Comments on: Guest blog: Lew Bryson, Malt Advocate Managing Editor

By: JC Skinner

JC Skinner — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 13:20:24 +0000

I’ll drink to that!

By: sam k

sam k — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 00:33:34 +0000

Beautifully said, JC, and I agree with your comparison of Irish pot still and American rye. I’m not a big scotch fan, but I have yet to meet an Irish whiskey that didn’t make friends with me. May fate find us at the same pub at some point in the future!

By: JC Skinner

JC Skinner — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 13:53:31 +0000

I think Rye Whiskey is possibly America’s greatest contribution to distillation, actually.
While I like bourbons too, I think of rye like I think of Irish pure potstill – an indigenous, traditional, wholly unique style of whiskey that’s a bit forceful for some tastes but irreplaceable to others.
We’re poorly treated for imported whiskey in Ireland, actually. Even the Diageo classic malts don’t make it here, and we live next door to Scotland and house one of their distilleries!
So you can imagine how little quality rye, or Japanese whiskey, or limited edition single casks of anything surface here.
And even when they do, they’re tragically expensive.

By: sam k

sam k — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 03:02:14 +0000

How awesome is life when Ireland, of all places, is begging for more American rye whiskey? Having started my whiskey drinking life with Pennsylvania rye when it was still being made there, I’m pretty sure I can die happy now.

By: JC Skinner

JC Skinner — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 18:59:07 +0000

Mekong whiskey I didn’t mind so much – though it bears as much resemblance to whiskey as your average yoghurt drink does, being made from rice.
The hooch I have came from a stove in the hills somewhere, and smells like it should be powering their generator.
From an Irish perspective, I’d just like to see more Rye hit these shores full stop, be it young, old or somewhere in the middle.

By: John Hansell

John Hansell — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 03:51:09 +0000

Bryson archives are entertaining and thought-provoking, especially if you like beer.

By: Chap

Chap — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 18:25:49 +0000

Linked back and emailed around. Thanks! Time to dive into the Bryson archives…

By: Lew Bryson

Lew Bryson — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 14:46:27 +0000

Red,

I believe Fritz was being thoroughly pragmatic in his statement, and maybe even a bit cynical. Distillers with warehouses full of young rye whiskey, he’s saying, are going to see the growing demand (and rising prices) and decide that rye doesn’t have to be 6 years old to sell.

And I think there’s something to that; I do believe that rye may mature in a different progression than does bourbon. I know I’ve had more good young ryes than I’ve had good young bourbons; Tuthilltown, for one. Their early young bourbons were quite hot (and it continued to amaze me how well they were received); I tasted some young rye at the distillery last year that was much more friendly.

By: Lew Bryson

Lew Bryson — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 14:41:35 +0000

JC — Wow, Mekong whisky. Yeah. I don’t know that it’s distilled so much as fractionated and refined! But indeed, it’s the good young spirits that make it worth searching through the scary ones. Just had a sip of the on-market product from Finger Lakes, McKenzie Rye, finished in local port casks — vibrant and tasty. It’s never going to be a 95 on the Malt Advocate scale, but I don’t expect to see many whiskies that young over 90 at all.

By: Oliver Klimek

Oliver Klimek — Sun, 13 Dec 2009 08:02:22 +0000

MrTH: “Feints shouldn’t make it into any well-made whisky.”

Feints are a neccesary part in the flavour profile of any whisky. It’s not just the bad stuff that makes your hair fall out but also carries flavour. But it’s all about concentration. The tricky part of distillation is to stop before the feints take overhand.

By: Texas

Texas — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 20:36:18 +0000

Not sure how young WT Rye 101 is, but I assume it’s only 4-6 year since RR Rye is 6+..anyway it’s mighty good stuff.

By: Red_Arremer

Red_Arremer — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 15:07:06 +0000

Lew is not cheerleading for young spirits. He is rescuing them from Fritz Maytag and others– people who stand in front distributor’s warehouses, which are literally packed to the ceiling with bottles of whiskey that only years ago would have been considered too young to be worthy of consideration– industry representatives who are intellectually overwhelmed by the intensity of the apologetics that they are been called upon produce– public speakers who are ineluctably forced to *submit* their audiences to an inept blend of tepid avant-gardism and pathetically menacing pleading:

-”I submit to you that older whiskey is different. Wonderfully different.And many older red wines are wonderfully different They’re not better, they’re old.”

-”I submit to you that, especially because we have a big shortage of rye whiskey, you are all going to discover the beauty of young rye whiskey.”

Lew, in contrast actually presents judgements about young spirits. He reports his experiences and distinguishes between the good and the bad. He even brings up gin in a positive light, which I think is great, because I love good gin and I often find myself alone in that.

The differences between what Fritz has to say and what Lew writes record the psychological distance between the industry spokesperson and the genuine enthusiast– the distinction between the rationalization of young whisky and its enjoyment.

By: JC Skinner

JC Skinner — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 12:57:01 +0000

Great gag, Lew.
I know amateur hour at the still leads to some horrific spirit being made all over the world.
I had the dubious privelige of sampling stove-distilled ‘spirt’ in Russia once, and definitely would prefer a nice chilled lemon vodka to that battery acid!
I have some Vietnamese moonshine that someone brought home for me, and it smells so strongly of gasoline I’m afraid to even sip it.
But for all the variance, every now and again one comes across some very good young spirit – be it parliamentary whiskey or not – and those spirits deserve credit despite their youth.
So well done again on your cheerleading for younger spirits. I find that a young spirit can often surprise with its quality, whereas the anticipation of enjoying a lengthily-aged dram can sometimes be destroyed when that whiskey proves too woody.

By: Best in Blog #53: The Definitive Guide to Christmas Whisky Shopping | Whisky Party

Fri, 11 Dec 2009 04:11:33 +0000

[...] Bryson, the Managing Editor of Malt Advocate, has an interesting piece on young whiskies up on the Malt Advocate [...]

By: Lizzie Datrindade

Lizzie Datrindade — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 01:42:46 +0000

Lew – probably you haven’t had a chance to try “the good stuff” as when it comes to pisco cuz the first pisco to come to the US was Chilean. However, there is now Peruvian pisco to be found in the US. In fact, Wine & Spirits magazine just named Macchu Pisco as one of its “Spirits of the Year” and Food & Wine named La Diablada Pisco as top spirit in its 2008 cookbook compilation. Check them out!