Full Review

Stork House

Stork House
Full Proof Rye Whiskey

Category: Rye Whiskey

Date Tasted:
Country: USA
Alcohol: 55%
89 Points
Silver Medal
Highly Recommended
$69

Stork House
Full Proof Rye Whiskey

Category: Rye Whiskey

Date Tasted:
Country: USA
Alcohol: 55%
Light gold color. Aromas and flavors of morning dew on a grassy meadow, honey and muscat grapes with cassis leaf, lemon grass and granny smith apples, and rye and wheat dough with a velvety, crisp, dry medium body and a peppery, compelling, medium-long finish imparting nuances of mocha and vanilla, honey roasted nuts, caramel, vanilla, and crack peppercorns, and leather. Holds the ABV exceedingly well and does the green and grassy tones of the rye grain with a nice and elegant balance of sweet vanilla from the barrel.

Tasting Info

Spirits Glass Style: Rich & Full
Aroma Aroma: morning dew on a grassy meadow, honey and muscat grapes with cassis leaf, lemon grass and granny smith apples, and rye and wheat dough
Taste Flavor: Same as aromas with nuances of mocha and vanilla, honey roasted nuts, caramel, vanilla, and crack peppercorns, and leather
Smoothness Smoothness: Peppery
Enjoy Enjoy: in cocktails, neat, on the rocks, with cigars, with drops of water and shots
Cocktail Cocktails: Sazerac, Old Fashioned, Manhattan
Bottom Line Bottom Line: Holds the ABV exceedingly well and does the green and grassy tones of the rye grain with a nice and elegant balance of sweet vanilla from the barrel.

The Importer

Preiss Imports, LLC

The Importer
432 Maple Street, Suite 4
Ramona, CA 92065
USA
1 760-789-9000

Their Portfolio

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90 Drillaud Elderflower Liqueur 20% (France) $19.00.
94 Enrico Toro Genziana 72 Bitter Liqueur 25% (Italy) $46.00.
92 FAIR Ginger Liqueur 35% (France) $.00.
91 Fair Passion Fruit Liqueur 22% (France) $42.00.
88 Fair Elderflower Liqueur 20% (France) $42.00.
96 Germana Soul Cachaça 40% (Brazil) $37.00.
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Rye Whiskey

Spirits Glass Glencairn Canadian Amber.jpg
Serve in a Glencairn Ganadian Whisky Glass
Rye Whisky must contain a minimum of 51% rye grain, be distilled at less than 80% ABV (160 proof) and be aged for a minimum of two years in new charred barrels. A small amount of straight Rye whiskey is bottled and marketed, but most of the industry production is blended into other whiskies to give them additional character and structure. Canadians frequently refer to their whisky as "Rye," though it is in fact made primarily from corn or wheat.

The Taste: While the best Bourbon is known for a creamy, caramel-like palate, the best Rye whiskey makes its presence known with a spicy, grainy, hard-edged firmness that is distinctive and unique. Usually very dry, with notes of walnut, toasted grain, and black pepper, straight rye has a bold assertive character that has earned it a small but dedicated following among discerning whiskey fans.

The Scotch-Irish immigrant distillers had some exposure to using rye in whiskey production, but for their German immigrant neighbors rye had been the primary grain used in the production of Schnapps and Vodka back in northern Europe. They continued this distilling practice, particularly in Pennsylvania and Maryland, where Rye whiskey, with its distinctive hard-edged, grainy palate, remained the dominant whiskey type well into the 20th century.

Rye whiskey was even more adversely effected by National Prohibition than Bourbon. A generation of consumers weaned on light-bodied and relatively delicate white spirits turned away from the uncompromising, pungent, full-bodied straight Rye whiskies. Production of Rye whiskies had vanished altogether from its Mid-Atlantic homeland by the 1980s. A handful of modern Rye whiskies are currently being made by Bourbon distilleries in Kentucky and Indiana. America’s first indigenous whiskey style is today only barely surviving in the marketplace. Its primary use is for blending to give other whiskies more character and backbone, although a small but vocal group of Rye whisky enthusiasts continue to champion it.