 100 "hot", but not the WhistlePig. Also that the Pow Wow was the "driest" to you. (I confess I'm not familiar enough with Pow Wow to have an opinion.) Many people that taste the WhistlePig comment on the extreme leathery dry-in-the-middle-of-the-palate impression it gives and its overall expression of heat.

I like the WhistlePig for its ten years in barrel, which seems to hit a 'sweet spot' for the development of the rye in terms of showing amazing complexity with herbs, spice, preserved fruits and dark chocolate. But it's not what I think of as a balanced whisky either; it's aggressive and bold and sticks out----much like Dave P., actually. (Who is a great guy and a good bar companion, fwiw.)

[Jenise]

Whistle Pig: Distilled in Vermont, per my bartender, with rye grown in Canada.

Nope, not quite. The rye is grown in Canada, sure enough. It's also totally distilled in Canada, by Alberta distillery, then shipped to Vermont to become WhistlePig. So WhistlePig is 100% Canadian (and, a definite rarity for rye whisky, also 100% rye.) Also, Dave Pickerell, the---well, we'd have to call him the master blender, I guess, but I prefer the Head Whisky Guy---was for many years the master distiller at Maker's Mark in Kentucky...so you have the interesting situation of a guy who made his mark (see? see what I did there?) making damn good "wheated bourbon" sans rye, who is now making some quite distinctive 100% rye whisky.

This biz can be fun some times.

Interesting notes. As always, YMMV must be invoked, but it's curious (to me) that you found the Rittenhouse 100 "hot", but not the WhistlePig. Also that the Pow Wow was the "driest" to you. (I confess I'm not familiar enough with Pow Wow to have an opinion.) Many people that taste the WhistlePig comment on the extreme leathery dry-in-the-middle-of-the-palate impression it gives and its overall expression of heat.

I like the WhistlePig for its ten years in barrel, which seems to hit a 'sweet spot' for the development of the rye in terms of showing amazing complexity with herbs, spice, preserved fruits and dark chocolate. But it's not what I think of as a balanced whisky either; it's aggressive and bold and sticks out----much like Dave P., actually. (Who is a great guy and a good bar companion, fwiw.)

Thanks for the background information. But yup, the Rittenhouse was very hot, the way a brandy can be. And it didn't matter whether I tasted it first, last or in between, the heat never lessened. I can go with 'leathery' on the Whistle Pig, and yes it was big and bold--my notes say "bear hug friendly"--in a way I loved with that flavor reminiscent of corenwijn and aude genevers. The Pow Wow was definitely the most sedate of the group.

Nice notes. I've not had the Pow Wow, so it's good to see it compared to two others I'm familiar with. And thanks for the background on the Whistle Pig, Hoke - that was all new to me.

I don't have much experience with rye, but recently bought a bottle of Jefferson, which I love -- spicy and smooth. I'll have to look for the Pow-Wow, especially since it's local -- sounds intriguing.

I'm bummed. Here I am in Midtown Manhattan at a fairly large hotel (Doubletree Metropolitan) and after dinner I stopped in the cocktail lounge (Metro Bar) and requested a Manhattan with rye and the server came back to tell me they had no rye whiskeys! I ended up with an Old Fashion which was only so-so.

I'm bummed. Here I am in Midtown Manhattan at a fairly large hotel (Doubletree Metropolitan) and after dinner I stopped in the cocktail lounge (Metro Bar) and requested a Manhattan with rye and the server came back to tell me they had no rye whiskeys! I ended up with an Old Fashion which was only so-so.

JC, I feel your pain. Even though we are currently enjoying a wonderful renaissance of cocktail culture; even though some of the most talented bartenders ever in the world are currently performing nightly; even though there is an astonishing level of excellence around the country....even then, it's all to easy to walk into what should be a good bar in a decent establishment and learn they don't even pay attention to the absolute basics of the beverage business they are in.

And it's not even that hard to put together a good, basic, professional bar.

I'm not talking about exotic drinks and elaborate concoctions either. Just good, basic selections of spirits and the ability to make the basic list of cocktails for any place that considers itself a good bar.

Not long ago Mike Filigenzi took me to a great bar/restaurant in Sacramento. It had been named one of America's best whiskey bars and had gotten rave reviews. Good place, good food, and some really intriguing drinks, mostly whiskey what with their theme, but some other spirits were showcased well. Since we stayed through dinner we had occasion to have more than one cocktail, so after a very good whiskey-based cocktail, I asked for a cocktail that had both cognac in it---only to be told they didn't have any cognac in the house.

Shortly afterwards I decided to order a last cocktail and requested a "Last Word"...to be told they were sorry but they didn't have any Chartreuse in the bar! Say what?

This was a bar that billed itself as a premier establishent, and made some pretty damned impressive drinks. Had a huge wraparound wall of spirits...but were lacking in what I would consider two necessary components to keep their customers content.

Doesn't make good business sense to me.

Will confess that when I saw the title, I thought this was about Philadelphia..Oh well.. Maker's Mark is one of the few bourbons currently residing in our cellar..No Rye or Chartreuse tho

Just to add to what Hoke mentioned, it's not terribly uncommon to find bars in our area that don't stock brandy or cognac. We've walked out of one or two places that fell into that category due to my wife's Brandy Manhattan requirements.

I can't imagine setting up any kind of bar without, at the very least, Korbel brandy in the well.